The Styrous® Viewfinder: B. B. King

I woke up this morning to discover that B. B. King died last night, May 14, 2014. King was my favorite blues musician and my favorite album of his was Indianola Mississippi Seeds. The back up on the album is phenomenal! It included Joe Walsh and Hugh McCracken on Guitar, Carole King on Piano, Russ Kunkel on Drums and many others (full credits below).

it's a gatefold album

B. B. King ~ Indianola Mississippi Seeds

cover design by Lockart

front & back photos by Ivan Nagy

photo of cover by Styrous®

B. B. King was born Riley B. King on September 16, 1925, on a cotton plantation near the town of Itta Bena, Mississippi, but he considered the nearby city of Indianola, Mississippi to be his true home.

He sang in the choir and one source says when he was 12 he purchased his first guitar for $15.00. Another source says he was given his first guitar by Bukka White, his mother's first cousin (King's grandmother and White's mother were sisters).

In 1949, King began recording songs with RPM Records. His early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records.

Following his first Billboard Rhythm and Blues charts number one, 3 O'Clock Blues (February 1952), B.B. King became one of the most important names in R&B music in the 1950s, with an impressive list of hits: 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 entire "Chitlin' circuit". - From Wikipedia

He was the opening act for the Rolling Stones on the Stones' 1969 American Tour and won a Grammy Award in 1970 for the song, The Thrill Is Gone (my very favorite of all his songs).

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 had used ever since.

B. B. King with his favorite guitar, Lucille

March 12, 2009

photo by F. Antolín Hernandez

King was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987 and in 1988, he collaborative with the Irish band U2 on the single, When Love Comes to Town, a song on the U2 album, Rattle and Hum.

On December, 1997, he performed in the Vatican's fifth annual Christmas concert and presented his trademark guitar "Lucille " to Pope John Paul II.

In 2000, he and Eric Clapton teamed up to record Riding With the King, which won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

In 2006, King went on a "farewell" world tour, the quotes are apropos. He never stopped working until last night.

On February 21, 2012, United States President Barack Obama joined King in singing Sweet Home Chicago during the In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues concert for the Black History Month celebration of blues music in the East Room of the White House.

from left: Barack Obama,

Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Jeff Beck,

Derek Trucks, B.B. King, and Gary Clark, Jr.

photo by Pete Souza

B. B. King was 89 years old. He once said, “But people that would ask me to sing a blues song would always tip me and maybe give me a beer. They always would do something of that kind. Sometimes I’d make 50 or 60 dollars one Saturday afternoon. Now you know why I’m a blues singer.”

B. B. King ~ Indianola Mississippi Seeds

vinyl LP record

photo by Styrous®

Track listing:

All songs written by B. B. King, except where noted.

Side 1:

"Nobody Loves Me But My Mother" — 1:26
- B. B. King — piano & vocal
"You're Still My Woman" (B. B. King/Dave Clark) — 6:04
- B. B. King — guitar & vocal
- Carole King — piano
- Bryan Garofalo — bass
- Russ Kunkel — drums
"Ask Me No Questions" — 3:08
- B. B. King — guitar & vocal
- Leon Russell – piano
- Joe Walsh – rhythm guitar
- Bryan Garofalo — bass
- Russ Kunkel — drums
"Until I'm Dead and Cold" — 4:45
- B. B. King — guitar & vocal
- Carole King — piano
- Bryan Garofalo — bass
- Russ Kunkel — drums
"King's Special" — 5:13
- B. B. King — lead guitar
- Leon Russell – piano
- Joe Walsh – rhythm guitar
- Bryan Garofalo — bass
- Russ Kunkel — drums
Side 2:
"Ain't Gonna Worry My Life Anymore" — 5:18
- B. B. King — guitar & vocal
- Carole King — piano & electric piano
- Bryan Garofalo — bass
- Russ Kunkel — drums
"Chains and Things" (B. B. King & Dave Clark) — 4:53
- B.B. King — guitar & vocal
- Carole King — electric piano
- Bryan Garofalo — bass
- Russ Kunkel — drums
"Go Underground" (B. B. King & Dave Clark) — 4:00
- B. B. King — lead guitar & vocal
- Paul Harris — piano
- Hugh McCracken — rhythm guitar
- Gerald Jemmott — bass
- Herb Lovelle — drums
- Joe Zagarino — Engineer
The Hit Factory, New York City
"Hummingbird" (Leon Russell) — 4:36
- B. B. King — guitar & vocal
- Leon Russell — piano & conductor
- Joe Walsh — rhythm guitar
- Bryan Garofalo — bass
- Russ Kunkel — drums
- Sherlie Matthews, Merry Clayton, Clydie King, Venetta Fields — "Angelic chorus"

