1934 Grady Gaines*
1943 Jack Bruce*
1953 Joseph "Smokey" Holman*
1970 Anthony Gomes*
2015 B.B. King+
1943 Jack Bruce*
1953 Joseph "Smokey" Holman*
1970 Anthony Gomes*
2015 B.B. King+
Happy Birthday
Anthony Gomes *14.05.1970
Toronto, Chicago, Nashville: Das sind die bisherigen Stationen des Kanadiers Anthony Gomes.
Mit vierzehn bekam er seine erste Gitarre in die Hand gedrückt und verfiel diesem Instrument. In seinen frühen Jahren standen Songs von Deep Purple und Led Zeppelin auf der Setlist seiner Live-Auftritte.
Später erkannte er jedoch, dass sein »… Interesse eher im Roots-Bereich lag.« Also stand der erste Umzug nach Chicago an. 1998 wurde er mit seiner Band in Buddy Guys Legends Club zur 'Best Unsigned Blues Band' gewählt.
Anthony Gomes (born May 14, 1970, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian blues and blues rock guitarist and singer. He was born to a Portuguese father and a French-Canadian mother. After his 1998 debut album release Blues in Technicolor, he began touring the United States and Canada and he has since recorded eight more albums.
Gomes resides in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, playing a fusion of blues with rock and soul, and with the Anthony Gomes Band has toured North America and Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Gomes
The Toronto singer/songwriter/guitarist, Anthony Gomes, has been creating virtuosic, burning blues since his recorded debut in 1998. 12 releases and numerous awards and ecstatic accolades later, the aptly-named, riff-laden Electric Field Holler crackles with his bare wires passion.
The heavy hitting “Turn It Up!” has Gomes rightly boasting “…got Mississippi lightning in my soul, I was raised on the thunder of rock ‘n’ roll…gonna play the music till the day I die, just like B.B. King and Buddy Guy,” his voice and guitar roaring. “Back Door Scratchin’” uses clever tom cat imagery “You found someone new, don’t want me no more. You put me out, baby, can’t get past your door… I’m back door scratchin’, howlin’ all night. I’m back door scratchin’ till the morning light.” The mighty chugging “Whiskey Train” has Gomes growling “It’s gonna take a whole lot of whiskey to drink away the pain. I gotta get half-way down the label, or go insane,” his guitar smoking like a 20-ton locomotive.
On “Blueschild” Gomes delivers mythic autobiography “It’s like a fire, that’s burning out of control. I’m a six-string slinger, I’m a juke joint singer, daddy, I was born to play, I was born a blues child” and then proves it. The dramatic, compassionate minor key “Nowhere Is Home” pulses like a heartbeat under “There’s a child on the street with no shoes on his feet, in the city. He’s far away from home, living all alone in the city.” “Losing Game” finds Gomes raging instrumentally and vocally “People talking, all over town, say you’re doing me wrong, dirty low down. Lady luck’s got me, paying dues, got me walking in the shadow of the blues.”
“The Blues Ain’t The Blues No More” decries “I went to the crossroads, but the devil don’t stay there no more. There’s nothing but a gas station, and the Delta donut store,” his authentic Delta slide guitar harkening back to an earlier era. On the pumping “Junk In The Trunk” Gomes utilizes the hip phrases for carnal desire “She’s got the thing that does it for me, she’s the bomb and it’s World War III, she’s got the junk in the trunk…” The swinging “Love Crazy” features sweet backup vocals and the devastating reality “Never wanted this, not even a little. Love’s got its highs and lows, I’m stuck in the middle… Said I never play with fire, oh baby, you made me a liar.”
The contemporary tale “Red Handed Blues” cannot end well due to “It was party
time, last Friday night. Johnny was getting married, had to send him off right. Told the girls we were going, to a fishing hole, but we went to a night club, where the girls dance on a pole.” A surprising half-minute instrumental, “Delta Raga,” features a sitar sound in a promising progressive style. The closing, apocalyptic “Listen To The Universe” warns “You’ve been riding, moving forward in reverse. You’ve been wondering, how things could get much worse. But every road leads to somewhere, listen to the universe,” Gomes’ trademark lyrical guitar lines as soul-searing as his vocals.
Anthony Gomes sings and plays with integrity and deeply felt emotion oblivious to fortune and fashion. The resulting music is a blazing cathartic experience radiating therapeutic heat for body and soul.
Dave Rubin, KBA recipient in Journalism
The heavy hitting “Turn It Up!” has Gomes rightly boasting “…got Mississippi lightning in my soul, I was raised on the thunder of rock ‘n’ roll…gonna play the music till the day I die, just like B.B. King and Buddy Guy,” his voice and guitar roaring. “Back Door Scratchin’” uses clever tom cat imagery “You found someone new, don’t want me no more. You put me out, baby, can’t get past your door… I’m back door scratchin’, howlin’ all night. I’m back door scratchin’ till the morning light.” The mighty chugging “Whiskey Train” has Gomes growling “It’s gonna take a whole lot of whiskey to drink away the pain. I gotta get half-way down the label, or go insane,” his guitar smoking like a 20-ton locomotive.
On “Blueschild” Gomes delivers mythic autobiography “It’s like a fire, that’s burning out of control. I’m a six-string slinger, I’m a juke joint singer, daddy, I was born to play, I was born a blues child” and then proves it. The dramatic, compassionate minor key “Nowhere Is Home” pulses like a heartbeat under “There’s a child on the street with no shoes on his feet, in the city. He’s far away from home, living all alone in the city.” “Losing Game” finds Gomes raging instrumentally and vocally “People talking, all over town, say you’re doing me wrong, dirty low down. Lady luck’s got me, paying dues, got me walking in the shadow of the blues.”
“The Blues Ain’t The Blues No More” decries “I went to the crossroads, but the devil don’t stay there no more. There’s nothing but a gas station, and the Delta donut store,” his authentic Delta slide guitar harkening back to an earlier era. On the pumping “Junk In The Trunk” Gomes utilizes the hip phrases for carnal desire “She’s got the thing that does it for me, she’s the bomb and it’s World War III, she’s got the junk in the trunk…” The swinging “Love Crazy” features sweet backup vocals and the devastating reality “Never wanted this, not even a little. Love’s got its highs and lows, I’m stuck in the middle… Said I never play with fire, oh baby, you made me a liar.”
The contemporary tale “Red Handed Blues” cannot end well due to “It was party
time, last Friday night. Johnny was getting married, had to send him off right. Told the girls we were going, to a fishing hole, but we went to a night club, where the girls dance on a pole.” A surprising half-minute instrumental, “Delta Raga,” features a sitar sound in a promising progressive style. The closing, apocalyptic “Listen To The Universe” warns “You’ve been riding, moving forward in reverse. You’ve been wondering, how things could get much worse. But every road leads to somewhere, listen to the universe,” Gomes’ trademark lyrical guitar lines as soul-searing as his vocals.
Anthony Gomes sings and plays with integrity and deeply felt emotion oblivious to fortune and fashion. The resulting music is a blazing cathartic experience radiating therapeutic heat for body and soul.
Dave Rubin, KBA recipient in Journalism
Grady Gaines *14.05.1934
Grady Gaines′ Upsetters
Der Tenorsaxophonist Grady Gaines übernahm die Leitung der Band, die ab Anfang 1958 wieder einige Singles einspielte. Für die Studioaufnahmen auf dem Label Little Star Records aus dem Jahr 1960 in New York übernahm Little Richard die Tasten und das Mikrofon, wollte aber aus Rücksicht auf sein religiöses Umfeld dabei ungenannt bleiben. Zudem fungierten die Upsetters als Begleitband verschiedener Künstler wie Don Covay, Leonard Carbo, Dee Clark, Lester Robertson, Chico Booth und Mr. Wiggles. Auch für ein Soloprojekt des Tenorsaxophonisten Wilbert „Lee Diamond“ Smith für Vee-Jay Records rückten die anderen Upsetters in die Begleitung. 1967 erschien die letzte Single der ursprünglichen Band unter dem Namen „The World Famous Upsetters“.
Grady Gaines (born May 14, 1934, Waskom, Texas)[1] is an American electric blues, Texas blues and jazz blues tenor saxophonist, who performed and recorded with Little Richard in the 1950s. He also backed other musicians such as Dee Clark, Little Willie John, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and Joe Tex. He has released three albums.
Gaines grew up in Houston with his brother, Roy, who went to play guitar on Bobby Bland's 1955 hit single, "It's My Life Baby".[1]
Gaines himself worked as a session musician at Peacock Records.[2] He played on Big Walter Price's "Pack Fair and Square" and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's "Dirty Work at the Crossroads," before joining Little Richard's fledgling backing band, the Upsetters, as its leader in 1955.[1] Gaines recorded infrequently, although he did play on Richard's "Keep a Knockin'" and "Ooh! My Soul."[1]
The Upsetters carried on after Richard 'retired' in 1957. They toured with Dee Clark, Little Willie John, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and Joe Tex. The band recorded for Vee-Jay Records in 1958 backing Clark.[1] Gaines also led Sam Cooke's backing band up to Cooke's death.[2] Several recording sessions followed for Gaines and his band at various labels including Vee-Jay, Gee and Fire.[1]
Once the Upsetters disbanded, Grady toured with Millie Jackson and Curtis Mayfield, although he stopped playing in 1980. He re-emerged in 1985, reforming the now Texas Upsetters, playing at concerts in Houston before recording Full Gain (1988), Horn of Plenty (1992), and Jump Start (2002).[1]
Gaines performed in both 1989 and 1996 at the Long Beach Blues Festival.
As of January 2013, Gaines continues to perform with his Texas Upsetters for private parties and wedding receptions and for public events, such as the Big Easy Social & Pleasure Club in Houston's Rice Village neighborhood.
Jack Bruce *14.05.1943
John Symon Asher „Jack“ Bruce (* 14. Mai 1943 in Bishopbriggs, Schottland; † 25. Oktober 2014 in Suffolk) war ein britischer Rock-, Blues- und Jazzmusiker. Er spielte hauptsächlich E-Bass, aber auch Cello, Piano und Mundharmonika, sang und schrieb Songs. Bekannt wurde er als Gründungsmitglied von Cream.
Leben
Jugend
Bruce erhielt als 17-Jähriger ein Stipendium für Cello und Komposition an der Royal Scottish Academy Of Music. Seine frühen Interessen galten der schottischen Folklore, dem Jazz und Bach. Auf Grund der Tatsache, dass man als Cellist in einer Jazzband weniger gefragt ist, wechselte er zum Kontrabass. Er spielte dieses Instrument dann in der Scotstoun Jazzband. Seine Art, Bass zu spielen, profitierte von seiner (abgebrochenen) klassischen Ausbildung auf dem Cello. Von ihm stammt der Ausspruch, Johann Sebastian Bach habe die besten Bassläufe aller Zeiten geschrieben.Werdegang
Bruce suchte Anfang der 1960er Jahre Kontakt zur britischen Bluesszene. Er spielte bei Mike Taylor, in Alexis Korners Blues Incorporated, der Graham Bond Organization, zu der er bereits eigene Songs beisteuerte, John Mayalls Bluesbreakers und der Manfred Mann Combo, bevor er 1966 zusammen mit Eric Clapton und Ginger Baker Cream bildete. Er hatte in der damals neuartigen Power-Trio-Besetzung die zentrale Rolle des Bassisten und Leadsängers und zudem des Komponisten der meisten Songs. Texte steuerte der englische Beat-Dichter (und später auch Rockmusiker) Pete Brown bei.[1] Die Zeit mit Cream war es auch, die den Ruf von Jack Bruce als außerordentlichem Musiker begründete. Ähnlich wie zur selben Zeit auch sein Kollege John Entwistle (The Who) arbeitete er darauf hin, den Bass innerhalb des Bandgefüges der Lead-Gitarre gleichzustellen. Der Jack-Bruce-Sound ist knurrig und aggressiv. Sein Markenzeichen waren lange, auf seinem Gibson EB-3-Bass vorgetragene Improvisationen in Interaktion mit den anderen Musikern, bei denen gelegentlich kaum noch zu unterscheiden war, welche Teile von Bruce und welche vom Gitarristen Clapton stammten. Bruce hat später scherzhaft behauptet, sie hätten damals so lange improvisiert, dass er am Ende des Solos Schwierigkeiten hatte, sich zu erinnern, welchen Song sie gerade spielten („… we’d get to the end of a long improv and I’d be wracking my brain to remember what the song was!“).
Nach der Auflösung von Cream Ende 1968 arbeitete Bruce mit dem New Jazz Orchestra, Tony Williams’ Lifetime, Mike Gibbs, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Larry Coryell und weiteren Kollegen aus dem Jazzbereich, so mit Carla Bley als Sänger und Bassist im Jazz-Oratorium Escalator over the Hill und für einige Konzerte auch mit Ian Carrs Nucleus. Von 1972 bis 1973 spielte er gemeinsam mit den Ex-Mountain-Musikern Leslie West (Gitarre) und „Corky“ Laurence Gordon Laing (Schlagzeug) in der Hard-Rock-Gruppe West, Bruce & Laing, die drei Alben veröffentlichte. Er brachte einige Soloalben heraus, darunter Songs For A Tailor (mit Mitspielern wie Chris Spedding, Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Harry Beckett und George Harrison), Harmony Row und Out Of The Storm. Anfang 1977 stellte er mit Tony Hymas, Simon Phillips und Hughie Burnd die Jack Bruce Band zusammen und brachte mit dieser Formation das Album How’s Tricks heraus. 1980 versuchte Keith Emerson, eine Band mit Bruce und dem südafrikanischen Sänger und Gitarristen Trevor Rabin zusammenzubringen, der Versuch scheiterte allerdings, da Rabin sich für ein Projekt mit dem Bassisten Chris Squire und dem Schlagzeuger Alan White entschied, aus dem später eine neue Yes-Besetzung entstand. Im selben Jahr trat die neu gegründete Formation Jack Bruce & Friends (Clem Clempson, Billy Cobham und David Sancious)[2] unter anderem bei der 7. Rockpalast Nacht in Essen auf.[3] [4]
Für die zwei Alben B.L.T. und Truce spielte Bruce 1981 mit Robin Trower zusammen. In den Jahren 1982 und 1983 war die Jan Hammer Band mit Carsten Bohn, Jack Bruce und Colin Hodgkinson auf Tournee in den USA und Europa. 1994 erschien das Album Around The Next Dream unter der Bandbezeichnung BBM, das er zusammen mit Ginger Baker und Gary Moore eingespielt hatte. Später war er an unterschiedlichen Projekten von Kip Hanrahan beteiligt und spielte auch in der Charlie Watts Bigband und in Ringo Starrs All-Starr Band.
Im Sommer 2003 wurde bei Bruce Leberkrebs diagnostiziert. Im September starb er beinahe bei einer Lebertransplantation, da er sich in erschöpftem Zustand noch eine Lungenentzündung zugezogen hatte. Im Oktober war er auf dem Wege der Besserung. Im Jahre 2005 war die Gesundheit des Musikers so stabil, dass er im Mai an mehreren Reunion Concerts in der Londoner Royal Albert Hall teilnehmen konnte, bei denen er zusammen mit Eric Clapton und Ginger Baker in der Originalbesetzung von Cream die Klassiker des seiner Zeit als erste Supergroup des Rock gefeierten Trios spielte. Von diesen Konzerten gibt es einen repräsentativen Querschnitt auf DVD (mit aktuellen Interviews). 2006 sang er auf dem Jazzfestival in Frankfurt am Main seine Songs mit der hr-Bigband.
Er war mit seiner Managerin Margrit Bruce, die aus Schwaben stammt, verheiratet. Die beiden hatten zwei Töchter und einen Sohn und lebten auf La Palma sowie in der Nähe von London, wo er am 25. Oktober 2014 im Alter von 71 Jahren an den Folgen eines Leberleidens starb.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish musician, composer and vocalist, known primarily for his multi-faceted contributions to the legendary British supergroup Cream, which included guitarist-singer Eric Clapton and drummer-founder Ginger Baker. In March, 2011, Rolling Stone readers selected him as the eighth greatest bass guitarist of all time. "Most musicians would have a very hard time distinguishing themselves if they wound up in a band with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker," the magazine said at the time, "but Jack Bruce was so gifted on the bass that he did it with ease."
Bruce maintained a solo career that spanned several decades and also played in several musical groups. Although recognized first and foremost as a vocalist, bassist and songwriter, he also played double bass, harmonica, piano and cello. He was trained as a classical cellist and considered himself a jazz musician, although much of his catalogue of compositions and recordings tended toward blues and rock and roll.
