Actually they do exactly that on the speaking circuit, which is apparently where Mr. King thinks he is.
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B.B. King Heckled At Performance.
- Thread starter gjbassist
- Start date
Actually they do exactly that on the speaking circuit, which is apparently where Mr. King thinks he is.
am i the only one who has never liked BB King?
over-rated compared to the other countless blues artists. Bobby Bluebland, Freddie King, and that Ice Pick dude (whathisname) just killed it. not to mention the true innovators like Howlin' Wolf and them!
he may have been the commercial "Blue's Legend", but in the hood, not so much!
Well, not everybody else has to like all the guys I like.
BB's not my favorite, but I like him.
I prefer Albert King--but both have been an influence, and I've enjoyed music from both of them.
I also like Freddie King & Albert Collins (Who I believe is who you are referring to as the Ice Pick dude)
But the thing with music is, you can have preferences, but still enjoy a whole lot of musicians--and when it comes to blues I do that.
And Howlin Wolf was a good one too.
But BB is a legend.
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
With social media being what it is I would think the word would be out by now? but people are still coming to his concerts and he's still selling records so let the man perform if he wants to rather it be before a large audience or just two people. I think anyone who buys a ticket to see a group like the Stones or even to see Sir Paul and expects them to put on a show like they once did might be disappointed I've see both acts at two different times in their careers and at the latter concerts I tamed my expectations and I wasn't disappointed but there were people around me complaining which is why I don't go to concerts anymore too many people expecting far too much and being disrespectful and disruptive when they don't get it.
or the solo guitar guys like robert johnson,mance lipscombe et al.....and they don't all have to be guitar guys either..big mama thornton ,memphis minnie,..little walter,willie dixon.....bb is not a huge favorite of mine either,but he always brings a band and the shows i've seen have been excellent...
...but there was a lot of hype that said "show biz" and not "bluesman" that went with it.....but he did coax some great sounds out of any number of "lucilles".....
of course i never had to pay nor would i ever have paid anything even close to 200 a seat bucks for king.........this kind of senior citizen cashing in has got out of hand....
Guys like B.B. King and Buddy Guy are really the last men standing of their generation. I've seen plenty of mention of their contemporaries like Freddie King, Albert Collins, Bobby "Blue" Bland and others in this thread. And you know what? They're all gone. The same as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and T-Bone Walker. And since I saw him play with Hubert Sumlin in 2010, Hubert has passed, too.
B.B. is notable for how he plays. His vibrato, tone and phrasing are all his own. Nobody else sounds like him. And when you hear him you know it's him. Establishing that kind of identity in music is a tremendous feat.
I think it's fair to say that he's past his prime. He would probably say that too. But in the same respect, he's part of a living history of the blues that stretches back to his first record in the 1950's. And when he's gone all we have is the music and the impact he's made on countless musicians.
One thing that's noteworthy about B.B. King and his career? He was one of the first bluesmen who was able to cross over. Because in the 1950's the blues was considered race music, and was only marketed to black audiences. Oddly enough B.B. was able to cross over because of Frank Sinatra! Sinatra recognized just how great B.B. was back in the 60's and got him into white clubs in Las Vegas, and that opened a whole world to his work.
All of that being said, I think B.B. deserves respect for what he's done over the course of his career. And for anyone, I think that knowing when and how to bow out gracefully is important. But when you look around and almost all of your peers are gone, like B.B.'s are? Retiring from touring would probably seem like you're getting ready to call it a life. In that regard I can't blame him for wanting to go on.
B.B. is notable for how he plays. His vibrato, tone and phrasing are all his own. Nobody else sounds like him. And when you hear him you know it's him. Establishing that kind of identity in music is a tremendous feat.
I think it's fair to say that he's past his prime. He would probably say that too. But in the same respect, he's part of a living history of the blues that stretches back to his first record in the 1950's. And when he's gone all we have is the music and the impact he's made on countless musicians.
One thing that's noteworthy about B.B. King and his career? He was one of the first bluesmen who was able to cross over. Because in the 1950's the blues was considered race music, and was only marketed to black audiences. Oddly enough B.B. was able to cross over because of Frank Sinatra! Sinatra recognized just how great B.B. was back in the 60's and got him into white clubs in Las Vegas, and that opened a whole world to his work.
All of that being said, I think B.B. deserves respect for what he's done over the course of his career. And for anyone, I think that knowing when and how to bow out gracefully is important. But when you look around and almost all of your peers are gone, like B.B.'s are? Retiring from touring would probably seem like you're getting ready to call it a life. In that regard I can't blame him for wanting to go on.
