Naturally we tarried in the back catalogue of the birthday boy to include "Gambler's Blues" with its scorching solo and anguished vocal which proves why the 1966 album "Blues Is King" is the definitive live blues album (the one to go for in preference to the lauded "Live at the Regal"). In many ways Bobby "Blue" Bland was the perfect voice for the mid-period B. B. King, the sheer joy in having two old friends work together is audible on their run through of Louis Jordan's "Let The Good Times Roll". The soundtrack to the film "Calendar Girls" is a goodun and front and centre is his 1954 hit "You Upset Me Baby". Our show closed with a piece from the much-missed US tv comedy legal skit "The Associates" which starred Wilfred Hyde White: the lyric in "Better Not Look Down" where the Queen asks B for advice on her way home from a party tickles my socks every time (all the while Lucille trills and frills beautifully). It was the perfect bookend to the 1991 selection "I'm Movin' On" taken from the Stewart Levine tribute to Doc Pomus called "There Is Always One More Time". That one was the first of his albums I heard and it coincided with his rebranding as a crossover rock player the darling of Bono and so on.
Another player we caught at a crossing point was Freddie King, the song "Palace Of the King" veered dangerously close to being a rock classic for many folks. He was cited by Clapton as a major influence and that one had him return the compliment. Two of his nephews record together as the King Brothers and their muscular playing is very radio friendly round here. Albert King was in the "Laundromat" for a typically sublime workout for the Stax label. Those Three Kings are pretty well known in the mainstream but we were determined to go that bit further by including Earl King and Saunders King, two very different and distinctive guitarists - both deserving far bigger kudos. King Alex Littlejohn held down a full time job (latterly in an envelope factory) but gave us a guilty pleasure with his only full length album "Hot As A coffee Pot" and his song "Crying Eyes". Similarly King Ernest had a lengthy spell working in the local Sheriff department after working with Howlin' Wolf among others. Sadly he died two days after finishing his second album which came out on Fat Possum. Same imprint was host to Little Freddie King and his reworking of a Frankie Lee Sims song as "Walking With Freddie".
The Kings of Harmony did splendid gospel duties with a gorgeous blend of voices and we had chance to air another long-standing blues mystery: King Solomon Hill. The omnipotent Wikipedia says it was really Joe Holmes behind just 8 recordings, though I've seen passionate argument that it wasn't him. Whoever it was he knew his was up and down a slide guitar in 1928 (or thereabouts). From that era came the composition "Louis Collins" by way of Mississippi John Hurt and a fine version on "Antebellum Postcards" the latest project by Chris Thomas King. (trivia for the Snug when it gets slow between halves of stout: he played Lowell Fulson in the film "Ray" and he played Robert Johnson in "O Brother Where Art Thou").
It is almost a year since B B King was the subject of the film "Life of Riley" and an earlier blog entry talks about that - it nowhere mentions his work with prisoners and his ready acknowledgement of how close he came to falling into crime himself. As far as I know he still devotes a lot of energy to the cause and we went to the 1970 gig he did at Cook County Jail and a sparkling rework of "Sweet Sixteen". He deserves the very finest of birthdays, I hope me and a whole bunch of Kings did him justice in the shortest two hours of the week. You - as always - were magnificent company I was Gary Blue. Until next Sunday at ten take care of yourselves and take care of those that take care of you.
| track.title | track.artistsort | index | album.title | album.artistsort | label |
| I'm Movin' on | B. B. King | 1 | There Is Always One More Time | B. B. King | MCA |
| Sleepy | King Brothers | 1 | Mo' Heat | King Brothers | HARD ATTACK |
| Tell Me What's the Reason | King Ernest | 7 | King Of Hearts | King Ernest | EVIDENCE |
| Cryin' Eyes | King Alex & The Untouchables | 10 | Hot As A Coffee Pot | King Alex & The Untouchables | BLACK MAGIC |
| Walking With Freddie | Little Freddie King | 2 | You Don't Know What I Know | Little Freddie King | FAT POSSUM |
| Soul Twist | King Curtis | 29 | Teen Beat Vol.2 | Various Artists | ACE |
| Groove Me | King Floyd | 5 | Take Me To The River: A Southern Soul Story 1961-1977 | Various Artists | Kent (U.K.) |
| You Upset Me Baby | B. B. King | 12 | The R'n'b Years 1954: 100 Hot Rhythm And Blues Tunes From 1954 | Various Artists | BOULEVARD VINTAGE |
| lazy woman blues | Saunders King | 4 | Cool Blues, Jumps & Shuffles | Saunders King | ACE |
| Everything is Gonna Be Alright | King Perry & His Pied Pipers | 4 | Specialty Story | Various Artists | Specialty |
| Lord Give Me Wings | Kings Of Harmony | 23 | Good News | Various Artists | PROPER |
| Is Everything Alright | Earl King | 9 | Mark Lamarr's Ace Is Wild | Various Artists | WESTSIDE |
| Talkin' 'Bout Bad Luck | Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King | 10 | Road Dog's Life | Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King | Delta Groove |
| Palace of the King | Freddie King | 10 | Getting Ready | Freddie King | SEQUEL |
| This Should Go on Forever | King Karl With Guitar Gable | 12 | Excello Hits | Various Artists | ACE |
| What a Day What a Night | Bobby King | 20 | Chicago Blues From Federal Records | Various Artists | ACE |
| sweet sixteen | B. B. King | 10 | introducing B. B. King | B. B. King | MCA |
| Louis Collins | Chris Thomas King | 9 | Antebellum Postcards | Chris Thomas King | 21ST CENTURY |
| Times Has Done Got Hard | King Solomon Hill | 15 | Blues Images Presents 1920's Blues Classics Cd - Volume 1 | Various Artists | BLUES IMAGES |
| Cadillac Assembly Line | Albert King | 9 | Ultimate Collection | Albert King | RHINO |
| gamblers blues | B. B. King | 1-5 | how blues can you get - clasic live | b b king | mca |
| Better Not Look Down | B. B. King | 2 | Introducing B. B. King | B. B. King | MCA |
| Let the Good Times Roll | B. B. KingBobby 'Blue' Bland | 15 | Lucille And Friends | B. B. King | MCA |
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