Early life
Bruce was born on 14 May 1943 in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire, to Betty (Asher) and Charlie Bruce,[1] musical parents who moved frequently, resulting in the young Bruce attending 14 different schools, ending up at Bellahouston Academy. He began playing the jazz bass in his teens and won a scholarship to study cello and musical composition at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama while playing in Jim McHarg's Scotsville Jazzband to support himself.[2] The academy disapproved of its students playing jazz. "They found out", Bruce told Musician correspondent Jim Macnie, "and said 'you either stop, or leave college.' So I left college."[citation needed]
Career
Early career
After leaving school he toured Italy, playing double bass with the Murray Campbell Big Band.[3] In 1962 Bruce became a member of the London-based band Blues Incorporated,[4] led by Alexis Korner, in which he played the upright bass. The band also included organist Graham Bond, saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith and Ginger Baker. In 1963 the group broke up and Bruce went on to form the Graham Bond Quartet with Bond, Baker and guitarist John McLaughlin.[2] They played an eclectic range of music genres, including bebop, blues and rhythm and blues. As a result of session work at this time, Bruce switched from the upright bass to the electric bass guitar. The move to electric bass happened as McLaughlin was dropped from the band; he was replaced by Heckstall-Smith on saxophone and the band pursued a more concise R&B sound and changed their name to the Graham Bond Organisation. They released two studio albums and several singles but were not commercially successful.
During the time that Bruce and Baker played with the Graham Bond Organisation, they were known for their hostility towards each other. There were numerous stories of the two sabotaging each other's equipment and fighting on stage. Relations grew so bad between the two that Bruce left the group in August 1965.[5]
After leaving, Bruce recorded a solo single, "I'm Gettin Tired", for Polydor Records.[2] He joined John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers group, which featured guitarist Eric Clapton. Although his stay was brief; the Universal Deluxe double album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton contains all the known tracks featuring Bruce.
After the Bluesbreakers, Bruce had his first commercial success as a member of Manfred Mann in 1966, including "Pretty Flamingo" which reached number one in the UK singles chart (one of two number one records of his career - the other being an uncredited bass part on The Scaffold's "Lily the Pink")[2] as well as the free-wheeling and ground-breaking jazz-rock of Instrumental Asylum. When interviewed on the edition of the VH1 show Classic Albums which featured Disraeli Gears, Mayall said that Bruce had been lured away by the lucrative commercial success of Manfred Mann, while Mann himself recalled that Bruce attended recording sessions without having rehearsed but played songs straight through without error, commenting that perhaps the chord changes seemed obvious to Bruce.[6]
While with Manfred Mann, Bruce again collaborated with Eric Clapton as a member of Powerhouse, which also featured the Spencer Davis Group vocalist Steve Winwood credited as "Steve Anglo". Three tracks were featured on the Elektra sampler album What's Shakin'. Two of the songs, "Crossroads" and "Steppin' Out", became staples in the live set of his next band.
Cream
In July 1966 Bruce, Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker founded the power trio Cream, which gained international recognition playing blues-rock and jazz-inflected rock music. Bruce sang most of the lead vocals, with Clapton backing him up and eventually assuming some leads himself.[6]
With his Gibson EB-3 electric bass, Bruce became one of the most famous bassists in rock, winning musicians' polls and influencing the next generation of bassists such as Sting, Geddy Lee and Jeff Berlin.[7] Bruce co-wrote most of Cream's single releases with lyricist Pete Brown, including the hits "Sunshine of Your Love", "White Room", and "I Feel Free". Cream broke up in 1968.[8]
Post-Cream: 1960s–70s
Collaborative efforts with musicians, in many genres – hard rock, jazz, blues, R&B, fusion, avant-garde, world music, third stream classical – continued as a theme of Bruce's career. Alongside these he has produced a long line of highly regarded solo albums. In contrast to his collaborative works, the solo albums usually maintain a common theme: melodic songs with a complex musical structure, songs with lyrics frequently penned by Pete Brown, and a core band of world-class musicians. This structure was loosened on his live solo albums and DVDs, where extended improvisations similar to those employed by Cream in live performance were sometimes still used.
In August 1968, before Cream officially disbanded, Bruce recorded an acoustic free jazz album with John McLaughlin, Dick Heckstall-Smith, and Jon Hiseman.[2] This was issued in 1970 as Bruce's second solo album, Things We Like. The album was a precursor to the jazz fusion boom in the early 1970s, and more recently has been sampled by many[who?] hip hop artists.
Bruce's first solo release, Songs for a Tailor, was issued in September 1969; it too featured Heckstall-Smith and Hiseman.[2] It was a worldwide hit, but after a brief supporting tour backed by Larry Coryell and Mitch Mitchell, Bruce joined the jazz fusion group Lifetime. With drummer Tony Williams, guitarist McLaughlin, and organist Larry Young, the group recorded two albums. Bruce joined on the second album, Turn It Over. However, Lifetime did not receive much critical or commercial acclaim at the time, and the band broke up in 1971. Bruce then recorded his third solo album Harmony Row, but this was not as commercially successful as Songs for a Tailor.[2] The song "The Consul at Sunset" from Harmony Row, which was inspired by the Malcolm Lowry novel Under the Volcano, was released as a single in 1971 (Polydor 2058-153, b/w "A Letter of Thanks"), but did not chart.
In 1972 Bruce formed a blues rock power trio, West, Bruce & Laing. Besides Bruce, the group included singer/guitarist Leslie West and drummer Corky Laing, both formerly of the Cream-influenced American band Mountain. West, Bruce & Laing produced two studio albums, Why Dontcha and Whatever Turns You On, and one live album, Live 'n' Kickin'.
The band's break-up was announced shortly before Live 'n' Kickin's release in early 1974, and Bruce released his fourth solo album Out of the Storm later that year. Also in 1974 he made a guest appearance on the title track of Frank Zappa's album Apostrophe. Bruce was credited with bass and for co-writing the song. However, when asked about Zappa in a 1992 interview Bruce tried to change the subject and jokingly insisted that he had played only cello parts. In 1973 Bruce recorded bass guitar for Lou Reed's Berlin album, playing on all but two tracks.
A 1975 tour was lined up to support the Out of the Storm album with a band featuring former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor and jazz keyboard player Carla Bley, with whom he had collaborated in 1971 on Escalator over the Hill. The tour was documented on Live '75 (at Manchester's Free Trade Hall),[9] but it ended with Taylor's departure, and no studio album was completed.
In 1977 Bruce formed a new band with drummer Simon Phillips and keyboardist Tony Hymas. The group recorded an album, called How's Tricks. A world tour followed, but the album was a commercial failure.[2] The follow-up album Jet Set Jewel, while since commercially released, was rejected by Bruce's record label RSO upon its initial completion as not being marketable, and RSO ultimately dropped Bruce from their roster in 1978. In 1979 Bruce toured with members from the Mahavishnu Orchestra, reuniting him with John McLaughlin, and introducing him to drummer Billy Cobham. A 3-CD collection of his 1970s BBC recordings, entitled Spirit, was released in 2008.
1980s
By 1979, Bruce's drug habit had reached such a level that he had lost most of his money. Bruce contributed as a session musician to recordings by Cozy Powell, Gary Moore and Jon Anderson to raise money. By 1980 his career was back on track with his new band, Jack Bruce & Friends, consisting of drummer Billy Cobham, guitarist Clem Clempson, and keyboardist/guitarist David Sancious. After releasing an album, I've Always Wanted to Do This, at the end of 1980, they undertook a long tour to support the record, but it was not a commercial success and they disbanded. In the early 1980s, he also joined up to play with friends from the Alexis Korner days in Rocket 88, the back-to-the-roots band that Ian Stewart had arranged, and Bruce appears on the album of the same name, recorded live in Germany in 1980. They also recorded a "live in the studio" album called Blues & Boogie Explosion for the German audiophile record label Jeton. That year he also collaborated on the Soft Machine album Land of Cockayne (1981).
In 1981, Bruce collaborated with guitarist Robin Trower and released two power trio albums, BLT and Truce, the first of which was a minor hit in the United States.[2] By 1983 Bruce was out of contract with the major record companies, and he released his next solo album, Automatic, only on a minor German label, Intercord. A European tour followed to promote the album enlisting Bruce Gary from The Knack (who had also played in Jack Bruce's 1975 band) on drums and Sancious from his 1980 band (Jack Bruce & Friends) on guitar and keyboards. In 1982 Bruce played with a short-lived ensemble A Gathering of Minds comprising Billy Cobham, Allan Holdsworth, Didier Lockwood and David Sancious at Montreux. In 1983 he sang on tracks 5–6 of the Allan Holdsworth album Road Games.
In 1983 Bruce began working with the Latin/world music producer Kip Hanrahan, and released the collaborative albums Desire Develops an Edge, Vertical's Currency, A Few Short Notes from the End Run, Exotica and All Roads Are Made of the Flesh. They were all critically successful, and in 2001 he went on to form his own band using Hanrahan's famous Cuban rhythm section. Other than his partnership with lyricist Pete Brown, the musical relationship with Hanrahan has been the most consistent and long-lasting of his career.
In 1985 he sang lead and played blues harp on the song "Silver Bullet" with Anton Fier's Golden Palominos. It appears on the album Visions of Excess. In 1986 he re-recorded the Cream song "I Feel Free" and released it as a single to support an advertising campaign for the Renault 21 motor car. A solo album, Something Els, recorded in Germany between 1986 and 1992, reunited him with Eric Clapton, and brought belated, but widespread critical acclaim.[10]
1990s
In 1989, Bruce began recording material with Ginger Baker and released another solo album, A Question of Time.[2] Baker and Bruce toured the United States at turn of the decade. Bruce played at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1990, and was invited by Irish blues rock performer, Rory Gallagher (who had a long-standing relationship with Bruce, having supported Cream's farewell concert in the band Taste in 1968) to perform a couple of songs together on stage. In 1991 he was one of the supporting musicians for Vivian Stanshall's solo show "Rawlinson Dog-ends", but quit over a lack of adequate rehearsals.[11]
In 1993 Baker appeared, along with a host of former Bruce band colleagues, at a special concert in Cologne to celebrate Bruce's 50th birthday. A special guest was another Irish blues-rock guitarist Gary Moore. The concert recordings with Moore were released as the live double album Cities of the Heart. On the back of this successful gig Bruce, Baker and Moore formed the power trio BBM, and their subsequent (and only) album Around the Next Dream was a top ten hit in the UK.[2] However, the old Bruce/Baker arguments arose again and the subsequent tour was cut short and the band broke up. A low-key solo album, Monkjack, followed in 1995, featuring Bruce on piano and vocals accompanied by Funkadelic organist Bernie Worrell.
Bruce then began work producing and arranging the soundtrack to the independently produced Scottish film The Slab Boys with Lulu, Edwyn Collins, Eddi Reader and the Proclaimers. The soundtrack album appeared in 1997. In 1997 he returned to touring as a member of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band, which also featured Peter Frampton on guitar. At the gig in Denver, Colorado the band was joined on stage by Ginger Baker, and Bruce, Baker and Frampton played a short set of Cream classics. He continued to tour with Starr through 2000.
2000s
In 2001 Bruce reappeared with a band featuring Bernie Worrell, Vernon Reid of Living Colour on guitar and Kip Hanrahan's three-piece Latin rhythm section. Hanrahan also produced the accompanying album Shadows in the Air, which included a reunion with Eric Clapton on a new version of "Sunshine of Your Love". The band released another Hanrahan produced studio album, More Jack than God, in 2003, and a live DVD, Live at Canterbury Fayre.
Bruce had suffered a period of declining health, after many years of addictions which he finally beat with clinical treatment, and in 2003 was diagnosed with liver cancer.[12] In September 2003, he underwent a liver transplant, which was almost fatal, as his body initially rejected the new organ.[13] He recovered, and in 2004 reappeared to perform "Sunshine of Your Love" at a Rock Legends concert in Germany organised by the singer Mandoki.
In May 2005, he reunited with former Cream bandmates Clapton and Baker for a series of well-received concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall,[14] released as the album Royal Albert Hall London May 2–3–5–6 2005, and New York's Madison Square Garden.
In between the UK and US Cream dates he also played live with Gary Moore and drummer Gary Husband at the Dick Heckstall-Smith tribute concert in London.
Subsequent concert appearances were sparse because of recovery after the transplant, but in 2006 Bruce returned to the live arena with a show of Cream and solo classics performed with the German HR (Hessischer Rundfunk) Big Band. This was released on CD in Germany in 2007. In 2007, he made a brief concert appearance, opening a new rehearsal hall named in his honour at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow with Clem Clempson, keyboard player Ronnie Leahy and Husband.
In 2008, Bruce collaborated again with guitarist Robin Trower on the album Seven Moons. It also featured Husband.
In May 2008 Bruce was 65 years old and to commemorate this milestone two box sets of recordings were released. Spirit is a three-CD collection of Bruce's BBC recordings from the 1970s. Can You Follow? is a six-CD retrospective anthology released by the Esoteric label in the UK. This anthology is a wide ranging collection covering his music from 1963 to 2003 and, aside from his work with Kip Hanrahan, is a comprehensive overview of his career.
Improved health led to Bruce playing a series of live outdoor concerts across the US starting in July 2008 as part of the Hippiefest Tour. He was supported by members of the late Who bassist John Entwistle's The John Entwistle Band, and headlined at a tribute concert to the bassist.
In November 2008 he recorded a concert in Birmingham, England for Radio Broadcast with the BBC Big Band, where he again played the Big Band arrangements of his classic songs. In December he was reunited with Ginger Baker at the drummer's Lifetime Achievement Award concert in London. They played jazz classics with saxophonist Courtney Pine and for the first time in 40 years played the Graham Bond–Cream classic "Traintime".
The same month, Bruce, with guitarist Vernon Reid, drummer Cindy Blackman and organist John Medeski played a series of Blue Note Club tribute concerts to The Tony Williams Lifetime in Japan. These shows were broadcast in high definition on television in Japan.
In 2009 a series of concerts was performed with Trower and Husband in Europe. Proposed dates in the US in April were cancelled because of a further bout of ill health. Bruce recovered and the band played summer concerts in Italy, Norway and the UK during 2009. This promoted the release of the Seven Moons live CD and DVD, recorded in February during the European leg of the tour in Nijmegen, Netherlands.
During the Scottish dates of the 2009 tour Bruce was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Glasgow Caledonian University for services to the culture of Glasgow and music in general.
In August 2009, the 1983 Bruce solo album Automatic was released on CD. With this release, all his solo albums from his 1969 debut Songs for a Tailor onwards have become available on CD as well. In addition, all the discs up to and including How's Tricks contain previously unreleased material.
In October 2009, Bruce performed at the 50th anniversary of Ronnie Scott's Club with the Ronnie Scott's Blues Band.
2010s
Composing Himself: Jack Bruce The Authorised Biography by Harry Shapiro was released by Jawbone Press in February 2010. Shapiro had previously written biographies of Bruce collaborators Alexis Korner, Graham Bond and Eric Clapton. The book followed biographies from his Cream bandmates Clapton (Clapton, 2007) and Baker (Hellraiser, 2009). His songwriting partner, Pete Brown's, biography White Rooms & Imaginary Westerns was published in September 2010. They each have differing recollections of forming Cream, playing and writing together.
On 14 January, at the 2011 North American Music Merchants Show, Bruce became only the third recipient of the International Bassist Award, a lifetime achievement award for bassists, after Jaco Pastorius and Nathan Watts.
His first independent CD release, Live at the Milkyway, Amsterdam 2001, featuring his Latin-based band of the time, was issued in October 2010. The double album received an official worldwide release, distributed by EMI in February 2011. To support this release Bruce again played four dates in London at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Ronnie Scott's Blues Experience, followed by a further ten dates across the UK with the band. On 4 June 2011, Bruce played a special concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, which was celebrating its 60th anniversary. The evening celebrated the 50th anniversary of the blues in Great Britain, and Bruce played with his Big Blues Band and special guest Joe Bonamassa.
Bruce started 2012 playing the Gerry Rafferty tribute concert in Glasgow, followed by a date with the traditional Celtic band Lau. BBC Scotland recorded a one-hour special on Bruce, which also included a performance with Lau. The completed documentary Jack Bruce – The Man behind the Bass was transmitted in February 2012 by BBC Scotland. It featured new interviews with Bruce, Clapton, Baker and Brown. It was transmitted again on November 9, 2014 on BBC2 Scotland and on November 17, 2014 on BBC4 in the UK.[15]
February 2012 saw Bruce playing in Havana, Cuba, along with guitarist Phil Manzanera, supporting the mambo band of Augusto Enriquez. March saw another residency at Ronnie Scott's in London supported by his Big Blues Band, followed by a UK tour. The concert at the Stables, Milton Keynes on 18 March was due to be recorded as an Instant Live CD release, but technical issues prevented this. The following evenings performance at the same location was recorded and a 2CD version issued by Instant Live.
