The King of Blues

B.B. King's Blues Club, Nashville, Tennessee

8 x 16 oil on canvas

Baby, it's cold outside...more snow on the way? But the music is hot in here..."global warming" at its best. Cheers!

here's a little history - "Blues Boy" King began recording in the 1940s and is still going strong today. In the 50s he narrowly escaped a fire when performing; only to race back in and retrieve his $30 acoustic guitar. The fire started when a scuffle broke out over a woman named Lucille, so B.B. named his guitar after her (and subsequent guitars) to remind himself to never fight over a woman.

Because Bowling Green, Ky is halfway between Nashville and Louisville, and a similar distance between Chicago and New Orleans; it became a popular gathering spot for musicians like B.B., James Brown and Ray Charles in the 40s and 50s. Always willing to share his love of music, he has since played with musicians from every walk of life; even opened for The Stones in the 60s. I've written about the 10,000 hours of meaningful practice necessary to become a master..well, you can do the math for B.B. but I can tell you in his case, it all adds up to a new level of mastery called The King. In addition to his many honors and awards, he has received honorary doctorates from six universities - uh, yeah, you read that right.

Let's face it, when you have music in your soul, the thrill is never gonna be gone. Thanks, B.B.!

"Jazz is the big brother of the blues. If a guy's playing blues like we play, he's in high school. When he starts playing jazz it's like going on to college, to a school of higher learning.

The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you."

B.B. King