I saw Buddy Guy and Johnny Winter in the past couple years. They'd both lost a step or two. Buddy Guy was especially disappointing to me. I've seen them both before and the difference was disheartening. On a different note, I saw Yes two years ago and they've also lost a step or three. They played all their stuff much slower than the records.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
If I go to see somethat that old, I don't expect 100%. But unless you promote it as talk/concert, it is unfair to those who bought the tickets, expecting a real show.
I have to wonder what the audience was expecting from him. Mad respect for BB, he's a genuine National Treasure, but anyone who's been paying attention can tell he's years past his sell-by date as a live performer.
I too have to wonder if he keeps going b/c he's afraid what'll happen if he stops.
I too have to wonder if he keeps going b/c he's afraid what'll happen if he stops.
I saw BB with buddy guy and eric Johnson in the mid 90s. It was amazing. Buddy guy stole the show but hey, that's what he does.
Actually.....a young white guy in buddy's band kinda stole the show. Buddy broke alot of strings and each time, this guy would step up and just wail! Buddy even had to acknowledge it and just stopped playing during one eapicially ripping song. He just kept singing and stepping back and laughing at the guy. It was awesome. I need to research who that was.......
I've seen performances of buddy and bb lately and its obvious they've lost some steps. BB MUCH more than buddy.
Actually.....a young white guy in buddy's band kinda stole the show. Buddy broke alot of strings and each time, this guy would step up and just wail! Buddy even had to acknowledge it and just stopped playing during one eapicially ripping song. He just kept singing and stepping back and laughing at the guy. It was awesome. I need to research who that was.......
I've seen performances of buddy and bb lately and its obvious they've lost some steps. BB MUCH more than buddy.
Mind you, I have no problem with that.
And if they're going to bill it as 'Conversations with BB' that's cool.
What I did not much appreciate is them continuing to bill BLUES LEGEND BB KING and getting -1- song for $100 a seat.
Let him tour. Let him tell the stories.
Do colleges for $10 general admission.
The big-city metro venues need to charge what they do because they are big-city metro venues with cushy seats and professional lights and sound.
Buddy Guy had a huge comeback in the very early 90's and I saw a few really great shows (that was the band Rzab was in as some have mentioned). Buddy was ferocious--some of the best and most intense live blues ever, IMO. As time went on it got to the place where BG wouldn't finish a song...he'd start then go into noodling around and saying "here's what I showed Jimi," and "this is what I taught Eric." Now he did do all that and more and has the right to say it, but I got to where I didn't want to pay money to listen to it instead of the music.
Thankfully never really had that experience with BB King, but it has probably been 15 or 20 years since I've seen him.
By the way, about Buddy Guy: I didn't have high expectations for his autobiography...based on the above and some other stuff over the years. But I read it and liked it a lot; it was warmer, more insightful, and straight-up more humble than I expected. I recommend it if you're into that sort of thing
Thankfully never really had that experience with BB King, but it has probably been 15 or 20 years since I've seen him.
By the way, about Buddy Guy: I didn't have high expectations for his autobiography...based on the above and some other stuff over the years. But I read it and liked it a lot; it was warmer, more insightful, and straight-up more humble than I expected. I recommend it if you're into that sort of thing
am i the only one who has never liked BB King?
over-rated compared to the other countless blues artists. Bobby Bluebland, Freddie King, and that Ice Pick dude (whathisname) just killed it. not to mention the true innovators like Howlin' Wolf and them!
he may have been the commercial "Blue's Legend", but in the hood, not so much!
I would not say that I never liked him. However I do agree that he has always been a bit over-rated. He would be a few places down on my favourites list, with Buddy Guy and Freddy King way ahead of him.
At the same time people should know what to expect of an eighty eight year old player. If they dont, they deserve what they get.....or dont get.
I would say it's bad form for people to heckle him, but he should know that "The Thrill (for the audience) is Gone".
I agree with all you've said in this thread about BB. But his management really should do right by the fans and let them know what they're going to get (storytelling with a little playing mixed in) before they shell out a bunch of their hard-earned cash.
exactly....the performances are not 100%,but the ticket prices have in many cases risen by much much more than that....
I saw The Who, Jefferson Airplane and BB King at Tanglewood, Massachusetts in 69 for $3 on the lawn. I'm good. Sorry to hear he's doing this at this level and charging big money for it. As was said, you're paying for the legend, not to hear great playing any longer.
I never considered BB a badass. Freddie King was a badass IMO, with Albert not far behind. BB was always a tasteful player.
Not trying to start anything and I love me some BB, but of the 3 Kings I always counted him as the weakest. On any given day it was a coin toss between Freddy and Albert for number one, but that was it. BB was always number 3 in my mind.