Spectrum Road was released in June 2012 by the US jazz record label Palmetto Records[16] and was accompanied by a series of dates at large jazz festivals in North America and Europe throughout June and July.
Bruce released Silver Rails, in March 2014 on the Esoteric Antenna label, his first solo studio album in over a decade.[17] Silver Rails was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, produced and mixed by Rob Cass and features contributions from Cream, lyricist Pete Brown, Kip Hanrahan and wife Margrit Seyffer as well as musicians Robin Trower, Cindy Blackman, Phil Manzanera, Uli Jon Roth, John Medeski and Bernie Marsden.[18] The deluxe version of the album featured a behind the scenes documentary "The Making of Silver Rails" which was filmed on location at the studios and directed by Bruce's daughter Kyla Simone Bruce. This film was shown on the BBC Channel Four website on the BBC iPlayer on November 17 2014 for 30 days[19] Bruce's son Malcolm Bruce pre-produced the album and played guitar on several tracks, while Bruce's daughter Aruba Red was featured on "Hidden Cities" singing backing vocals.
Personal life
In 1964 Bruce married Janet Godfrey, who had been the secretary of the Graham Bond Organisation fan club and had collaborated with Bruce on two songs written for the group.[3] Together, Godfrey and Bruce had two sons, Jonas (Jo) Bruce, who grew up to play keyboards in his father's band and formed a band called AfroCelts, and Malcolm Bruce, who grew up to play the guitar with his father and played with Ginger Baker's son, Kofi. Jonas died in 1997 from respiratory problems.
In 1982 he married his second wife, Margrit Seyffer.[20] With her he had two daughters, Natascha a.k.a. Aruba Red and Kyla, and a son Corin.[21]
Death
Bruce died of liver disease on 25 October 2014, in Suffolk, England, aged 71.[22] His publicist Claire Singers said: "He died today at his home in Suffolk surrounded by his family."[23] He is survived by his wife, Margrit, as well as four children; Malcolm Bruce, Aruba Red, Kyla Simone Bruce, Corin Bruce and granddaughter Maya Sage.[22]
His funeral was held in London on 5 November 2014 and was attended by Clapton, Baker and noted musicians Phil Manzanera, Gary Brooker, Vernon Reid and Nitin Sawhney among others. Dozens assembled at the Golders Green Crematorium paying a last tribute singing "Morning Has Broken", "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Theme for an Imaginary Western". Bruce's remains were later cremated[24] and then buried at a private family ceremony on 31 December 2014 at the Golders Green Crematorium.[25]
Tributes and legacy
Writing in The Sunday Times in 2008, Dan Cairns had suggested: "many consider him to be one of the greatest bass players of all time."[26] Steve Anderson, writing in The Independent said ".. he became one of the most famous and influential bass players in rock."[27] Roger Waters of Pink Floyd recently described Bruce as "probably the most musically gifted bass player who's ever been."[22] Eric Clapton posted on Facebook about Bruce "He was a great musician and composer, and a tremendous inspiration to me" and composed an acoustic song in his honour[28] and Ginger Baker wrote "I am very sad to learn of the loss of a fine man, Jack Bruce... My thoughts & wishes are with his family at this difficult time."[29] Guitarist Leslie West, of rock group Mountain, posted on Facebook, "It is with great sadness that one of the worlds greatest musicians and bass players, who I had the honor of playing with in West Bruce and Laing, Jack Bruce has died. I was hoping somehow that we might have gotten together one last time. Rest in Peace my friend."[30] Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi said on Twitter that Bruce had been his favourite bass player, saying "He was a hero to so many" and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler regarded him as his "biggest influence and favourite bass player".[31] Guitarist John McLaughlin said on Twitter, "Very sad to have lost my old friend Jack Bruce."[32] Long-standing collaborator Robin Trower wrote on Facebook, "It has always been a great source of pride to me to have made music with Jack (one of the few musicians that can be truly called a force of nature) and Jack and I were proud of that music. He will be greatly missed".[33] Fellow bassist Billy Cox also posted a tribute to Bruce on Facebook.[34] Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick said, "There was a time when Jack Bruce was synonymous with the bass guitar in rock history, when he was widely revered as the best there was on four strings."[35] Rush bassist Geddy Lee wrote: “The sudden passing of Jack Bruce is terribly sad news. One of the greatest rock bassists to ever live and a true and profound inspiration to countless musicians. He was one of my first bass heroes and was a major influence on my playing and my music. My heartfelt condolences to his family and fans.”[36] In March 2015, a tribute concert at London's Roundhouse scheduled for October 2015 was announced. Guest artists confirmed were, Joss Stone, Phil Manzanera, Ginger Baker, Ian Anderson and Mark King and musical directer Nitin Sawhney.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Bruce
Es war zu erwarten - trotzdem bin ich unendlich traurig
B. B. King (* 16. September 1925 in Itta Bena, Mississippi, bürgerlich Riley B. King + 14.05.2015 in Las Vegas) war einer der einflussreichsten Blues-Gitarristen und -Sänger und einer der „drei Kings des elektrischen Blues“, neben Albert King und Freddie King. Das „B. B.“ in seinem Namen steht für Blues Boy, was wiederum eine Verkürzung von Beale Street Blues Boy ist, seinem Moderationspseudonym beim Radiosender WDIA.
Kindheit und Jugend
B. B. King wurde am 16. September 1925 als Riley B. King in Itta Bena, Mississippi, geboren. Als er vier Jahre alt war, trennten sich seine Eltern und er wuchs fortan in Kilmichael bei seinen Großeltern mütterlicherseits auf. Als er neun Jahre alt war, starb seine Mutter. 1940 zog er für zwei Jahre zu seinem Vater nach Lexington (Mississippi). Danach kehrte er nach Kilmichael zurück, zog dann weiter nach Indianola und landete schließlich 1946 in Memphis (Tennessee).
Als Kind und Jugendlicher sang er Gospelmusik, war aber auch begeistert von Bluesmusikern wie Blind Lemon Jefferson oder Lonnie Johnson, deren Musik er auf Schellackplatten seiner Tante hörte. Zu seinen weiteren Vorbildern zählten vor allem der Bluesgitarrist T-Bone Walker, aber auch Jazzmusiker wie Charlie Christian und Django Reinhardt.
Memphis
In Memphis traf B.B.King einen entfernten Verwandten seiner Mutter, den Bluesmusiker Bukka White, der ihm eine Arbeit als Schweißer besorgen konnte. Zusammen mit Walter Horton gründete King schließlich ein Blues-Duo und gemeinsam traten sie in Juke Joints und Parks auf. Nach acht Monaten in Memphis kehrte King jedoch zurück nach Indianola. Er zweifelte an seinem instrumentalen Können, da es seiner Meinung nach bessere Musiker in Memphis gab.
Trotzdem kehrte er Ende 1948 nach Memphis zurück und lernte in West Memphis den Gitarristen Robert Lockwood kennen, mit dessen Hilfe er sein Gitarrenspiel wesentlich verbessern konnte. Anfang 1949 traf er Sonny Boy Williamson II., der ihm gestattete, in seiner Radioshow auf KWEM ein Stück zu singen. Durch Bukka White erfuhr King kurze Zeit später von der Radiostation WDIA. Im April 1949 bekam er dort seine eigene – von Lucky Strike gesponserte – 15-minütige Sendung, in der er live spielte. Im folgenden Jahr übernahm er als DJ den Sepia Swing Club auf WDIA. Nun hatte er Zugriff auf Tausende von Platten, die er intensiv anhörte und auch nachzuspielen versuchte.
Erste Aufnahmen
Seine ersten Aufnahmen machte B. B. King 1949 für Bullet Records in Nashville. Die beiden daraus resultierenden Singles verkauften sich jedoch sehr schlecht und gaben seiner musikalischen Karriere keinen Anstoß. Während eines Besuchs der Radiostation WDIA im Juni 1950 hörten die Brüder Jules und Saul Bihari von Modern Records B. B. King und waren so begeistert, dass sie ihn für ihr Sublabel RPM unter Vertrag nahmen. Modern Records mit Sitz in Los Angeles zählte zwar damals zu den führenden unabhängigen Plattenlabels im Bereich des Jazz und Blues, verfügte jedoch in Memphis über kein eigenes Aufnahmestudio. Deshalb fanden die ersten Aufnahmesessions mit B. B. King für RPM im damals neuen Studio von Sam Phillips statt.[4]
Kings Band bestand zu dieser Zeit aus Richard Sanders (Saxofon), Johnny Ace (Klavier), einem Bassisten namens Wiley und Earl Forest (Schlagzeug). Diese frühen Einspielungen waren zwar innovativ, aber kommerziell wenig erfolgreich.
Erste Erfolge
Nachdem die Biharis sich Mitte 1951 aufgrund geschäftlicher Konflikte mit Sam Phillips überworfen hatten, fand im September 1951 in einer Schule und mit portablem Aufnahmegerät jene Session statt, die B. B. Kings ersten Hit 3 o’Clock Blues hervorbrachte, der Platz Nr. 1 der R&B-Charts wurde. Aufgrund des großen Erfolgs dieser Single folgte eine Tournee mit Tiny Bradshaws Orchester. Wenig später schloss sich B. B. King mit der Band des Saxofonisten Bill Harvey zusammen, die dann bis 1955 seine Tour-Band blieb.
1952 bzw. 1953 hatte King mit You Know I Love You und Please Love Me zwei weitere Nr-1-R&B-Hits, die seiner Karriere einen entscheidenden Auftrieb gaben. Am 24. April 1954 zierte sein Bild die Titelseite des Cash Box Magazins. Einen Monat später gab King sein Debüt mit Bill Harvey’s Orchester im Apollo Theater in Harlem. Unter Produzent Johnny Pate wurde von King der Bluesklassiker Everyday I Have the Blues am 18. und 19. August 1954 in den alten Capitol-Studios (Los Angeles, Melrose Avenue) in der Besetzung B. B King (Gesang/Gitarre), Millard Lee (Piano), Floyd Newman (Saxophon) und Kenny Sands (Trompete) aufgenommen. Im Dezember 1954 erschien dann Everyday I Have the Blues / Sneakin’ Around (RPM #421) und drang bis auf Rang 8 der Rhythm & Blues-Hitparade vor. Nach Veröffentlichung berichtete Billboard von anfangs hohen Plattenumsätzen,[5] die über die Jahre zu über 4 Millionen Exemplaren anwuchsen.[6] Damit avancierte Everyday I Have the Blues zu den meistverkauften Bluessongs aller Zeiten.
Noch im Dezember 1954 folgte eine Westcoast Tournee. B. B. King war nun aufgestiegen zum nationalen Star, ganz dem Blues verschrieben und kaum interessiert an der sich bereits abzeichnenden Rock-’n’-Roll-Revolution.
Quer durch die USA
Anfang 1955 brach King wegen geschäftlicher Differenzen mit Bill Harvey und seinem Manager Morris Merritt. Kurzerhand stellte King eine neue Band – die B. B. King Revue – unter der Leitung von Millard Lee zusammen. Die Band bestand zunächst aus Calvin Owens und Kenneth Sands (Trompeten), Lawrence Burdine (Altsaxofon), George Coleman (Tenorsaxofon), Floyd Newman (Baritonsaxofon), Millard Lee (Klavier), George Joyner (Bass) und Earl Forest und Ted Curry (Schlagzeug). Onzie Horne als geschulter Musiker wurde Kings Arrangeur und half ihm, seine musikalischen Ideen umzusetzen.
Es folgten weitere Tourneen quer durch die USA mit Auftritten in den großen Theatern der Städte (wie etwa Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit und St. Louis), sowie zahlreiche Gigs in den kleineren Clubs und Juke Joints der Südstaaten. King tourte mittlerweile den kompletten Chitlin’ Circuit und war 1956 mit 342 Konzerten recht ausgebucht.
Nebenher gründete er im gleichen Jahr sein eigenes Plattenlabel Blues Boys Kingdom mit Sitz an der Beale Street in Memphis. Dort produzierte er unter anderem Künstler wie Millard Lee oder Levi Seabury. Die Plattenfirma scheiterte letztlich daran, dass King seinen eigenen Verpflichtungen als Musiker nachkommen musste und deshalb keine Zeit hatte, eine Firma zu leiten. Dazu kamen seine Defizite als Geschäftsmann. Seine Plattenaufnahmen machte B. B. King nun fast ausschließlich im Modern Studio in Los Angeles mit Musikern unter der Leitung von Maxwell Davis.
Blues und Pop
Das Aufkommen des Rock ’n’ Roll führte schon Mitte der 1950er Jahre zu einem enormen Popularitätsverlust des Blues in der afroamerikanischen Gesellschaft. Obwohl King weiterhin Hits vorweisen konnte, stellte das Jahr 1957 für ihn den Beginn eines ruhigeren Karriereabschnitts dar. Um Kings Popularitätsverlust entgegenzuwirken, versuchten die Biharis ihn in den Bereich der Popmusik zu drängen. Zu dieser Zeit coverte er unter anderem Tennessee Ernie Fords Sixteen Tons und nahm auch den Song Bim Bam auf. Auch weitere Versuche mit Popballaden scheiterten und brachten nicht den kommerziellen Erfolg früherer Tage zurück. Nach einem kurzen Zwischenspiel bei Chess Records verlängerten die Biharis 1958 Kings Vertrag – ein Zeichen dafür, dass sie nach wie vor auf ihn setzten. Ab diesem Zeitpunkt erschienen B. B. Kings Singles auf dem neu gegründeten Sublabel Kent Records.
Sweet Sixteen
Zu Beginn der 1960er-Jahre war B. B. King einer der wenigen Bluesmusiker, die nach wie vor regelmäßig in den R&B-Charts vertreten waren. So landete er im Frühjahr 1960 mit seiner Interpretation des Big Joe Turner Klassikers Sweet Sixteen sogar nochmal einen No. 2 Hit in den R&B Charts. Während andere Bluesmusiker wie Muddy Waters oder John Lee Hooker infolge des Folk-Musik Booms ein neues, vor allem weißes Publikum fanden, blieb B. B. King seiner angestammten Zuhörerschaft treu. Anstatt ein trendiges Folk-Blues-Album einzuspielen, trat er weiterhin mit seiner 13-köpfigen Band in Hauptzentren der afroamerikanischen Kultur, wie etwa dem Apollo Theater in Harlem auf. In Europa waren seine Platten kaum erhältlich, da sich die Bihari-Brüder beim Lizenzieren ihres Katalogs recht schwer taten.
Crown Records
Allerdings hatte B. B. King mittlerweile gute Gründe, Modern Records zu verlassen. Da die Biharis seine Alben auf dem Billig-Sublabel Crown Records für 99 Cent das Stück veröffentlichten, landeten diese LPs meist in den Ramschkisten der Läden und wurden vom Billboard Magazine völlig ignoriert. Infolgedessen fanden diese Alben (zwölf Stück zwischen 1957 und 1963) auch keinerlei Anerkennung in der breiten Öffentlichkeit. Weiterhin beanspruchten die Biharis bis zu drei Viertel der fließenden Tantiemen aus B. B. Kings Platten, indem sie den Komponistenangaben (in der Regel King) eigene Pseudonyme wie Jules Taub, Joe Josea oder Sam Ling hinzufügten. Diese illegale Praxis des Cut In und die Veröffentlichungspolitik des Labels führten dazu, dass B. B. King Modern Records den Rücken kehrte und auf Anraten seiner Musikerkollegen Lloyd Price und Fats Domino im Januar 1962 einen Vertrag beim damaligen Major-Label ABC-Paramount unterschrieb.
Live at the Regal
Seine neue Plattenfirma wusste zunächst nicht genau, welche Richtung B. B. Kings musikalische Laufbahn einschlagen würde. Die beiden anderen R&B-Stars des Labels Ray Charles und Lloyd Price hatten bereits ihre Nischen irgendwo im weiten Bereich zwischen Pop und R&B gefunden. Doch B. B. King war ein reiner Bluesmusiker; ein Übertritt ins Pop- oder Soul-Lager schien nicht möglich. Nach einigen Singles und zwei von Johnny Pate produzierten Alben, veröffentlichte ABC-Paramount 1965 das Album Live at the Regal, das ein Überraschungserfolg wurde. Mitgeschnitten im Chicagoer Regal Theater am 21. November 1964, präsentierte es einen sehr lebhaften und mitreißenden Auftritt Kings vor einem afroamerikanischen Publikum.
