B.B. King is one of America's few, long-standing musical treasures whose stature has grown to an unassailable, international level. Despite his 85 years, King continues to tour, perform and to grow in influence, casting a shadow that reaches far beyond the blues scene from whence he first came. His warm, down-home vocal style, his distinctive, talking blues guitar playing, and his songs that sing of love's joys and hardships Sweet Sixteen, How Blue Can You Get?, Help The Poor, The Thrill Is Gone and countless others are all indelibly imprinted elements in the modern musical heritage. Celebrating his 50th Anniversary signing to ABC-Paramount Records in 1962 we bring you this multi-format career retrospective. Leading the way with a slick 10 CD, 194 track collection chronicling his entire career from his first recordings in 1949 through to his most recent studio album.
Live at San Quentin is a 1990 live album by blues guitarist B. B. King performed at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, California…
Released the week of B.B. King's 80th birthday, 80 is a star-studded duets album, the first B.B. released since 1997's Deuces Wild. It was recorded in a variety of locations in the spring of 2005 and features a variety of guest artists, ranging from the familiar (Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Bobby Bland) to the unsurprising (Billy Gibbons, Mark Knopfler, Elton John, Sheryl Crow) to the frankly bewildering (John Mayer, Daryl Hall, Gloria Estefan). Unfortunately, the material isn't quite as wide-ranging – in fact, it leans toward the overly familiar, with a pleasant, thoroughly bland version of "The Thrill Is Gone" with Eric Clapton sadly living up to its title.