How do you decide on that kind of material. : You’ve recorded a few of his tracks and obviously you feel that he’s a great writer. King: He’s a great guitarist, and he’s a great writer. What is it that keeps you including him in your recordings and things? You’ve had him involved the past few years. : I’m especially interested in your playing with Doyle Bramhall II. But most of the people that he put together, I’ve worked with before. What about the band that you put together for the new CD, Reflections? How did you put those people together? And I’m the guy that takes them out, so I agree or disagree. King: Well, the promoter is the one that recommends who we take out. : The people that you have with you, how did you decide on these groups? King: The BB King fest, I’ve been doing it for 12 years. : What about the tour that you’re on right now, you’re having a lot of fun out there? : You had Jeff Beck sitting in with you on some dates? : You really seem to have a lot of fun onstage. Hey, I saw you play in Chicago last week it was a fantastic show. : Hi BB (laughing) Bad Bill, huh? īB King: Well, I don’t want everybody calling me just to ask me if I can sing The Thrill is Gone. I’m calling to do an interview with BB King.īB King live circa 1985. Consider also that this is his seventh album in the past six years, and you have to ask: Does BB King ever sleep? Reflections, BB’s latest recording for label MCA, finds him covering a surprisingly broad range of personal favourites (including Willie Nelson’s Always on My Mind), but then King has always been proud of his open-minded taste in music. There’s even a spot on the guitar neck named after him “BB’s Box”. His sweet vibrato has been studied and copied by millions, including many an A-list rock star. His disciples are many, both in the blues idiom and throughout the rock world as well. By that account alone, BB King deserves the title, The King of the Blues.īB is without question one of the most influential guitar players blues or otherwise to ever have pulled on a G-string. Keep up with what, you ask? Think about this: It’s been more than 50 years since he scored his first hit single, but he’s still out there traveling and performing at the age of 77,200-plus nights per year. Go ahead and try to keep up, few will ever be able to claim they could. This interview was originally published in 2003.

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