Bereits seit seinem Weggang von Modern Records hatten die Bihari-Brüder parallel zu den ABC-Veröffentlichungen weitere King-Titel aus ihrem Archiv herausgebracht, zum Teil mit beachtlichem Erfolg. Rock Me Baby – im Sommer 1964 als Single auf dem Kent-Label erschienen – schaffte es bis auf Platz 34 der US-Popcharts. Angestachelt durch den Erfolg von Live at the Regal folgte eine Flut weiterer paralleler Veröffentlichungen auf dem Kent-Label. Zur Verwirrung der Fans waren das – neben bislang unveröffentlichten Archivtiteln – auch alte Titel, die man durch Overdubs in ein neues, modernes Gewand zu hüllen versuchte.
The Thrill Is Gone
Etwa um 1966/67 stellte B. B. King fest, dass sich die Zusammensetzung seines Publikums langsam zu ändern begann. Während die afroamerikanische Jugend sich vom Blues distanzierte, interessierten sich plötzlich immer mehr weiße Jugendliche für Kings Musik und besuchten seine Konzerte. Das zu dieser Zeit erschienene Buch Urban Blues von Charles Keil enthält ein Kapitel über B. B. King und stellte ein Pionierwerk dar. 1967 wurde Sidney Seidenberg Kings neuer Manager. Sein Hauptziel war es, mit einem neuen Konzept B. B. King einem breiteren Publikum zugänglich zu machen.
Fortan trat er auch bei Rockfestivals und in Zentren der Hippiekultur – wie etwa dem Fillmore West – auf. Obwohl er unter Seidenbergs Management einige Hits auf dem ABC-Sublabel Bluesway Records hatte, dauerte es fast weitere drei Jahre, bis das Konzept vollständig aufging und B. B. King mit The Thrill Is Gone seinen bis dahin größten Hit (Platz 15 in den US-Popcharts) landen konnte. 1969 spielte B. B. King neben Ike & Tina Turner bei der US-Tournee der Rolling Stones im Vorprogramm. Im folgenden Jahr war er der erste Bluesmusiker, der in der Tonight Show auftrat, und im Oktober 1970 folgte ein Auftritt in der Ed Sullivan Show.
Internationale Erfolge
Nach dem Erfolg von The Thrill Is Gone spielte B. B. King 1970 das Album Indianola Mississippi Seeds mit weißen Rockmusikern wie Carole King und Leon Russell ein. Dies war eine Idee seines Produzenten Bill Szymezyk. Insgesamt klang das Album sanfter und weicher als seine vorherigen Veröffentlichungen und enthielt mit Chains and Things, Ask Me No Question und Hummingbird drei Hit-Singles. 1971 nahm B. B. King in London mit britischen Gastmusikern wie Alexis Korner, Peter Green, Steve Winwood und anderen das Album In London auf. Hier spielte er zum ersten Mal seit 1946 bei einem Titel wieder eine akustische Gitarre.
1972 nahm B. B. King an einem Konzert teil, von dem er im Anschluss sagte: „Das war das beste Konzert, das ich jemals gegeben habe.“ Zwei Dokumentarfilmer hatten ein Filmprojekt mit Insassen von Sing Sing, dem großen New Yorker Gefängnis, ins Leben gerufen und es ein Jahr lang begleitet (Sing Sing Thanksgiving). Als Abschlussarbeit war dieses Gefängniskonzert zum amerikanischen Thanksgiving geplant, zu dem viele Künstler eingeladen wurden, aber nur wenige zugesagt hatten. Die Musiker waren The Voices of East Harlem, Joan Baez und eben B. B. King.
Im folgenden Jahr spielte B. B. King in Philadelphia das Album To Know You Is To Love You ein. Dieses Album war stark beeinflusst von der Soul-Musik jener Tage. Begleitet wurde King unter anderem von den Memphis Horns sowie bei dem Titelstück von Stevie Wonder.
Vor dem Boxkampf um den Weltmeistertitel zwischen Muhammad Ali und George Foreman im Stadion von Kinshasa, Zaire, im Oktober 1974 („Rumble in the Jungle“) trat B.B. King mit seiner Band auf. Dieses Konzert wurde auf einer DVD veröffentlicht.
Mit U2 spielte er für deren Album Rattle and Hum den Song When Love Comes to Town ein. Außerdem nahm B. B. King an der darauffolgenden „Lovetown“-Tour im Jahr 1989 teil. Im Jahr 2000 produzierte er mit Eric Clapton das Album Riding with the King . Über seine Jazz-Kollegen Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis und Charlie Parker äußerte sich King einmal: „was die machen, geht schlicht über meinen Horizont“.
King besitzt mehrere Bluesclubs in den USA, unter anderem an der Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, in New Orleans und in Nashville, in denen er hin und wieder auftritt. Unter seinem Namen werden auch Merchandising-Artikel wie Barbecue-Zubehör und Gitarrensaiten vermarktet. Er unternahm regelmäßig ausgedehnte Tourneen und spielte mitunter über 200 Konzerte pro Jahr. Seit 2004 tritt B. B. King, der seit über 60 Jahren fast ununterbrochen unterwegs war, altersbedingt und aus gesundheitlichen Gründen seltener auf. Im Sommer 2005 unternahm er eine „Final Farewell Tour“ durch Europa. Aber auch 2006 trat er in den Vereinigten Staaten und erneut in Europa auf und 2009 folgte eine weitere Europatournee.
In den 1980ern trat er wie viele andere Stars in der erfolgreichen Bill Cosby Show auf, und zwar in der Folge Der Heirats-Blues.
1980 wurde B. B. King in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen, 1987 in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[7] 2004 erhielt er den inoffiziellen „Nobelpreis für Musik“, den Polar Music Prize. 2008 wurde in seiner Heimatstadt Indianola das B. B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center eröffnet, dessen Ausstellung die Karriereschritte B. B. Kings darstellt.[8]
Das Rolling Stone Magazine listet ihn auf Platz 3 der 100 großartigsten Gitarristen aller Zeiten.[9]
Lucille
B. B. King spielt ein Gibson-Gitarrenmodell, dem er traditionell seit den 1950er-Jahren den Kosenamen „Lucille“ gibt. Der Grund dafür liegt in einem Erlebnis, das er 1949 in einem Musik-Club im US-Bundesstaat Arkansas hatte. Bei einem Konzert kam es zu einem Brand. Der bereits geflüchtete King lief zurück, um seine Gitarre zu retten. Als er erfuhr, dass der Brand versehentlich durch zwei Männer entstanden war, die um eine Frau namens Lucille stritten, nannte er die Gitarre Lucille. Das sollte ihn daran erinnern, so etwas nie wieder zu tun.[10]
Eine Besonderheit in der Bauart von Kings Gitarre liegt darin, dass sie zwar halbresonant ist, aber keine charakteristischen F-Löcher hat. Außerdem verfügt das Modell über eine erweiterte Klangregelung namens Varitone-Drehschalter. Seit 1999 bewirbt B. B. King auch ein anders konstruiertes Modell Gibsons, die Little Lucille.
Gegenüber der Presse erklärte King einmal: „Abgesehen von richtigem Sex mit einer richtigen Frau gibt es nichts, was mir solch eine innere Ruhe gibt wie Lucille“. Laut eigener Aussage besitzt B. B. King insgesamt sechzehn Exemplare des Gitarrenmodells.[10] Einige seiner Gitarren sind auch im Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, ausgestellt.
Er war zweimal verheiratet und hat fünfzehn Kinder.
The Life Of Riley
Im Mai 2013 kam der Dokumentarfilm The Life Of Riley (Großbritannien, 2012, 119 Min.) des Regisseurs Jon Brewer in einer OmU-Fassung in deutsche Kinos, der sich Kings Leben widmet und im Titel auf dessen eigentlichen Vornamen Bezug nimmt.[11] Erzählt wird Kings Lebensgeschichte darin von Oscar-Preisträger Morgan Freeman und neben King selbst kommen Zeitzeugen sowie Musikerkolleg(inn)en wie Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Bono, Carlos Santana oder Mick Jagger zu Wort.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._B._King
B.B.
King (born Riley B. King; September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015) was an
American blues musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No. 6 on its 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time (previously ranked No. 3 in the 2003 edition of the same list),[2] and he was ranked No. 17 in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time".[3] According to Edward M. Komara, King "introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed."[4] King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. King was also inducted into 2014 class of the R&B Music Hall of Fame. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of Blues", and one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and Freddie King).[5][6][7] King was also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at 250–300 concerts per year until his seventies. In 1956 it was noted that he appeared at 342 shows. King continued to appear at 100 shows a year through the end of his career.
Over the years, King developed one of the world's most identifiable guitar styles. He borrowed from Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, integrating his precise and complex vocal-like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarists' vocabulary. His economy and phrasing has been a model for thousands of players.[8] King mixed blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a unique sound. In King's words, "When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille."
Early lifeRiley B. King was born on September 16, 1925,[8] on a cotton plantation near the town of Itta Bena, Mississippi,[9][8] the son of sharecroppers Albert and Nora Ella King.[9] He considered the nearby city of Indianola, Mississippi to be his home.[citation needed] When Riley was 4 years old, his mother left his father for another man, and the boy was raised by his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael, Mississippi.[9]
While young, King sang in the gospel choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael. It seems that at the age of 12, he purchased his first guitar for $15.00,[9] although another source indicates he was given his first guitar by Bukka White, his mother's first cousin (King's grandmother and White's mother were sisters).[10] In 1943, King left Kilmichael to work as a tractor driver and play guitar with the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi, performing at area churches and on WGRM in Greenwood, Mississippi.[11][12]
In 1946, King followed Bukka White to Memphis, Tennessee. White took him in for the next ten months.[9] However, King shortly returned to Mississippi, where he decided to prepare himself better for the next visit, and returned to West Memphis, Arkansas, two years later in 1948. He performed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM in West Memphis, where he began to develop an audience. King's appearances led to steady engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis and later to a ten-minute spot on the Memphis radio station WDIA. King's Spot became so popular, it was expanded and became the Sepia Swing Club.
Initially he worked at WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, gaining the nickname Beale Street Blues Boy, which was later shortened to Blues Boy and finally to B.B.[13][14][15] It was there that he first met T-Bone Walker. King said, "Once I'd heard him for the first time, I knew I'd have to have [an electric guitar] myself. 'Had' to have one, short of stealing!"[16]
Career
1949–2005In 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records. Many of King's early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records. Before his RPM contract, King had debuted on Bullet Records by issuing the single "Miss Martha King" (1949), which did not chart well. "My very first recordings [in 1949] were for a company out of Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalled. "I had horns that very first session. I had Phineas Newborn on piano; his father played drums, and his brother, Calvin, played guitar with me. I had Tuff Green on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player. The Newborn family were the house band at the famous Plantation Inn in West Memphis."[17]
King assembled his own band; the B.B. King Review, under the leadership of Millard Lee. The band initially consisted of Calvin Owens and Kenneth Sands (trumpet), Lawrence Burdin (alto saxophone), George Coleman (tenor saxophone),[18] Floyd Newman (baritone saxophone), Millard Lee (piano), George Joyner (bass) and Earl Forest and Ted Curry (drums). Onzie Horne was a trained musician elicited as an arranger to assist King with his compositions. By his own admission, he cannot play chords well[19] and always relies on improvisation. This was followed by tours across the USA with performances in major theaters in cities such as Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and St. Louis, as well as numerous gigs in small clubs and juke joints of the southern US states.
In the winter of 1949, King played at a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas. In order to heat the hall, a barrel half-filled with kerosene was lit, a fairly common practice at the time. During a performance, two men began to fight, knocking over the burning barrel and sending burning fuel across the floor. The hall burst into flames, which triggered an evacuation. Once outside, King realized that he had left his guitar inside the burning building. He entered the blaze to retrieve his beloved instrument, a Gibson hollow electric. The next day, King learned that the two men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. King named that first guitar Lucille, as well as every one he owned since that experience, as a reminder never again to do something as stupid as to fight over a woman or run into a burning building.
Following his first Billboard magazine Rhythm and Blues charts number one, "3 O'Clock Blues" (February 1952),[20] B.B. King became one of the most important names in R&B music in the 1950s, amassing an impressive list of hits[15] including "You Know I Love You," "Woke Up This Morning," "Please Love Me," "When My Heart Beats like a Hammer," "Whole Lotta Love," "You Upset Me Baby," "Every Day I Have the Blues", "Sneakin' Around," "Ten Long Years," "Bad Luck," "Sweet Little Angel", "On My Word of Honor," and "Please Accept My Love." This led to a significant increase in his weekly earnings, from about $85 to $2,500,[21] with appearances at major venues such as the Howard Theater in Washington and the Apollo in New York, as well as touring the entire "Chitlin' circuit". 1956 became a record-breaking year, with 342 concerts booked and three recording sessions. That same year he founded his own record label, Blues Boys Kingdom, with headquarters at Beale Street in Memphis. There, among other projects, he produced artists such as Millard Lee and Levi Seabury. In 1962, King signed to ABC-Paramount Records, which was later absorbed into MCA Records, and this hence into his current label, Geffen Records. In November 1964, King recorded the Live at the Regal album at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
King won a 1970 Grammy Award for the song "The Thrill Is Gone";[22] his version became a hit on both the pop and R&B charts, which was rare during that time for an R&B artist. It also gained the number 183 spot in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. He gained further visibility among rock audiences as an opening act on The Rolling Stones' 1969 American Tour. King's mainstream success continued throughout the 1970s with songs like "To Know You is to Love You" and "I Like to Live the Love".
King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2004 he was awarded the international Polar Music Prize, given to artists "in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music."[23]
From the 1980s onward he has continued to maintain a highly visible and active career, appearing on numerous television shows and performing 300 nights a year. In 1988, King reached a new generation of fans with the single "When Love Comes to Town", a collaborative effort between King and the Irish band U2 on their Rattle and Hum album. Also that year King played for the 1988 Republican National Convention at the behest of Lee Atwater, chairman of the Republican Party. King has remained friendly with the Bush Family ever since and in 1990 was awarded the Presidential Medal of the Arts by George H.W. Bush and the Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2008. In 2000, King teamed up with guitarist Eric Clapton to record Riding With the King. In 1998, King appeared in The Blues Brothers 2000, playing the part of the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys, along with Clapton, Dr. John, Koko Taylor and Bo Diddley. King performed a version of "Chains & Things" with Carole King on his box set King of the Blues.
2006–2015: farewell tour and later activitiesIn 2006, King went on a "farewell" world tour, although he remained active afterward during the last years of his life. The tour was partly supported by Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore, with whom King had previously toured and recorded, including the song "Since I Met You Baby". It started in the UK, and continued with performances in the Montreux Jazz Festival and in Zürich at the Blues at Sunset. During his show in Montreux at the Stravinski Hall he jammed with Joe Sample, Randy Crawford, David Sanborn, Gladys Knight, Lella James, Andre Beeka, Earl Thomas, Stanley Clarke, John McLaughlin, Barbara Hendricks and George Duke. The European leg of the Farewell Tour ended in Luxembourg on September 19, 2006, at the D'Coque Arena (support act: Todd Sharpville). In November and December, King played six times in Brazil.
In June 2006, King was present at a memorial of his first radio broadcast at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, where an official marker of the Mississippi Blues Trail was erected. The same month, a groundbreaking was held for a new museum, dedicated to King.[24] in Indianola, Mississippi.[25] The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened on September 13, 2008. In late October 2006, he recorded a concert CD and DVD entitled B.B. King: Live at his B.B. King Blues Clubs in Nashville and Memphis. The four-night production featured his regular B.B. King Blues Band and captured his show as he performs it nightly around the world. It was his first live performance recording in 14 years.
In 2007, King played at Eric Clapton's second Crossroads Guitar Festival (Parts of this performance were subsequently aired in a PBS broadcast and released on the Crossroads II DVD.), contributed the song "Goin' Home", to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (with Ivan Neville's DumpstaPhunk), and "One Shoe Blues" to Sandra Boynton's children's album Blue Moo, accompanied by a pair of sock puppets in the video.
In the summer of 2008, King played at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, the Chicago Blues Festival, and at the Monterey Blues Festival. On the winter, King was the closing act at the 51st Grammy Nomination Concert, and played at The Kennedy Center Honors Awards Show; his performance was in honor of actor Morgan Freeman. Also in 2008 he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame alongside Liza Minnelli and Sir James Galway, and Sirius XM Radio's Bluesville channel was renamed B.B. King's Bluesville.
