The Real King

672 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Education of Riley B. 'B.B.' King

Riley B. "B.B." King
(guitarist/singer, born September 16, 1925, Itta Bena, MS)

The most touching bluesman of our time, and the most influential electric guitarist ever, the "King of the
Blues" sums up his message with some simple advice. "I would say to all people, but maybe to young people especially--black and white or whatever color--follow your own feelings and trust them, find out what you want to do and do it, and then practice it every day of your life and keep becoming what you are, despite any hardships and obstacles you meet."

So hard to follow yet so good to live by, those words also describe the course of the musician's extraordinary career. The obstacles in his path were many: He was born during the Great Depression in the poorest of American states, the son of black farm laborers. Only talent, hard work, and an unstoppable artistic vision can account for King's journey out of the Mississippi Delta, through the roadhouse joints of the "Chitlin' Circuit" in the South to the legendary Apollo Theater in New York, into the recording studio, to the hearts of millions. Praising his "apparently inexhaustible reserve of creativity," as he presented B.B. King with the National Medal of Arts in 1990, President George Bush hailed the blues musician as a "trailblazer, an authentic pioneer who literally helped shape his art form."

Riley B. King (the extra "B" came later and doesn't stand for anything) spent his childhood all over the state of Mississippi. When his parents separated in 1929, the boy went to live with his maternal grandmother in Kilmichael; his mother died when he was nine and, in 1940, B.B. joined his father's new family in Lexington for two years before returning to Kilmichael. He took on farm work in Indianola in
1946 but, after wrecking a tractor, decided his future lay in Memphis, Tennessee. A fan of the bluesman
Bukka White, young B.B. looked him up for advice and found himself working as a street corner bluesman in Memphis. In 1948 he worked up the nerve to audition for WDIA, a hillbilly radio station that was about to change its format to cater to the black community. He got the job.

He cut his first record in 1949, "Miss Martha King," followed by "Three O'Clock Blues" and "She's
Dynamite" in 1951. Both reached Number One in Memphis. By 1955, King decided to put together his own band, and a steady string of hits followed that included "Recession Blues," "Rock Me, Baby," "How

Show More
Related

  • James Earl Jones: A Voice In The Crowd

    2807 Words  | 6 Pages

    Mississippi Delta when he was an infant. Raised for the rest of his young life

    Read More

  • Elvis Presley Informative Speech

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    King, so he always hung around the black section of town where B.B. King performed. Following graduation in June 1953, Presley drove a truck for Crown Electric; he had planned to drive a truck for his whole life. He ended up growing his hair out, and dressing like a truck driver. “That summer he decided to record two songs; “My Happiness” and “That’s Where Your Heartaches Begin” at Memphis Recording Service, where anyone could record a 10-inch acetate for four dollars.” (EP Bio 3)

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Walking Blues Vs Kentucky

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    As time progressed, music had to continue to evolve to keep up with the ever-changing styles. Blues slowly began to morph into Rock and Roll to engage people of a new era. While many changes occurred in creating Rock and Roll, it continued to carry undertones of the Blues. This can be heard while comparing Son House’s, “Walking Blues” and Elvis Presley’s, “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” These two songs show many similarities, while also having their own identities.

    Read More

  • Why Did Elvis Became The King Of Rock And Roll

    1441 Words  | 3 Pages

    He wanted to get a rifle, but his mother talked him into getting the guitar instead. Did you know in 1954, Elvis auditioned to be in a gospel quartet, and was turned down? He definitely proved them wrong. Elvis, at only 19, began his singing career in 1954, and by 1956 was an international sensation. Being so young when he started, it is amazing to see that he had many different musical influences. Pop and country were influences at the time, gospel from his family, church, and the all-night gospel concerts that he frequently attended, and the R&B music he heard as a Memphis teen. Elvis went to Sun Records and paid four dollars to make his first record as a gift for his mom, and ended up being discovered. In 1954, Elvis began his singing career with Sun Records label. They were looking for a new sound that blended the best of black music, and the best of white music. Luckily, Elvis helped fit that part perfectly. He ended up recording approximately twenty-four songs at Sun Records Studio. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. Elvis’ breakthrough hit was Heartbreak Hotel, released in 1956. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences, he blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time. He brought in a whole new era of American music and popular culture. Globally, he has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 150 different albums and singles, far more than any other artist. His talent, good looks, sexual attractiveness, charm, and good humor made him loved by millions,as did the humbleness and kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. He is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture (