Hailed as "The King of the Blues or "The Ambassador of the Blues", the great B.B. King is no doubt the most important electric blues guitarist in the last half of the 20th century. His bent notes and picking style have had an impact on later bluesmen like Robert Cray with his gitty and confident voice and capable of wringing a slight difference from any lyric provided a good match for his passionate playing.

Through the changes in music in the last 50 years, King has remained faithful to the blues while incorporating musical styles like jazz into his overview of music.

As a guitarist, he is best known for his single note solos played on a Gibson guitar. His unique tone is regal with a sting and he is also known for trilling vibrato, awesome string bends and a approach making every note count.

King doesn't play chords, rather he bends every individual string until the notes cry. His playing style show the influences that impacted him as a child like T-Bone Walker and Charlie Christian. Horns have also been a huge part of King's songs and he has had success incorporating jazz and blues in his music.

Being the last great bluesman alive, King's influence has pasted on into rock and roll as groups and singers from Fleetwood Mac and The Yardbirds to Eric Clapton have drawn from his singing and guitar playing.

Posted by Andrew on Sunday, 02/17/2013 @ 22:48pm

I don't know where to put suggestions for pages on FRL, but I figured this would be an appropriate place to do so, since I'm proposing a page for a fellow bluesman.

J.B. Lenoir should get a page on FRL. For the uninitiated, he was a blues singer and guitarist who recorded during the 1950s and '60s and was based out of Chicago. His notable songs include Mama Talk to Your Daughter, Don't Touch My Head (My personal favorite song of his), Eisenhower Blues, Korea Blues, Mama What About Your Daughter, and Don't Dog Your Woman. Among the labels he cut songs for included Parrot and Chess (and its subsidiary Checker). He sadly passed away on April 29, 1967, at a young age (38) after sustaining severe injuries from a car accident.

Please consider it, FRL.

Posted by Zach on Monday, 08/5/2013 @ 23:26pm

FRL- Please add Three O' Clock Blues (1952) to the list of essential songs for B.B. King as it was inducted this month.

Posted by Tom H. on Tuesday, 10/28/2014 @ 15:26pm

RIP Mr King

Posted by Happy on Friday, 05/15/2015 @ 02:02am

Today is a really sad day in music; RIP B.B. King, one of the all-time great bluesmen.

Posted by Nick on Friday, 05/15/2015 @ 07:52am

Surprisingly short Essential Songs list compared to others. His version of Hummingbird is one of my favourites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fERk1AVu2CM

Posted by GB on Sunday, 01/19/2020 @ 08:57am