In Summer 2009, King started a European Tour with concerts in France, Germany, Belgium, Finland and Denmark.
King performed at the Mawazine festival in Rabat, Morocco, on May 27, 2010.[26] In June 2010, King performed at 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival with The Robert Cray Band, Jimmie Vaughan and Eric Clapton. In March 2010, King contributed to Cyndi Lauper's album Memphis Blues, which was released on June 22, 2010.
In 2011, King played at the Glastonbury Music Festival, and in The Royal Albert Hall, London, supported by Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Ronnie Wood, Mick Hucknall and Slash.
On February 21, 2012, King was among the performers of "In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues", during which Barack Obama sang part of "Sweet Home Chicago".[27] King recorded for the debut album of rapper and producer Big K.R.I.T., who also hails from Mississippi.[28] On July 5, 2012, King performed a concert at the Byblos Festival, Lebanon.
On May 26, 2013, King appeared at New Orleans Jazz Festival[29]
Over a period of 64 years, King has played in excess of 15,000 performances.[30]
A feature documentary about B.B. King narrated by Morgan Freeman, and directed by Jon Brewer was released on October 15, 2012.[31]
Equipment
Bruce maintained a solo career that spanned several decades and also played in several musical groups. Although recognized first and foremost as a vocalist, bassist and songwriter, he also played double bass, harmonica, piano and cello. He was trained as a classical cellist and considered himself a jazz musician, although much of his catalogue of compositions and recordings tended toward blues and rock and roll.
Early life
Bruce was born on 14 May 1943 in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire, to Betty (Asher) and Charlie Bruce,[1] musical parents who moved frequently, resulting in the young Bruce attending 14 different schools, ending up at Bellahouston Academy. He began playing the jazz bass in his teens and won a scholarship to study cello and musical composition at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama while playing in Jim McHarg's Scotsville Jazzband to support himself.[2] The academy disapproved of its students playing jazz. "They found out", Bruce told Musician correspondent Jim Macnie, "and said 'you either stop, or leave college.' So I left college."[citation needed]
Career
Early career
After leaving school he toured Italy, playing double bass with the Murray Campbell Big Band.[3] In 1962 Bruce became a member of the London-based band Blues Incorporated,[4] led by Alexis Korner, in which he played the upright bass. The band also included organist Graham Bond, saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith and Ginger Baker. In 1963 the group broke up and Bruce went on to form the Graham Bond Quartet with Bond, Baker and guitarist John McLaughlin.[2] They played an eclectic range of music genres, including bebop, blues and rhythm and blues. As a result of session work at this time, Bruce switched from the upright bass to the electric bass guitar. The move to electric bass happened as McLaughlin was dropped from the band; he was replaced by Heckstall-Smith on saxophone and the band pursued a more concise R&B sound and changed their name to the Graham Bond Organisation. They released two studio albums and several singles but were not commercially successful.
During the time that Bruce and Baker played with the Graham Bond Organisation, they were known for their hostility towards each other. There were numerous stories of the two sabotaging each other's equipment and fighting on stage. Relations grew so bad between the two that Bruce left the group in August 1965.[5]
After leaving, Bruce recorded a solo single, "I'm Gettin Tired", for Polydor Records.[2] He joined John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers group, which featured guitarist Eric Clapton. Although his stay was brief; the Universal Deluxe double album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton contains all the known tracks featuring Bruce.
After the Bluesbreakers, Bruce had his first commercial success as a member of Manfred Mann in 1966, including "Pretty Flamingo" which reached number one in the UK singles chart (one of two number one records of his career - the other being an uncredited bass part on The Scaffold's "Lily the Pink")[2] as well as the free-wheeling and ground-breaking jazz-rock of Instrumental Asylum. When interviewed on the edition of the VH1 show Classic Albums which featured Disraeli Gears, Mayall said that Bruce had been lured away by the lucrative commercial success of Manfred Mann, while Mann himself recalled that Bruce attended recording sessions without having rehearsed but played songs straight through without error, commenting that perhaps the chord changes seemed obvious to Bruce.[6]
While with Manfred Mann, Bruce again collaborated with Eric Clapton as a member of Powerhouse, which also featured the Spencer Davis Group vocalist Steve Winwood credited as "Steve Anglo". Three tracks were featured on the Elektra sampler album What's Shakin'. Two of the songs, "Crossroads" and "Steppin' Out", became staples in the live set of his next band.
Cream
In July 1966 Bruce, Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker founded the power trio Cream, which gained international recognition playing blues-rock and jazz-inflected rock music. Bruce sang most of the lead vocals, with Clapton backing him up and eventually assuming some leads himself.[6]
With his Gibson EB-3 electric bass, Bruce became one of the most famous bassists in rock, winning musicians' polls and influencing the next generation of bassists such as Sting, Geddy Lee and Jeff Berlin.[7] Bruce co-wrote most of Cream's single releases with lyricist Pete Brown, including the hits "Sunshine of Your Love", "White Room", and "I Feel Free". Cream broke up in 1968.[8]
Post-Cream: 1960s–70s
Collaborative efforts with musicians, in many genres – hard rock, jazz, blues, R&B, fusion, avant-garde, world music, third stream classical – continued as a theme of Bruce's career. Alongside these he has produced a long line of highly regarded solo albums. In contrast to his collaborative works, the solo albums usually maintain a common theme: melodic songs with a complex musical structure, songs with lyrics frequently penned by Pete Brown, and a core band of world-class musicians. This structure was loosened on his live solo albums and DVDs, where extended improvisations similar to those employed by Cream in live performance were sometimes still used.
In August 1968, before Cream officially disbanded, Bruce recorded an acoustic free jazz album with John McLaughlin, Dick Heckstall-Smith, and Jon Hiseman.[2] This was issued in 1970 as Bruce's second solo album, Things We Like. The album was a precursor to the jazz fusion boom in the early 1970s, and more recently has been sampled by many[who?] hip hop artists.
Bruce's first solo release, Songs for a Tailor, was issued in September 1969; it too featured Heckstall-Smith and Hiseman.[2] It was a worldwide hit, but after a brief supporting tour backed by Larry Coryell and Mitch Mitchell, Bruce joined the jazz fusion group Lifetime. With drummer Tony Williams, guitarist McLaughlin, and organist Larry Young, the group recorded two albums. Bruce joined on the second album, Turn It Over. However, Lifetime did not receive much critical or commercial acclaim at the time, and the band broke up in 1971. Bruce then recorded his third solo album Harmony Row, but this was not as commercially successful as Songs for a Tailor.[2] The song "The Consul at Sunset" from Harmony Row, which was inspired by the Malcolm Lowry novel Under the Volcano, was released as a single in 1971 (Polydor 2058-153, b/w "A Letter of Thanks"), but did not chart.
In 1972 Bruce formed a blues rock power trio, West, Bruce & Laing. Besides Bruce, the group included singer/guitarist Leslie West and drummer Corky Laing, both formerly of the Cream-influenced American band Mountain. West, Bruce & Laing produced two studio albums, Why Dontcha and Whatever Turns You On, and one live album, Live 'n' Kickin'.
The band's break-up was announced shortly before Live 'n' Kickin's release in early 1974, and Bruce released his fourth solo album Out of the Storm later that year. Also in 1974 he made a guest appearance on the title track of Frank Zappa's album Apostrophe. Bruce was credited with bass and for co-writing the song. However, when asked about Zappa in a 1992 interview Bruce tried to change the subject and jokingly insisted that he had played only cello parts. In 1973 Bruce recorded bass guitar for Lou Reed's Berlin album, playing on all but two tracks.
A 1975 tour was lined up to support the Out of the Storm album with a band featuring former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor and jazz keyboard player Carla Bley, with whom he had collaborated in 1971 on Escalator over the Hill. The tour was documented on Live '75 (at Manchester's Free Trade Hall),[9] but it ended with Taylor's departure, and no studio album was completed.
In 1977 Bruce formed a new band with drummer Simon Phillips and keyboardist Tony Hymas. The group recorded an album, called How's Tricks. A world tour followed, but the album was a commercial failure.[2] The follow-up album Jet Set Jewel, while since commercially released, was rejected by Bruce's record label RSO upon its initial completion as not being marketable, and RSO ultimately dropped Bruce from their roster in 1978. In 1979 Bruce toured with members from the Mahavishnu Orchestra, reuniting him with John McLaughlin, and introducing him to drummer Billy Cobham. A 3-CD collection of his 1970s BBC recordings, entitled Spirit, was released in 2008.
1980s
By 1979, Bruce's drug habit had reached such a level that he had lost most of his money. Bruce contributed as a session musician to recordings by Cozy Powell, Gary Moore and Jon Anderson to raise money. By 1980 his career was back on track with his new band, Jack Bruce & Friends, consisting of drummer Billy Cobham, guitarist Clem Clempson, and keyboardist/guitarist David Sancious. After releasing an album, I've Always Wanted to Do This, at the end of 1980, they undertook a long tour to support the record, but it was not a commercial success and they disbanded. In the early 1980s, he also joined up to play with friends from the Alexis Korner days in Rocket 88, the back-to-the-roots band that Ian Stewart had arranged, and Bruce appears on the album of the same name, recorded live in Germany in 1980. They also recorded a "live in the studio" album called Blues & Boogie Explosion for the German audiophile record label Jeton. That year he also collaborated on the Soft Machine album Land of Cockayne (1981).
In 1981, Bruce collaborated with guitarist Robin Trower and released two power trio albums, BLT and Truce, the first of which was a minor hit in the United States.[2] By 1983 Bruce was out of contract with the major record companies, and he released his next solo album, Automatic, only on a minor German label, Intercord. A European tour followed to promote the album enlisting Bruce Gary from The Knack (who had also played in Jack Bruce's 1975 band) on drums and Sancious from his 1980 band (Jack Bruce & Friends) on guitar and keyboards. In 1982 Bruce played with a short-lived ensemble A Gathering of Minds comprising Billy Cobham, Allan Holdsworth, Didier Lockwood and David Sancious at Montreux. In 1983 he sang on tracks 5–6 of the Allan Holdsworth album Road Games.
In 1983 Bruce began working with the Latin/world music producer Kip Hanrahan, and released the collaborative albums Desire Develops an Edge, Vertical's Currency, A Few Short Notes from the End Run, Exotica and All Roads Are Made of the Flesh. They were all critically successful, and in 2001 he went on to form his own band using Hanrahan's famous Cuban rhythm section. Other than his partnership with lyricist Pete Brown, the musical relationship with Hanrahan has been the most consistent and long-lasting of his career.
In 1985 he sang lead and played blues harp on the song "Silver Bullet" with Anton Fier's Golden Palominos. It appears on the album Visions of Excess. In 1986 he re-recorded the Cream song "I Feel Free" and released it as a single to support an advertising campaign for the Renault 21 motor car. A solo album, Something Els, recorded in Germany between 1986 and 1992, reunited him with Eric Clapton, and brought belated, but widespread critical acclaim.[10]
1990s
In 1989, Bruce began recording material with Ginger Baker and released another solo album, A Question of Time.[2] Baker and Bruce toured the United States at turn of the decade. Bruce played at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1990, and was invited by Irish blues rock performer, Rory Gallagher (who had a long-standing relationship with Bruce, having supported Cream's farewell concert in the band Taste in 1968) to perform a couple of songs together on stage. In 1991 he was one of the supporting musicians for Vivian Stanshall's solo show "Rawlinson Dog-ends", but quit over a lack of adequate rehearsals.[11]
In 1993 Baker appeared, along with a host of former Bruce band colleagues, at a special concert in Cologne to celebrate Bruce's 50th birthday. A special guest was another Irish blues-rock guitarist Gary Moore. The concert recordings with Moore were released as the live double album Cities of the Heart. On the back of this successful gig Bruce, Baker and Moore formed the power trio BBM, and their subsequent (and only) album Around the Next Dream was a top ten hit in the UK.[2] However, the old Bruce/Baker arguments arose again and the subsequent tour was cut short and the band broke up. A low-key solo album, Monkjack, followed in 1995, featuring Bruce on piano and vocals accompanied by Funkadelic organist Bernie Worrell.
Bruce then began work producing and arranging the soundtrack to the independently produced Scottish film The Slab Boys with Lulu, Edwyn Collins, Eddi Reader and the Proclaimers. The soundtrack album appeared in 1997. In 1997 he returned to touring as a member of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band, which also featured Peter Frampton on guitar. At the gig in Denver, Colorado the band was joined on stage by Ginger Baker, and Bruce, Baker and Frampton played a short set of Cream classics. He continued to tour with Starr through 2000.
2000s
In 2001 Bruce reappeared with a band featuring Bernie Worrell, Vernon Reid of Living Colour on guitar and Kip Hanrahan's three-piece Latin rhythm section. Hanrahan also produced the accompanying album Shadows in the Air, which included a reunion with Eric Clapton on a new version of "Sunshine of Your Love". The band released another Hanrahan produced studio album, More Jack than God, in 2003, and a live DVD, Live at Canterbury Fayre.
Bruce had suffered a period of declining health, after many years of addictions which he finally beat with clinical treatment, and in 2003 was diagnosed with liver cancer.[12] In September 2003, he underwent a liver transplant, which was almost fatal, as his body initially rejected the new organ.[13] He recovered, and in 2004 reappeared to perform "Sunshine of Your Love" at a Rock Legends concert in Germany organised by the singer Mandoki.
In May 2005, he reunited with former Cream bandmates Clapton and Baker for a series of well-received concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall,[14] released as the album Royal Albert Hall London May 2–3–5–6 2005, and New York's Madison Square Garden.
In between the UK and US Cream dates he also played live with Gary Moore and drummer Gary Husband at the Dick Heckstall-Smith tribute concert in London.
Subsequent concert appearances were sparse because of recovery after the transplant, but in 2006 Bruce returned to the live arena with a show of Cream and solo classics performed with the German HR (Hessischer Rundfunk) Big Band. This was released on CD in Germany in 2007. In 2007, he made a brief concert appearance, opening a new rehearsal hall named in his honour at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow with Clem Clempson, keyboard player Ronnie Leahy and Husband.
In 2008, Bruce collaborated again with guitarist Robin Trower on the album Seven Moons. It also featured Husband.
In May 2008 Bruce was 65 years old and to commemorate this milestone two box sets of recordings were released. Spirit is a three-CD collection of Bruce's BBC recordings from the 1970s. Can You Follow? is a six-CD retrospective anthology released by the Esoteric label in the UK. This anthology is a wide ranging collection covering his music from 1963 to 2003 and, aside from his work with Kip Hanrahan, is a comprehensive overview of his career.
Improved health led to Bruce playing a series of live outdoor concerts across the US starting in July 2008 as part of the Hippiefest Tour. He was supported by members of the late Who bassist John Entwistle's The John Entwistle Band, and headlined at a tribute concert to the bassist.
In November 2008 he recorded a concert in Birmingham, England for Radio Broadcast with the BBC Big Band, where he again played the Big Band arrangements of his classic songs. In December he was reunited with Ginger Baker at the drummer's Lifetime Achievement Award concert in London. They played jazz classics with saxophonist Courtney Pine and for the first time in 40 years played the Graham Bond–Cream classic "Traintime".
The same month, Bruce, with guitarist Vernon Reid, drummer Cindy Blackman and organist John Medeski played a series of Blue Note Club tribute concerts to The Tony Williams Lifetime in Japan. These shows were broadcast in high definition on television in Japan.
In 2009 a series of concerts was performed with Trower and Husband in Europe. Proposed dates in the US in April were cancelled because of a further bout of ill health. Bruce recovered and the band played summer concerts in Italy, Norway and the UK during 2009. This promoted the release of the Seven Moons live CD and DVD, recorded in February during the European leg of the tour in Nijmegen, Netherlands.
During the Scottish dates of the 2009 tour Bruce was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Glasgow Caledonian University for services to the culture of Glasgow and music in general.
In August 2009, the 1983 Bruce solo album Automatic was released on CD. With this release, all his solo albums from his 1969 debut Songs for a Tailor onwards have become available on CD as well. In addition, all the discs up to and including How's Tricks contain previously unreleased material.
In October 2009, Bruce performed at the 50th anniversary of Ronnie Scott's Club with the Ronnie Scott's Blues Band.
2010s
Composing Himself: Jack Bruce The Authorised Biography by Harry Shapiro was released by Jawbone Press in February 2010. Shapiro had previously written biographies of Bruce collaborators Alexis Korner, Graham Bond and Eric Clapton. The book followed biographies from his Cream bandmates Clapton (Clapton, 2007) and Baker (Hellraiser, 2009). His songwriting partner, Pete Brown's, biography White Rooms & Imaginary Westerns was published in September 2010. They each have differing recollections of forming Cream, playing and writing together.
