B. B. King 081

B. B. King 081

Look closer for two titles and five lyrics: Every Day I Have the Blues; A Whole Lotta Love; “If you ever been mistreated, you know just what I’m talking about.”(5 Long Years); “Goodbye everybody.”(Three O-Clock Blues); “I asked my baby for a nickel and she gave me a $20 bill.”(Sweet Little Angel); “Like being hit by a falling tree.”(You Upset Me Baby); “You’ve got those little dreamy eyes.”(A Whole Lotta Love).

The Story:

Riley B. King (09-16-1925 – 05-14-2015), known professionally as B. B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato, and staccato picking that influenced many later blues electric guitar players. AllMusic recognized King as “the single most important electric guitarist of the last half of the 20th century”.

King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and is one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname “The King of the Blues”, and is considered one of the “Three Kings of the Blues Guitar” (along with Albert King and Freddie King, none of whom are related). King performed tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing on average at more than 200 concerts per year into his 70s. In 1956 alone, he appeared at 342 shows.

King was born on a cotton plantation of Berclair, near the city of Itta Bena, Mississippi, and later worked at a cotton gin in Indianola, Mississippi. He was attracted to music and taught himself to play guitar and began his career in juke joints and local radio. He later lived in Memphis and Chicago; then, as his fame grew, he toured the world extensively. King died at 89 in Las Vegas in 2015.

Career

Following his first Billboard Rhythm and Blues charted number one, “3 O’Clock Blues” (February 1952), King became one of the most important names in R&B music in the 1950s, amassing an impressive list of hits 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, with appearances at major venues such as the Howard Theater in Washington and the Apollo in New York, as well as touring the “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 was a producer for artists such as Millard Lee and Levi Seabury. In 1962, King signed to ABC-Paramount Records, which was later absorbed into MCA Records (which itself was later absorbed into Geffen Records). In November 1964, King recorded the Live at the Regal album at the Regal Theater. King later said that Regal Live “is considered by some the best recording I’ve ever had … that particular day in Chicago everything came together.”

Awards

King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2014. 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.”

From the 1980s to his death in 2015, he maintained a highly visible and active career, appearing on numerous television shows and sometimes 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. In December 1997, he performed in the Vatican’s fifth annual Christmas concert and presented his trademark guitar “Lucille” to Pope John Paul II. In 1998, King appeared in The Blues Brothers 2000, playing the part of the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys, along with Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Koko Taylor and Bo Diddley. In 2000, he and Clapton teamed up again to record Riding With the King, which won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

B. B. King’s Blues Club

In 1991, Beale Street developer John Elkington recruited King to Memphis to open the original B.B. King’s Blues Club, and in 1994, a second club was launched at Universal Citywalk in Los Angeles. A third club in New York City’s Times Square opened in June 2000 but closed on April 29, 2018. Management is currently in the process of finding a new location in New York City. Two more clubs opened, at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in January 2002, and in Nashville in 2003. Another club opened in Orlando in 2007. A club in West Palm Beach opened in the fall of 2009 and an additional one, based in the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, opened in the winter of 2009. Another opened in the New Orleans French Quarter in 2016.

credit – Wikipedia

The artwork: 

The first print of this illustration is available to support a non-profit fundraiser. Contact lisafromlsu@gmail.com.for details.

Digital Print on Archival Matte – Original illustration done in graphite and the following Prisma Colors: Indigo Blue and True Blue for the Blues; Terra Cotta and Orange to compliment the blues; Violet (purple) to signify his royalty as a king; Sunburst Yellow for the warmth of his jacket; and True Green to represent the money made writing, singing and playing the Blues. 

Artist: Tobin Bortner of Bastrop, Texas – drawing done in October of 2023 – ©Tobin Signs/Look Closer Illustrations 
DERIVATIVE Work – photo credits: face from ultimateclassicrock_com – BB-King; guitar from chicagotribune_com – 4ZT7Y5FTQZDTVJDOWS3PJ2H3NY.

What you get:
$40 (36.95 + 3.05 tax)
11 x 14 Print Package with Authenticity Sheet
signed and numbered (run of 500)
Domestic Priority Mail $8 (Free shipping)