B.B. KING

The thrill has not yet gone. At age 82, amazingly, B.B. King is still entertaining crowds around the country.

B.B. King performed at the San Diego County Fair on June 26; definitely the most renown artist to grace the summer concert series.

Though the stage was vast and the crowd was large, King was still able to convey a sense of intimacy through story telling. King charmed the crowd with anecdotal commentary in between blues’ guitar, telling stories of relationships, family and life. King even made jokes about his sex life, referring to what he called his “doctors:” “Doctor Viagra, Doctor Cialis and Doctor Levitra.”

King also attempted a couple times to get the audience to sing lyrics after his que, but the Southern California crowd lacked the soul of the Mississippi— this element of the show probably would work better somewhere in the South.

There was no encore, but a standing ovation was the only way the crowd would let the show end. It seemed as if the audience consisted of mostly unauthentic blues’ spectators, more interested in just actually seeing King, intrigued by his person and fame, rather than being avid, lifelong fans of the music. However, the crowd roared at the start of one of King’s most reputable classics—his rendition of a Roy Hawkins’ original—“The Thrill Is Gone.”

Aside from the semi-soulful crowd, King is truly a remarkable artist that continues to sing the blues with as much love and passion as he did in his younger days. His guitar and vocals compliment each other nicely and seemed to be unfazed by age. King is subtly charismatic, making him not so much an unbelievable showmen, but rather a true blues’ musician with a unique, experienced and thoughtful approach to reaching his audience—King is thought to be one of the greatest blues’ musicians of all time.

Currently, King is touring the U.S., playing 10 shows in the month of July. Rolling Stone magazine declared King the 3rd greatest guitarist of all time. Among numerous awards and achievements, King was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987 and has guest appeared in film and television. B.B. King has been performing for over 52 years participating in as many as 15,000 performances. A biography has been written on King, titled, B.B. King: There Is Always One More Time. King is certainly a legend