On 14 January, at the 2011 North American Music Merchants Show, Bruce became only the third recipient of the International Bassist Award, a lifetime achievement award for bassists, after Jaco Pastorius and Nathan Watts.
His first independent CD release, Live at the Milkyway, Amsterdam 2001, featuring his Latin-based band of the time, was issued in October 2010. The double album received an official worldwide release, distributed by EMI in February 2011. To support this release Bruce again played four dates in London at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Ronnie Scott's Blues Experience, followed by a further ten dates across the UK with the band. On 4 June 2011, Bruce played a special concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, which was celebrating its 60th anniversary. The evening celebrated the 50th anniversary of the blues in Great Britain, and Bruce played with his Big Blues Band and special guest Joe Bonamassa.
Bruce started 2012 playing the Gerry Rafferty tribute concert in Glasgow, followed by a date with the traditional Celtic band Lau. BBC Scotland recorded a one-hour special on Bruce, which also included a performance with Lau. The completed documentary Jack Bruce – The Man behind the Bass was transmitted in February 2012 by BBC Scotland. It featured new interviews with Bruce, Clapton, Baker and Brown. It was transmitted again on November 9, 2014 on BBC2 Scotland and on November 17, 2014 on BBC4 in the UK.[15]
February 2012 saw Bruce playing in Havana, Cuba, along with guitarist Phil Manzanera, supporting the mambo band of Augusto Enriquez. March saw another residency at Ronnie Scott's in London supported by his Big Blues Band, followed by a UK tour. The concert at the Stables, Milton Keynes on 18 March was due to be recorded as an Instant Live CD release, but technical issues prevented this. The following evenings performance at the same location was recorded and a 2CD version issued by Instant Live.
Spectrum Road was released in June 2012 by the US jazz record label Palmetto Records[16] and was accompanied by a series of dates at large jazz festivals in North America and Europe throughout June and July.
Bruce released Silver Rails, in March 2014 on the Esoteric Antenna label, his first solo studio album in over a decade.[17] Silver Rails was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, produced and mixed by Rob Cass and features contributions from Cream, lyricist Pete Brown, Kip Hanrahan and wife Margrit Seyffer as well as musicians Robin Trower, Cindy Blackman, Phil Manzanera, Uli Jon Roth, John Medeski and Bernie Marsden.[18] The deluxe version of the album featured a behind the scenes documentary "The Making of Silver Rails" which was filmed on location at the studios and directed by Bruce's daughter Kyla Simone Bruce. This film was shown on the BBC Channel Four website on the BBC iPlayer on November 17 2014 for 30 days[19] Bruce's son Malcolm Bruce pre-produced the album and played guitar on several tracks, while Bruce's daughter Aruba Red was featured on "Hidden Cities" singing backing vocals.
Personal life
In 1964 Bruce married Janet Godfrey, who had been the secretary of the Graham Bond Organisation fan club and had collaborated with Bruce on two songs written for the group.[3] Together, Godfrey and Bruce had two sons, Jonas (Jo) Bruce, who grew up to play keyboards in his father's band and formed a band called AfroCelts, and Malcolm Bruce, who grew up to play the guitar with his father and played with Ginger Baker's son, Kofi. Jonas died in 1997 from respiratory problems.
In 1982 he married his second wife, Margrit Seyffer.[20] With her he had two daughters, Natascha a.k.a. Aruba Red and Kyla, and a son Corin.[21]
Death
Bruce died of liver disease on 25 October 2014, in Suffolk, England, aged 71.[22] His publicist Claire Singers said: "He died today at his home in Suffolk surrounded by his family."[23] He is survived by his wife, Margrit, as well as four children; Malcolm Bruce, Aruba Red, Kyla Simone Bruce, Corin Bruce and granddaughter Maya Sage.[22]
His funeral was held in London on 5 November 2014 and was attended by Clapton, Baker and noted musicians Phil Manzanera, Gary Brooker, Vernon Reid and Nitin Sawhney among others. Dozens assembled at the Golders Green Crematorium paying a last tribute singing "Morning Has Broken", "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Theme for an Imaginary Western". Bruce's remains were later cremated[24] and then buried at a private family ceremony on 31 December 2014 at the Golders Green Crematorium.[25]
Tributes and legacy
Writing in The Sunday Times in 2008, Dan Cairns had suggested: "many consider him to be one of the greatest bass players of all time."[26] Steve Anderson, writing in The Independent said ".. he became one of the most famous and influential bass players in rock."[27] Roger Waters of Pink Floyd recently described Bruce as "probably the most musically gifted bass player who's ever been."[22] Eric Clapton posted on Facebook about Bruce "He was a great musician and composer, and a tremendous inspiration to me" and composed an acoustic song in his honour[28] and Ginger Baker wrote "I am very sad to learn of the loss of a fine man, Jack Bruce... My thoughts & wishes are with his family at this difficult time."[29] Guitarist Leslie West, of rock group Mountain, posted on Facebook, "It is with great sadness that one of the worlds greatest musicians and bass players, who I had the honor of playing with in West Bruce and Laing, Jack Bruce has died. I was hoping somehow that we might have gotten together one last time. Rest in Peace my friend."[30] Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi said on Twitter that Bruce had been his favourite bass player, saying "He was a hero to so many" and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler regarded him as his "biggest influence and favourite bass player".[31] Guitarist John McLaughlin said on Twitter, "Very sad to have lost my old friend Jack Bruce."[32] Long-standing collaborator Robin Trower wrote on Facebook, "It has always been a great source of pride to me to have made music with Jack (one of the few musicians that can be truly called a force of nature) and Jack and I were proud of that music. He will be greatly missed".[33] Fellow bassist Billy Cox also posted a tribute to Bruce on Facebook.[34] Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick said, "There was a time when Jack Bruce was synonymous with the bass guitar in rock history, when he was widely revered as the best there was on four strings."[35] Rush bassist Geddy Lee wrote: “The sudden passing of Jack Bruce is terribly sad news. One of the greatest rock bassists to ever live and a true and profound inspiration to countless musicians. He was one of my first bass heroes and was a major influence on my playing and my music. My heartfelt condolences to his family and fans.”[36] In March 2015, a tribute concert at London's Roundhouse scheduled for October 2015 was announced. Guest artists confirmed were, Joss Stone, Phil Manzanera, Ginger Baker, Ian Anderson and Mark King and musical directer Nitin Sawhney.
Jack Bruce & His Big Blues Band - Estival Jazz Lugano 2011
Cream - Live In The Royal Albert Hall 2005 (Part 1)
Joseph "Smokey" Holman *14.05.1953
Joseph "Smokey" Holman rose onto the national scene coming out of Gary, Indiana in the late 60's with the Domestic 4. Initially the band made 2 trips to Memphis and worked with Rufus Thomas and Willie Mitchell recording songs for Hi Records. The business agreement fell apart and the songs were never released. With Stevie Wonder's first cousin (Charles Simmons) in the band - they also got a chance to audition for Motown. Motown liked what they heard and the band was sent immediately to Studio B to record 2 demos. Again the business fell apart and the music was never released.
The Domestic 4 were playing a show on the West Side of Chicago. Their manager had arranged for Curtis Mayfield to attend the show and he loved what he heard. Curtis Mayfield renamed the band as Love's Children and signed them to his Chicago based label, Curtom Records. Curtis penned 4 songs for the band to record. Their best known singles were 1971's "Soul is Love" and "This is the End." Soul is Love was a Soul Sauce pick by Billboard Magazine to hit the Top 20 on the Soul Charts. Love's Children toured extensively for 3+ years and had the Ohio Players open for them at a show.
Smokey left the band in 1972 and as with many musicians his road took a different path as he joined Marines, got married, and ended-up working in steel mill to make ends meet. During the ensuing years he also faced his own challenges and personal demons that took him further away from the music he loved. Eventually, Smokey righted his ship and in 1994 began performing in the greater Milwaukee area with Marvelous Mack and the Pressure Release Band.
Smokey's smooth vocals capture the magic of the classic "soul era" and contain a sweetness and joy that evokes memories of a simpler time. Meanwhile his journey and life experiences contribute to the grit and emotion as he belts out a blues shuffle channeling his "ups and downs" into every note. A consummate showman, Smokey is always working it on the stage providing energy and entertainment to audiences large or small.
Smokey took home the 2013 Wisconsin Area Music Industry Award (WAMI) for Male Vocalist of the Year. In 2015, 2014 and 2012 Smokey was nominated for a WAMI for Male Vocalist of the Year. Smokey has also helped co-write songs on all 3 of Tweed Funk's CDs and helped co-produce and arrange songs on First Name Lucky and Love Is.
The Domestic 4 were playing a show on the West Side of Chicago. Their manager had arranged for Curtis Mayfield to attend the show and he loved what he heard. Curtis Mayfield renamed the band as Love's Children and signed them to his Chicago based label, Curtom Records. Curtis penned 4 songs for the band to record. Their best known singles were 1971's "Soul is Love" and "This is the End." Soul is Love was a Soul Sauce pick by Billboard Magazine to hit the Top 20 on the Soul Charts. Love's Children toured extensively for 3+ years and had the Ohio Players open for them at a show.
Smokey left the band in 1972 and as with many musicians his road took a different path as he joined Marines, got married, and ended-up working in steel mill to make ends meet. During the ensuing years he also faced his own challenges and personal demons that took him further away from the music he loved. Eventually, Smokey righted his ship and in 1994 began performing in the greater Milwaukee area with Marvelous Mack and the Pressure Release Band.
Smokey's smooth vocals capture the magic of the classic "soul era" and contain a sweetness and joy that evokes memories of a simpler time. Meanwhile his journey and life experiences contribute to the grit and emotion as he belts out a blues shuffle channeling his "ups and downs" into every note. A consummate showman, Smokey is always working it on the stage providing energy and entertainment to audiences large or small.
Smokey took home the 2013 Wisconsin Area Music Industry Award (WAMI) for Male Vocalist of the Year. In 2015, 2014 and 2012 Smokey was nominated for a WAMI for Male Vocalist of the Year. Smokey has also helped co-write songs on all 3 of Tweed Funk's CDs and helped co-produce and arrange songs on First Name Lucky and Love Is.
The Soul-Soaked Story of Joseph “Smokey” Holman
Didn’t a lot of us want to be rock stars when we were teenagers? Maybe we pretended in front of the mirror, or in the car, or maybe like Tom Cruise in his underwear airin’ out to Bob Seger in Risky Business. Such humble beginnings! In Gary Indiana, in his junior high school days, Joseph Holman learned how to sing harmonies… In the school bathrooms. “It just sounded good in there,” he says, matter of fact.
Holman grew up in a family where his mother sang in the church choir and wanted her boys to do the same, though that didn’t quite prevent Joseph from getting into a little bit of trouble. When a teacher/probation officer heard what he and some others could do vocally, however, that was the direction they were encouraged in. The group became the “harmony fellahs”. “We didn’t have a name yet. We just liked to sing!” says Holman about the early group.
Didn’t a lot of us want to be rock stars when we were teenagers? Maybe we pretended in front of the mirror, or in the car, or maybe like Tom Cruise in his underwear airin’ out to Bob Seger in Risky Business. Such humble beginnings! In Gary Indiana, in his junior high school days, Joseph Holman learned how to sing harmonies… In the school bathrooms. “It just sounded good in there,” he says, matter of fact.
Holman grew up in a family where his mother sang in the church choir and wanted her boys to do the same, though that didn’t quite prevent Joseph from getting into a little bit of trouble. When a teacher/probation officer heard what he and some others could do vocally, however, that was the direction they were encouraged in. The group became the “harmony fellahs”. “We didn’t have a name yet. We just liked to sing!” says Holman about the early group.
Tweed Funk - Fine Wine [Official Music Video]
B.B. King +14.05.2015
Es war zu erwarten - trotzdem bin ich unendlich traurig
The thrill is gone - The King is gone
Dein Blues lebt in uns weiter
Du kannst jetzt mit Janis, Jimmy, Curt, jim, Brian, Muddy, J.J. und Johnny jammen
der Fritz organisiert das schon
einen Wunsch ich hätt
Sonny Boy und Little Walter blasen die Harp im Duett
Memphis Slim das Piano spielt
The Thrill is gone -The King is gone
An Deinem Grab mögen Dir alle Gitarristen der Welt ihren Respekt zollen
Eric macht noch ein Crossroad-Festival für Dich
und alle spielen gemeinsam
The thrill is gone - The King is gone
It was to be expected - but I'm still very sad
The thrill is gone - The King Is Gone
Your blues lives on in us
You can now jam with Janis, Jimmy, Curt, Jim, Brian, Muddy, JJ and Johnny
Fritz organized already
one wish I would have
Sonny Boy and Little Walter blow the harp duet
Memphis Slim plays the piano
The Thrill Is Gone -The King is gone
On your grave you like all guitarists in the world pay their respects
Eric does not make a Crossroad Festival for you
and all play together
The thrill is gone - The King Is Gone
B. B. King (* 16. September 1925 in Itta Bena, Mississippi, bürgerlich Riley B. King + 14.05.2015 in Las Vegas) war einer der einflussreichsten Blues-Gitarristen und -Sänger und einer der „drei Kings des elektrischen Blues“, neben Albert King und Freddie King. Das „B. B.“ in seinem Namen steht für Blues Boy, was wiederum eine Verkürzung von Beale Street Blues Boy ist, seinem Moderationspseudonym beim Radiosender WDIA.
Kindheit und Jugend
B. B. King wurde am 16. September 1925 als Riley B. King in Itta Bena, Mississippi, geboren. Als er vier Jahre alt war, trennten sich seine Eltern und er wuchs fortan in Kilmichael bei seinen Großeltern mütterlicherseits auf. Als er neun Jahre alt war, starb seine Mutter. 1940 zog er für zwei Jahre zu seinem Vater nach Lexington (Mississippi). Danach kehrte er nach Kilmichael zurück, zog dann weiter nach Indianola und landete schließlich 1946 in Memphis (Tennessee).
Als Kind und Jugendlicher sang er Gospelmusik, war aber auch begeistert von Bluesmusikern wie Blind Lemon Jefferson oder Lonnie Johnson, deren Musik er auf Schellackplatten seiner Tante hörte. Zu seinen weiteren Vorbildern zählten vor allem der Bluesgitarrist T-Bone Walker, aber auch Jazzmusiker wie Charlie Christian und Django Reinhardt.
Memphis
In Memphis traf B.B.King einen entfernten Verwandten seiner Mutter, den Bluesmusiker Bukka White, der ihm eine Arbeit als Schweißer besorgen konnte. Zusammen mit Walter Horton gründete King schließlich ein Blues-Duo und gemeinsam traten sie in Juke Joints und Parks auf. Nach acht Monaten in Memphis kehrte King jedoch zurück nach Indianola. Er zweifelte an seinem instrumentalen Können, da es seiner Meinung nach bessere Musiker in Memphis gab.
Trotzdem kehrte er Ende 1948 nach Memphis zurück und lernte in West Memphis den Gitarristen Robert Lockwood kennen, mit dessen Hilfe er sein Gitarrenspiel wesentlich verbessern konnte. Anfang 1949 traf er Sonny Boy Williamson II., der ihm gestattete, in seiner Radioshow auf KWEM ein Stück zu singen. Durch Bukka White erfuhr King kurze Zeit später von der Radiostation WDIA. Im April 1949 bekam er dort seine eigene – von Lucky Strike gesponserte – 15-minütige Sendung, in der er live spielte. Im folgenden Jahr übernahm er als DJ den Sepia Swing Club auf WDIA. Nun hatte er Zugriff auf Tausende von Platten, die er intensiv anhörte und auch nachzuspielen versuchte.
Erste Aufnahmen
Seine ersten Aufnahmen machte B. B. King 1949 für Bullet Records in Nashville. Die beiden daraus resultierenden Singles verkauften sich jedoch sehr schlecht und gaben seiner musikalischen Karriere keinen Anstoß. Während eines Besuchs der Radiostation WDIA im Juni 1950 hörten die Brüder Jules und Saul Bihari von Modern Records B. B. King und waren so begeistert, dass sie ihn für ihr Sublabel RPM unter Vertrag nahmen. Modern Records mit Sitz in Los Angeles zählte zwar damals zu den führenden unabhängigen Plattenlabels im Bereich des Jazz und Blues, verfügte jedoch in Memphis über kein eigenes Aufnahmestudio. Deshalb fanden die ersten Aufnahmesessions mit B. B. King für RPM im damals neuen Studio von Sam Phillips statt.[4]
Kings Band bestand zu dieser Zeit aus Richard Sanders (Saxofon), Johnny Ace (Klavier), einem Bassisten namens Wiley und Earl Forest (Schlagzeug). Diese frühen Einspielungen waren zwar innovativ, aber kommerziell wenig erfolgreich.
