b King

Although Live & Well wasn't a landmark album in the sense of Live at the Regal, it was a significant commercial breakthrough for King, as it was the first of his LPs to enter the Top 100. That may have been because recognition from rock stars such as Eric Clapton had finally boosted his exposure to the White pop audience, but it was a worthy recording on its own merits, divided evenly between live and studio material. King's always recorded well as a live act, and it's the concert tracks that shine brightest, although the studio ones (cut with assistance from studio musicians like Al Kooper and Hugh McCracken) aren't bad.

Although Live & Well wasn't a landmark album in the sense of Live at the Regal, it was a significant commercial breakthrough for King, as it was the first of his LPs to enter the Top 100. That may have been because recognition from rock stars such as Eric Clapton had finally boosted his exposure to the White pop audience, but it was a worthy recording on its own merits, divided evenly between live and studio material. King's always recorded well as a live act, and it's the concert tracks that shine brightest, although the studio ones (cut with assistance from studio musicians like Al Kooper and Hugh McCracken) aren't bad.

The 2012 two-disc anthology The Blues King's Best compiles many of legendary guitarist B.B. King's recordings. The first disc features studio recordings from 1949 to 1960 and the second disc showcases live recordings from various dates over the years – some well past 1960. Included are such stellar studio recordings as "B.B. Boogie," "Please Love Me," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "The Thrill Is Gone," "How Blue Can You Get?," and many others. This a solid collection that works well as a thorough overview of King's long career.