B.B. King

Hard to believe BB King is still touring at 88. There has been a lot of negativity surrounding BB king shows of over that last couple of years, with many critics claiming his advisors are taking advantage of the situation at the expensive of a legend reputation. To put it simply, they are unwilling to ‘kill’ such a cash cow. I was lucky enough to see him live a few years before and I thought he was great considering his age and health. I was well aware of his age, and took that into account. Lets be realistic, he’s never going to be a good as he was in his heyday is he? I was very impressed with his band and support acts as well. Robert Randolph and Shemekia Copeland were probably the highlights from a music perspective. They performance rocked, powerful, energetic and certainly got the crowd moving. BB King was charming, funny and did exactly what I expected of him. Seemed to be in control and confidently directed the band. The energy of the performance may have been a little lacking but I hardly expected him to be bouncing around the stage! He and his band played everything the crowd would have wanted finishing the set with ‘The Thrill is Gone’. Theres a certain irony to the title of his most famous track and seeing him in the twilight of his career. However , all in all I was happy with the show and delighted I got to see one of the most iconic musicians of all time.

If you read Keith Richards’ autobiography, Life, you’ll see that he credits some of the veteran bluesmen that the Stones toured with in the early days with his introduction to drugs, and stimulants in particular; still only in their late teens, the band found that their relentless tour schedule was running them ragged, whilst their much older bill-sharers were right as rain everyday thanks to a carefully-controlled cocktail of uppers. Perhaps that was B.B. King’s secret, too, because at the grand old age of eighty-eight, he is still very much going strong, continuing to play around a hundred shows a year. His most recent tour of the UK came back in 2011, when he packed the same concert halls he’s been playing to for longer than large sections of the crowd had even been alive. He also rocked up at Glastonbury to fill the Sunday afternoon legends slot - has there ever been anyone more deserving? - and fired through the likes of ‘Blues Man’, ‘Rock Me Baby’ (during which he urged the crowd to “make me shake my boogie”) and ‘A Whole Lot of Loving’. Knowing King, he’ll be back before too long, probably again and again; like his old mate Keith, he might just be immortal.

B.B. King is nearly ninety years old and is still touring globally, the man is not only a living legend but a force of nature. It is very unusual for a human being who has been on the planet for almost a century to still have the stamina and enthusiasm to get up onstage every night. Although the warm manner in which his audience greets him must be reason enough as the veteran performer still seems genuinely overjoyed when he receives rapturous applause and standing ovations from the huge crowds.

It is worth noting that although his voice is not what it was, Riley still attains great tones and range when singing and is able to deliver the soulful stylings of 'I've Got a Mind to Give Up Living' in a sincere manner. He also has a great amount of skills with his guitar, adding further tones to that Blues sound. This man is a living piece of musical history and the way in which he speaks with such passion about life, music and the world could move even the most cold hearted audience member. Long live B.B. King.