The sky is crying now, and so am I. Cousin Billy just called me at 1:45 AM on Friday
and told me that B.B. King had passed away. 15 minutes later, (as I wrote this), I am beside myself with grief. My t-shirt is getting wet now, in the front. I don't know what to say or do right now. I knew he was in a delicate state, but I'm in denial. Denial that I won't be able to see him "One more time". Like I always did. 12 times, all told, through the years, once with Buddy Guy.
I first heard him on my transistor radio over the Christmas Holiday when I was 10, in 1965. I don't remember the first song, but I remembered his name, and his music. He was my King, before I even heard of Elvis, or knew that Elvis had a nickname. He was the first bluesman I remember hearing. I couldn't believe a guitar could make those sorts of sounds, or a man could sound so rich with his voice. I guess he opened my ears to the electric blues; as I discovered Muddy Waters just a short time later, with "Electric Mud", and then Jimi turned the electric blues all upside down, to my delight.
You know when you have your heart broken as a young teenager for the first time? How your world is just shattered, and your life is pretty much fuckin' over at such an early age? That would be the case for me, just a week or two before B.B.'s "The Thrill Is Gone" was released on the AM airwaves here in Los Angeles. Yes, yes; dumped unceremoniously by the girlfriend. It was at that point where I believe that I really understood the blues for the first time in my life. Because it hit home, right down to every bone, and into my broken heart. Prior to this, I loved his music, but didn't quite know what it meant. Now, I did.
The most intimate setting I saw B.B. was at his own club, "B.B. King's". This one was located at Universal Studios, Hollywood. There, he was having a big New Year's bash on the 31st, so that was going to be a madhouse, as it was Y2K. My birthday was coming up on December 30th, so we both thought that we would go the night before to avoid crowds. It was amazing, there were probably 2 or 3 other couples there, and that was it! He just sat in his chair, about 15 feet away, and played the blues for 2 hours. Now there was a wood parquet dance floor about 15' wide separating B.B. from the café tables. We were the first couple to go out and start slow dancing. You could tell, he just loved that; he got us moving, and he winked at me, with an "atta boy" kind of vibe. After he was done, he hung out and chatted the our small crowd up for a good 30 minutes. It was so cool; no one was asking for autographs or taking pictures, just interaction. My girlfriend got a big hug and kissed him on the cheek, then he said, "You have a fine woman here, don't let this sister get away from you, son". She then said to me, "See; he's right, he knows". Then B.B. laughed, because he called it. We stayed home on New Year's, had dinner in, and listened to nothing but the blues; primarily B.B. King.
Now, I know Jimmie Vaughan scored this next song for Stevie Ray, but, to me, it applies to any type of guitar slinger when they take wing.
The last time me and cousin Billy went to see B.B. was on February 20th, 2014, at The Canyon Club, in Agoura Hills, CA. It was classic; he had a knock down, drag out, brass section to accompany him, and it was surely sweet. He didn't just play, he had "Fireside Chats" throughout the evening; giving advice to the lovelorn, and other gems. He was so full of love, and his gift for giving really was on point that night. I told Billy afterwards that I dug his talking just as much as his notes, Billy agreed. It was priceless. We both knew that this was probably the last time we would see him, without saying as much. So yeah, the sky is crying. B.B., and these two other giants below, have now, embraced the great gig in the sky...
Thanks for the music, and the memories, B.B. King; Love conquers all...SSK
Special Thanks To: ericlewis0:http://www.dailykos.com/...
And, Satya1: http://www.dailykos.com/...