Personnel

B.B. King – Guitar, piano, vocals
Joe Walsh – Guitar
Hugh McCracken – Guitar
Carole King – Piano, electric piano
Leon Russell – Piano
Paul Harris – Piano
Bryan Garofalo– Bass
Gerald Jemmott – Bass
Russ Kunkel – Drums
Herb Lovelle – Drums
Bill Szymczyk – producer

Credits

Production:

Produced by Bill Szymczyk
Strings and Horns arranged by Jimmie Haskell
Recorded at The Record Plant, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
- Engineers — Bill Szymczyk & Gary Kellgren
- Assistant Engineers — Llyllianne Douma (Lillian Davis Douma), Mike Stone, & John Henning
Mastering — Bob Macleod — Artisan Sound Recorders

Other:

Cover design — Lockart
Photography — Ivan Nagy
Management — Sidney A. Seidenberg
Leon Russell appears with love from Shelter Records
Carole King & Merry Clayton appear through the courtesy of Ode 70 Records
Congratulations to Albert and Nora on your son Riley, September 16, 1925

Label: ABC Records ‎– ABCS-713

Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold

Country: US

Released: 1970

Genre: Blues

Style: Chicago Blues

Companies etc.:

Made By – ABC/Dunhill Records
Copyright (c) – ABC/Dunhill Records
Engineered At – The Hit Factory
Recorded At – Record Plant, Los Angeles
Mastered At – Artisan Sound Recorders

Credits:

Arranged By [Strings And Horns] – Jimmie Haskell
Bass – Bryan Garofalo (tracks: A2 to B2, B4)
Design [Cover] – Lockart*
Drums – Russ Kunkel (tracks: A2 to B2, B4)
Electric Piano – Carole King (tracks: B1, B2)
Engineer – Bill Szymczyk, Gary Kellgren
Engineer [Assistant] – John Henning, Llyllianne Douma*, Mike Stone
Guitar – B.B. King (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B2)
Lead Guitar – B.B. King (tracks: A3, A5, B3, B4)
Management – Sidney A. Seidenberg
Mastered By – Bob MacLeod
Photography By – Ivan Nagy (2)
Piano – B.B. King (tracks: A1), Carole King (tracks: A2, A4, B1), Leon Russell (tracks: A3, A5, B4)
Producer – Bill Szymczyk
Rhythm Guitar – Joe Walsh (tracks: A3, A5, B4)
Vocals – B.B. King (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B3)
Written-By – B.B. King (tracks: A1 to B3)

Notes:

B3 engineered at the Hit Factory, New York City

Barcode and Other Identifiers:

Matrix / Runout (Side A Label): ABCS 713 A
Matrix / Runout (Side B Label): ABCS 713 B
Matrix / Runout (Side A Runout, Etched): ABC S-713-A 1B B
Matrix / Runout (Side B Runout, Etched): ABCS-713-B 1C

B. B. King Discography

Links to songs from the Indianola Mississippi Seeds album on YouTube

The thrill will never go.

Styrous® ~ Friday, May 15, 2015

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