Erste Erfolge
Nachdem die Biharis sich Mitte 1951 aufgrund geschäftlicher Konflikte mit Sam Phillips überworfen hatten, fand im September 1951 in einer Schule und mit portablem Aufnahmegerät jene Session statt, die B. B. Kings ersten Hit 3 o’Clock Blues hervorbrachte, der Platz Nr. 1 der R&B-Charts wurde. Aufgrund des großen Erfolgs dieser Single folgte eine Tournee mit Tiny Bradshaws Orchester. Wenig später schloss sich B. B. King mit der Band des Saxofonisten Bill Harvey zusammen, die dann bis 1955 seine Tour-Band blieb.
1952 bzw. 1953 hatte King mit You Know I Love You und Please Love Me zwei weitere Nr-1-R&B-Hits, die seiner Karriere einen entscheidenden Auftrieb gaben. Am 24. April 1954 zierte sein Bild die Titelseite des Cash Box Magazins. Einen Monat später gab King sein Debüt mit Bill Harvey’s Orchester im Apollo Theater in Harlem. Unter Produzent Johnny Pate wurde von King der Bluesklassiker Everyday I Have the Blues am 18. und 19. August 1954 in den alten Capitol-Studios (Los Angeles, Melrose Avenue) in der Besetzung B. B King (Gesang/Gitarre), Millard Lee (Piano), Floyd Newman (Saxophon) und Kenny Sands (Trompete) aufgenommen. Im Dezember 1954 erschien dann Everyday I Have the Blues / Sneakin’ Around (RPM #421) und drang bis auf Rang 8 der Rhythm & Blues-Hitparade vor. Nach Veröffentlichung berichtete Billboard von anfangs hohen Plattenumsätzen,[5] die über die Jahre zu über 4 Millionen Exemplaren anwuchsen.[6] Damit avancierte Everyday I Have the Blues zu den meistverkauften Bluessongs aller Zeiten.
Noch im Dezember 1954 folgte eine Westcoast Tournee. B. B. King war nun aufgestiegen zum nationalen Star, ganz dem Blues verschrieben und kaum interessiert an der sich bereits abzeichnenden Rock-’n’-Roll-Revolution.
Quer durch die USA
Anfang 1955 brach King wegen geschäftlicher Differenzen mit Bill Harvey und seinem Manager Morris Merritt. Kurzerhand stellte King eine neue Band – die B. B. King Revue – unter der Leitung von Millard Lee zusammen. Die Band bestand zunächst aus Calvin Owens und Kenneth Sands (Trompeten), Lawrence Burdine (Altsaxofon), George Coleman (Tenorsaxofon), Floyd Newman (Baritonsaxofon), Millard Lee (Klavier), George Joyner (Bass) und Earl Forest und Ted Curry (Schlagzeug). Onzie Horne als geschulter Musiker wurde Kings Arrangeur und half ihm, seine musikalischen Ideen umzusetzen.
Es folgten weitere Tourneen quer durch die USA mit Auftritten in den großen Theatern der Städte (wie etwa Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit und St. Louis), sowie zahlreiche Gigs in den kleineren Clubs und Juke Joints der Südstaaten. King tourte mittlerweile den kompletten Chitlin’ Circuit und war 1956 mit 342 Konzerten recht ausgebucht.
Nebenher gründete er im gleichen Jahr sein eigenes Plattenlabel Blues Boys Kingdom mit Sitz an der Beale Street in Memphis. Dort produzierte er unter anderem Künstler wie Millard Lee oder Levi Seabury. Die Plattenfirma scheiterte letztlich daran, dass King seinen eigenen Verpflichtungen als Musiker nachkommen musste und deshalb keine Zeit hatte, eine Firma zu leiten. Dazu kamen seine Defizite als Geschäftsmann. Seine Plattenaufnahmen machte B. B. King nun fast ausschließlich im Modern Studio in Los Angeles mit Musikern unter der Leitung von Maxwell Davis.
Blues und Pop
Das Aufkommen des Rock ’n’ Roll führte schon Mitte der 1950er Jahre zu einem enormen Popularitätsverlust des Blues in der afroamerikanischen Gesellschaft. Obwohl King weiterhin Hits vorweisen konnte, stellte das Jahr 1957 für ihn den Beginn eines ruhigeren Karriereabschnitts dar. Um Kings Popularitätsverlust entgegenzuwirken, versuchten die Biharis ihn in den Bereich der Popmusik zu drängen. Zu dieser Zeit coverte er unter anderem Tennessee Ernie Fords Sixteen Tons und nahm auch den Song Bim Bam auf. Auch weitere Versuche mit Popballaden scheiterten und brachten nicht den kommerziellen Erfolg früherer Tage zurück. Nach einem kurzen Zwischenspiel bei Chess Records verlängerten die Biharis 1958 Kings Vertrag – ein Zeichen dafür, dass sie nach wie vor auf ihn setzten. Ab diesem Zeitpunkt erschienen B. B. Kings Singles auf dem neu gegründeten Sublabel Kent Records.
Sweet Sixteen
Zu Beginn der 1960er-Jahre war B. B. King einer der wenigen Bluesmusiker, die nach wie vor regelmäßig in den R&B-Charts vertreten waren. So landete er im Frühjahr 1960 mit seiner Interpretation des Big Joe Turner Klassikers Sweet Sixteen sogar nochmal einen No. 2 Hit in den R&B Charts. Während andere Bluesmusiker wie Muddy Waters oder John Lee Hooker infolge des Folk-Musik Booms ein neues, vor allem weißes Publikum fanden, blieb B. B. King seiner angestammten Zuhörerschaft treu. Anstatt ein trendiges Folk-Blues-Album einzuspielen, trat er weiterhin mit seiner 13-köpfigen Band in Hauptzentren der afroamerikanischen Kultur, wie etwa dem Apollo Theater in Harlem auf. In Europa waren seine Platten kaum erhältlich, da sich die Bihari-Brüder beim Lizenzieren ihres Katalogs recht schwer taten.
Crown Records
Allerdings hatte B. B. King mittlerweile gute Gründe, Modern Records zu verlassen. Da die Biharis seine Alben auf dem Billig-Sublabel Crown Records für 99 Cent das Stück veröffentlichten, landeten diese LPs meist in den Ramschkisten der Läden und wurden vom Billboard Magazine völlig ignoriert. Infolgedessen fanden diese Alben (zwölf Stück zwischen 1957 und 1963) auch keinerlei Anerkennung in der breiten Öffentlichkeit. Weiterhin beanspruchten die Biharis bis zu drei Viertel der fließenden Tantiemen aus B. B. Kings Platten, indem sie den Komponistenangaben (in der Regel King) eigene Pseudonyme wie Jules Taub, Joe Josea oder Sam Ling hinzufügten. Diese illegale Praxis des Cut In und die Veröffentlichungspolitik des Labels führten dazu, dass B. B. King Modern Records den Rücken kehrte und auf Anraten seiner Musikerkollegen Lloyd Price und Fats Domino im Januar 1962 einen Vertrag beim damaligen Major-Label ABC-Paramount unterschrieb.
Live at the Regal
Seine neue Plattenfirma wusste zunächst nicht genau, welche Richtung B. B. Kings musikalische Laufbahn einschlagen würde. Die beiden anderen R&B-Stars des Labels Ray Charles und Lloyd Price hatten bereits ihre Nischen irgendwo im weiten Bereich zwischen Pop und R&B gefunden. Doch B. B. King war ein reiner Bluesmusiker; ein Übertritt ins Pop- oder Soul-Lager schien nicht möglich. Nach einigen Singles und zwei von Johnny Pate produzierten Alben, veröffentlichte ABC-Paramount 1965 das Album Live at the Regal, das ein Überraschungserfolg wurde. Mitgeschnitten im Chicagoer Regal Theater am 21. November 1964, präsentierte es einen sehr lebhaften und mitreißenden Auftritt Kings vor einem afroamerikanischen Publikum.
Bereits seit seinem Weggang von Modern Records hatten die Bihari-Brüder parallel zu den ABC-Veröffentlichungen weitere King-Titel aus ihrem Archiv herausgebracht, zum Teil mit beachtlichem Erfolg. Rock Me Baby – im Sommer 1964 als Single auf dem Kent-Label erschienen – schaffte es bis auf Platz 34 der US-Popcharts. Angestachelt durch den Erfolg von Live at the Regal folgte eine Flut weiterer paralleler Veröffentlichungen auf dem Kent-Label. Zur Verwirrung der Fans waren das – neben bislang unveröffentlichten Archivtiteln – auch alte Titel, die man durch Overdubs in ein neues, modernes Gewand zu hüllen versuchte.
The Thrill Is Gone
Etwa um 1966/67 stellte B. B. King fest, dass sich die Zusammensetzung seines Publikums langsam zu ändern begann. Während die afroamerikanische Jugend sich vom Blues distanzierte, interessierten sich plötzlich immer mehr weiße Jugendliche für Kings Musik und besuchten seine Konzerte. Das zu dieser Zeit erschienene Buch Urban Blues von Charles Keil enthält ein Kapitel über B. B. King und stellte ein Pionierwerk dar. 1967 wurde Sidney Seidenberg Kings neuer Manager. Sein Hauptziel war es, mit einem neuen Konzept B. B. King einem breiteren Publikum zugänglich zu machen.
Fortan trat er auch bei Rockfestivals und in Zentren der Hippiekultur – wie etwa dem Fillmore West – auf. Obwohl er unter Seidenbergs Management einige Hits auf dem ABC-Sublabel Bluesway Records hatte, dauerte es fast weitere drei Jahre, bis das Konzept vollständig aufging und B. B. King mit The Thrill Is Gone seinen bis dahin größten Hit (Platz 15 in den US-Popcharts) landen konnte. 1969 spielte B. B. King neben Ike & Tina Turner bei der US-Tournee der Rolling Stones im Vorprogramm. Im folgenden Jahr war er der erste Bluesmusiker, der in der Tonight Show auftrat, und im Oktober 1970 folgte ein Auftritt in der Ed Sullivan Show.
Internationale Erfolge
Nach dem Erfolg von The Thrill Is Gone spielte B. B. King 1970 das Album Indianola Mississippi Seeds mit weißen Rockmusikern wie Carole King und Leon Russell ein. Dies war eine Idee seines Produzenten Bill Szymezyk. Insgesamt klang das Album sanfter und weicher als seine vorherigen Veröffentlichungen und enthielt mit Chains and Things, Ask Me No Question und Hummingbird drei Hit-Singles. 1971 nahm B. B. King in London mit britischen Gastmusikern wie Alexis Korner, Peter Green, Steve Winwood und anderen das Album In London auf. Hier spielte er zum ersten Mal seit 1946 bei einem Titel wieder eine akustische Gitarre.
1972 nahm B. B. King an einem Konzert teil, von dem er im Anschluss sagte: „Das war das beste Konzert, das ich jemals gegeben habe.“ Zwei Dokumentarfilmer hatten ein Filmprojekt mit Insassen von Sing Sing, dem großen New Yorker Gefängnis, ins Leben gerufen und es ein Jahr lang begleitet (Sing Sing Thanksgiving). Als Abschlussarbeit war dieses Gefängniskonzert zum amerikanischen Thanksgiving geplant, zu dem viele Künstler eingeladen wurden, aber nur wenige zugesagt hatten. Die Musiker waren The Voices of East Harlem, Joan Baez und eben B. B. King.
Im folgenden Jahr spielte B. B. King in Philadelphia das Album To Know You Is To Love You ein. Dieses Album war stark beeinflusst von der Soul-Musik jener Tage. Begleitet wurde King unter anderem von den Memphis Horns sowie bei dem Titelstück von Stevie Wonder.
Vor dem Boxkampf um den Weltmeistertitel zwischen Muhammad Ali und George Foreman im Stadion von Kinshasa, Zaire, im Oktober 1974 („Rumble in the Jungle“) trat B.B. King mit seiner Band auf. Dieses Konzert wurde auf einer DVD veröffentlicht.
Mit U2 spielte er für deren Album Rattle and Hum den Song When Love Comes to Town ein. Außerdem nahm B. B. King an der darauffolgenden „Lovetown“-Tour im Jahr 1989 teil. Im Jahr 2000 produzierte er mit Eric Clapton das Album Riding with the King . Über seine Jazz-Kollegen Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis und Charlie Parker äußerte sich King einmal: „was die machen, geht schlicht über meinen Horizont“.
King besitzt mehrere Bluesclubs in den USA, unter anderem an der Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, in New Orleans und in Nashville, in denen er hin und wieder auftritt. Unter seinem Namen werden auch Merchandising-Artikel wie Barbecue-Zubehör und Gitarrensaiten vermarktet. Er unternahm regelmäßig ausgedehnte Tourneen und spielte mitunter über 200 Konzerte pro Jahr. Seit 2004 tritt B. B. King, der seit über 60 Jahren fast ununterbrochen unterwegs war, altersbedingt und aus gesundheitlichen Gründen seltener auf. Im Sommer 2005 unternahm er eine „Final Farewell Tour“ durch Europa. Aber auch 2006 trat er in den Vereinigten Staaten und erneut in Europa auf und 2009 folgte eine weitere Europatournee.
In den 1980ern trat er wie viele andere Stars in der erfolgreichen Bill Cosby Show auf, und zwar in der Folge Der Heirats-Blues.
1980 wurde B. B. King in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen, 1987 in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[7] 2004 erhielt er den inoffiziellen „Nobelpreis für Musik“, den Polar Music Prize. 2008 wurde in seiner Heimatstadt Indianola das B. B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center eröffnet, dessen Ausstellung die Karriereschritte B. B. Kings darstellt.[8]
Das Rolling Stone Magazine listet ihn auf Platz 3 der 100 großartigsten Gitarristen aller Zeiten.[9]
Lucille
B. B. King spielt ein Gibson-Gitarrenmodell, dem er traditionell seit den 1950er-Jahren den Kosenamen „Lucille“ gibt. Der Grund dafür liegt in einem Erlebnis, das er 1949 in einem Musik-Club im US-Bundesstaat Arkansas hatte. Bei einem Konzert kam es zu einem Brand. Der bereits geflüchtete King lief zurück, um seine Gitarre zu retten. Als er erfuhr, dass der Brand versehentlich durch zwei Männer entstanden war, die um eine Frau namens Lucille stritten, nannte er die Gitarre Lucille. Das sollte ihn daran erinnern, so etwas nie wieder zu tun.[10]
Eine Besonderheit in der Bauart von Kings Gitarre liegt darin, dass sie zwar halbresonant ist, aber keine charakteristischen F-Löcher hat. Außerdem verfügt das Modell über eine erweiterte Klangregelung namens Varitone-Drehschalter. Seit 1999 bewirbt B. B. King auch ein anders konstruiertes Modell Gibsons, die Little Lucille.
Gegenüber der Presse erklärte King einmal: „Abgesehen von richtigem Sex mit einer richtigen Frau gibt es nichts, was mir solch eine innere Ruhe gibt wie Lucille“. Laut eigener Aussage besitzt B. B. King insgesamt sechzehn Exemplare des Gitarrenmodells.[10] Einige seiner Gitarren sind auch im Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, ausgestellt.
Er war zweimal verheiratet und hat fünfzehn Kinder.
The Life Of Riley
Im Mai 2013 kam der Dokumentarfilm The Life Of Riley (Großbritannien, 2012, 119 Min.) des Regisseurs Jon Brewer in einer OmU-Fassung in deutsche Kinos, der sich Kings Leben widmet und im Titel auf dessen eigentlichen Vornamen Bezug nimmt.[11] Erzählt wird Kings Lebensgeschichte darin von Oscar-Preisträger Morgan Freeman und neben King selbst kommen Zeitzeugen sowie Musikerkolleg(inn)en wie Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Bono, Carlos Santana oder Mick Jagger zu Wort.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._B._King
B.B.
King (born Riley B. King; September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015) was an
American blues musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No. 6 on its 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time (previously ranked No. 3 in the 2003 edition of the same list),[2] and he was ranked No. 17 in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time".[3] According to Edward M. Komara, King "introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed."[4] King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. King was also inducted into 2014 class of the R&B Music Hall of Fame. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of Blues", and one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and Freddie King).[5][6][7] King was also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at 250–300 concerts per year until his seventies. In 1956 it was noted that he appeared at 342 shows. King continued to appear at 100 shows a year through the end of his career.
Over the years, King developed one of the world's most identifiable guitar styles. He borrowed from Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, integrating his precise and complex vocal-like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarists' vocabulary. His economy and phrasing has been a model for thousands of players.[8] King mixed blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a unique sound. In King's words, "When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille."
Early lifeRiley B. King was born on September 16, 1925,[8] on a cotton plantation near the town of Itta Bena, Mississippi,[9][8] the son of sharecroppers Albert and Nora Ella King.[9] He considered the nearby city of Indianola, Mississippi to be his home.[citation needed] When Riley was 4 years old, his mother left his father for another man, and the boy was raised by his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael, Mississippi.[9]
While young, King sang in the gospel choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael. It seems that at the age of 12, he purchased his first guitar for $15.00,[9] although another source indicates he was given his first guitar by Bukka White, his mother's first cousin (King's grandmother and White's mother were sisters).[10] In 1943, King left Kilmichael to work as a tractor driver and play guitar with the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi, performing at area churches and on WGRM in Greenwood, Mississippi.[11][12]
In 1946, King followed Bukka White to Memphis, Tennessee. White took him in for the next ten months.[9] However, King shortly returned to Mississippi, where he decided to prepare himself better for the next visit, and returned to West Memphis, Arkansas, two years later in 1948. He performed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM in West Memphis, where he began to develop an audience. King's appearances led to steady engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis and later to a ten-minute spot on the Memphis radio station WDIA. King's Spot became so popular, it was expanded and became the Sepia Swing Club.
Initially he worked at WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, gaining the nickname Beale Street Blues Boy, which was later shortened to Blues Boy and finally to B.B.[13][14][15] It was there that he first met T-Bone Walker. King said, "Once I'd heard him for the first time, I knew I'd have to have [an electric guitar] myself. 'Had' to have one, short of stealing!"[16]
Career
1949–2005In 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records. Many of King's early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records. Before his RPM contract, King had debuted on Bullet Records by issuing the single "Miss Martha King" (1949), which did not chart well. "My very first recordings [in 1949] were for a company out of Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalled. "I had horns that very first session. I had Phineas Newborn on piano; his father played drums, and his brother, Calvin, played guitar with me. I had Tuff Green on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player. The Newborn family were the house band at the famous Plantation Inn in West Memphis."[17]
King assembled his own band; the B.B. King Review, under the leadership of Millard Lee. The band initially consisted of Calvin Owens and Kenneth Sands (trumpet), Lawrence Burdin (alto saxophone), George Coleman (tenor saxophone),[18] Floyd Newman (baritone saxophone), Millard Lee (piano), George Joyner (bass) and Earl Forest and Ted Curry (drums). Onzie Horne was a trained musician elicited as an arranger to assist King with his compositions. By his own admission, he cannot play chords well[19] and always relies on improvisation. This was followed by tours across the USA with performances in major theaters in cities such as Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and St. Louis, as well as numerous gigs in small clubs and juke joints of the southern US states.
In the winter of 1949, King played at a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas. In order to heat the hall, a barrel half-filled with kerosene was lit, a fairly common practice at the time. During a performance, two men began to fight, knocking over the burning barrel and sending burning fuel across the floor. The hall burst into flames, which triggered an evacuation. Once outside, King realized that he had left his guitar inside the burning building. He entered the blaze to retrieve his beloved instrument, a Gibson hollow electric. The next day, King learned that the two men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. King named that first guitar Lucille, as well as every one he owned since that experience, as a reminder never again to do something as stupid as to fight over a woman or run into a burning building.
Following his first Billboard magazine Rhythm and Blues charts number one, "3 O'Clock Blues" (February 1952),[20] B.B. King became one of the most important names in R&B music in the 1950s, amassing an impressive list of hits[15] including "You Know I Love You," "Woke Up This Morning," "Please Love Me," "When My Heart Beats like a Hammer," "Whole Lotta Love," "You Upset Me Baby," "Every Day I Have the Blues", "Sneakin' Around," "Ten Long Years," "Bad Luck," "Sweet Little Angel", "On My Word of Honor," and "Please Accept My Love." This led to a significant increase in his weekly earnings, from about $85 to $2,500,[21] with appearances at major venues such as the Howard Theater in Washington and the Apollo in New York, as well as touring the entire "Chitlin' circuit". 1956 became a record-breaking year, with 342 concerts booked and three recording sessions. That same year he founded his own record label, Blues Boys Kingdom, with headquarters at Beale Street in Memphis. There, among other projects, he produced artists such as Millard Lee and Levi Seabury. In 1962, King signed to ABC-Paramount Records, which was later absorbed into MCA Records, and this hence into his current label, Geffen Records. In November 1964, King recorded the Live at the Regal album at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
King won a 1970 Grammy Award for the song "The Thrill Is Gone";[22] his version became a hit on both the pop and R&B charts, which was rare during that time for an R&B artist. It also gained the number 183 spot in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. He gained further visibility among rock audiences as an opening act on The Rolling Stones' 1969 American Tour. King's mainstream success continued throughout the 1970s with songs like "To Know You is to Love You" and "I Like to Live the Love".
King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2004 he was awarded the international Polar Music Prize, given to artists "in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music."[23]
From the 1980s onward he has continued to maintain a highly visible and active career, appearing on numerous television shows and performing 300 nights a year. In 1988, King reached a new generation of fans with the single "When Love Comes to Town", a collaborative effort between King and the Irish band U2 on their Rattle and Hum album. Also that year King played for the 1988 Republican National Convention at the behest of Lee Atwater, chairman of the Republican Party. King has remained friendly with the Bush Family ever since and in 1990 was awarded the Presidential Medal of the Arts by George H.W. Bush and the Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2008. In 2000, King teamed up with guitarist Eric Clapton to record Riding With the King. In 1998, King appeared in The Blues Brothers 2000, playing the part of the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys, along with Clapton, Dr. John, Koko Taylor and Bo Diddley. King performed a version of "Chains & Things" with Carole King on his box set King of the Blues.
2006–2015: farewell tour and later activitiesIn 2006, King went on a "farewell" world tour, although he remained active afterward during the last years of his life. The tour was partly supported by Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore, with whom King had previously toured and recorded, including the song "Since I Met You Baby". It started in the UK, and continued with performances in the Montreux Jazz Festival and in Zürich at the Blues at Sunset. During his show in Montreux at the Stravinski Hall he jammed with Joe Sample, Randy Crawford, David Sanborn, Gladys Knight, Lella James, Andre Beeka, Earl Thomas, Stanley Clarke, John McLaughlin, Barbara Hendricks and George Duke. The European leg of the Farewell Tour ended in Luxembourg on September 19, 2006, at the D'Coque Arena (support act: Todd Sharpville). In November and December, King played six times in Brazil.
In June 2006, King was present at a memorial of his first radio broadcast at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, where an official marker of the Mississippi Blues Trail was erected. The same month, a groundbreaking was held for a new museum, dedicated to King.[24] in Indianola, Mississippi.[25] The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened on September 13, 2008. In late October 2006, he recorded a concert CD and DVD entitled B.B. King: Live at his B.B. King Blues Clubs in Nashville and Memphis. The four-night production featured his regular B.B. King Blues Band and captured his show as he performs it nightly around the world. It was his first live performance recording in 14 years.
In 2007, King played at Eric Clapton's second Crossroads Guitar Festival (Parts of this performance were subsequently aired in a PBS broadcast and released on the Crossroads II DVD.), contributed the song "Goin' Home", to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (with Ivan Neville's DumpstaPhunk), and "One Shoe Blues" to Sandra Boynton's children's album Blue Moo, accompanied by a pair of sock puppets in the video.
In the summer of 2008, King played at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, the Chicago Blues Festival, and at the Monterey Blues Festival. On the winter, King was the closing act at the 51st Grammy Nomination Concert, and played at The Kennedy Center Honors Awards Show; his performance was in honor of actor Morgan Freeman. Also in 2008 he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame alongside Liza Minnelli and Sir James Galway, and Sirius XM Radio's Bluesville channel was renamed B.B. King's Bluesville.
In Summer 2009, King started a European Tour with concerts in France, Germany, Belgium, Finland and Denmark.
King performed at the Mawazine festival in Rabat, Morocco, on May 27, 2010.[26] In June 2010, King performed at 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival with The Robert Cray Band, Jimmie Vaughan and Eric Clapton. In March 2010, King contributed to Cyndi Lauper's album Memphis Blues, which was released on June 22, 2010.
In 2011, King played at the Glastonbury Music Festival, and in The Royal Albert Hall, London, supported by Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Ronnie Wood, Mick Hucknall and Slash.
On February 21, 2012, King was among the performers of "In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues", during which Barack Obama sang part of "Sweet Home Chicago".[27] King recorded for the debut album of rapper and producer Big K.R.I.T., who also hails from Mississippi.[28] On July 5, 2012, King performed a concert at the Byblos Festival, Lebanon.
On May 26, 2013, King appeared at New Orleans Jazz Festival[29]
Over a period of 64 years, King has played in excess of 15,000 performances.[30]
A feature documentary about B.B. King narrated by Morgan Freeman, and directed by Jon Brewer was released on October 15, 2012.[31]
Equipment
B.B.
King used simple equipment. He played guitars made by various
manufacturers early in his career: he played a Fender Telecaster on most
of his recordings with RPM Records (USA).[32] However, he was best
known for playing variants of the Gibson ES-355. In 1980 Gibson Guitar
Corporation launched the B.B. King Lucille model. In 2005 Gibson made a
special run of 80 Gibson Lucilles, referred to as the "80th Birthday
Lucille", the first prototype of which was given as a birthday gift to
King, and which he used ever since.[33]
King used a Lab Series L5 2x12" combo amplifier and had been using this amplifier for a long time. It was made by Norlin Industries for Gibson in the 1970s and 1980s. Other popular L5 users are Allan Holdsworth and Ty Tabor of King's X. The L5 has an onboard compressor, parametric equalization, and four inputs. King also used a Fender Twin Reverb.[34]
He used his signature model strings "Gibson SEG-BBS B.B. King Signature Electric Guitar Strings" with gauges: 10-13-17p-32w-45w-54w and D'Andrea 351 MD SHL CX (Medium .71mm, Tortoise Shell, Celluloid) Picks.[34]
B.B. King's Blues ClubIn 1991, B.B. King's Blues Club opened on Beale Street in Memphis, and in 1994, a second club was launched at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles. A third club in New York City's Times Square opened in June 2000. Two further clubs opened at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in January 2002[35] and another in Nashville in 2003.[36] A club in West Palm Beach opened in the fall of 2009[37] and an additional one, based in the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, opened in the winter of 2009.[38] In 2007, a B.B. King's Blues Club in Orlando opened on International Drive. The Memphis, Nashville, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Las Vegas clubs are all the same company.
LegacyKing was widely regarded as one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time, inspiring countless other electric blues and blues rock guitarists.[8]
PhilanthropyIn 2001, King signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underprivileged public schools throughout the United States. He sits on LKR's Honorary Board of Directors.
Television appearancesB.B. King made guest appearances in numerous popular television shows, including The Cosby Show, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital,[39] The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sesame Street,[40] Married... with Children, Sanford and Son, and Touched by an Angel. He also had a cameo in the movie Spies Like Us.[41] He voiced a character in the last episode of Cow and Chicken.[42]
A version of B.B. King was made for the popular children's show, Between The Lions, in which Theo played as a singer named "B.B. the King Of Beasts".
King appeared in a 2014 commercial for the Toyota Camry with the Lucille guitar after the guitar was found in a storage locker and signed by King.[43]
King, who was also a diabetic, appeared in television commercials for OneTouch Ultra from 2002 to 2005, and again in 2011 with Crystal Bowersox.
Personal lifeKing was married twice, to Martha Lee Denton, 1946 to 1952, and to Sue Carol Hall, 1958 to 1966. Both marriages ended because of the heavy demands made on the marriage by King's 250 performances a year.[9] It is reported that he has fathered 15 children and, as of 2004, had 50 grandchildren.[9] He has lived with Type II diabetes for over 20 years and is a high-profile spokesman in the fight against the disease, appearing in advertisements for diabetes-management products along with American Idol season 9 contestant Crystal Bowersox.
King was an FAA certificated Private Pilot and learned to fly in 1963 at what was then Chicago Hammond Airport in Lansing, Illinois.[44][45] He frequently flew to gigs, but under the advice of his insurance company and manager in 1995, King was asked to fly only with another certificated pilot; and as a result, King stopped flying around the age of 70.[46]
External video Oral History, B.B. King reflects on his greatest musical influences. interview date August 3, 2005, NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Library
His favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. In his autobiography King spoke about how he was a "Sinatra nut" and how he went to bed every night listening to Sinatra's classic album In the Wee Small Hours. King credited Sinatra for opening doors to black entertainers who were not given the chance to play in "white-dominated" venues; Sinatra got B.B. King into the main clubs in Las Vegas during the 1960s.[47]
Health and deathOn May 1, 2015, after two hospitalizations caused by complications from high blood pressure and diabetes. King announced on his website that he was in hospice care at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada.[48] King died on May 14 at home.
King used a Lab Series L5 2x12" combo amplifier and had been using this amplifier for a long time. It was made by Norlin Industries for Gibson in the 1970s and 1980s. Other popular L5 users are Allan Holdsworth and Ty Tabor of King's X. The L5 has an onboard compressor, parametric equalization, and four inputs. King also used a Fender Twin Reverb.[34]
He used his signature model strings "Gibson SEG-BBS B.B. King Signature Electric Guitar Strings" with gauges: 10-13-17p-32w-45w-54w and D'Andrea 351 MD SHL CX (Medium .71mm, Tortoise Shell, Celluloid) Picks.[34]
B.B. King's Blues ClubIn 1991, B.B. King's Blues Club opened on Beale Street in Memphis, and in 1994, a second club was launched at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles. A third club in New York City's Times Square opened in June 2000. Two further clubs opened at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in January 2002[35] and another in Nashville in 2003.[36] A club in West Palm Beach opened in the fall of 2009[37] and an additional one, based in the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, opened in the winter of 2009.[38] In 2007, a B.B. King's Blues Club in Orlando opened on International Drive. The Memphis, Nashville, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Las Vegas clubs are all the same company.
LegacyKing was widely regarded as one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time, inspiring countless other electric blues and blues rock guitarists.[8]
PhilanthropyIn 2001, King signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underprivileged public schools throughout the United States. He sits on LKR's Honorary Board of Directors.
Television appearancesB.B. King made guest appearances in numerous popular television shows, including The Cosby Show, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital,[39] The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sesame Street,[40] Married... with Children, Sanford and Son, and Touched by an Angel. He also had a cameo in the movie Spies Like Us.[41] He voiced a character in the last episode of Cow and Chicken.[42]
A version of B.B. King was made for the popular children's show, Between The Lions, in which Theo played as a singer named "B.B. the King Of Beasts".
King appeared in a 2014 commercial for the Toyota Camry with the Lucille guitar after the guitar was found in a storage locker and signed by King.[43]
King, who was also a diabetic, appeared in television commercials for OneTouch Ultra from 2002 to 2005, and again in 2011 with Crystal Bowersox.
Personal lifeKing was married twice, to Martha Lee Denton, 1946 to 1952, and to Sue Carol Hall, 1958 to 1966. Both marriages ended because of the heavy demands made on the marriage by King's 250 performances a year.[9] It is reported that he has fathered 15 children and, as of 2004, had 50 grandchildren.[9] He has lived with Type II diabetes for over 20 years and is a high-profile spokesman in the fight against the disease, appearing in advertisements for diabetes-management products along with American Idol season 9 contestant Crystal Bowersox.
King was an FAA certificated Private Pilot and learned to fly in 1963 at what was then Chicago Hammond Airport in Lansing, Illinois.[44][45] He frequently flew to gigs, but under the advice of his insurance company and manager in 1995, King was asked to fly only with another certificated pilot; and as a result, King stopped flying around the age of 70.[46]
External video Oral History, B.B. King reflects on his greatest musical influences. interview date August 3, 2005, NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Library
His favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. In his autobiography King spoke about how he was a "Sinatra nut" and how he went to bed every night listening to Sinatra's classic album In the Wee Small Hours. King credited Sinatra for opening doors to black entertainers who were not given the chance to play in "white-dominated" venues; Sinatra got B.B. King into the main clubs in Las Vegas during the 1960s.[47]
Health and deathOn May 1, 2015, after two hospitalizations caused by complications from high blood pressure and diabetes. King announced on his website that he was in hospice care at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada.[48] King died on May 14 at home.
B.B.King
Live in Bonn 1994
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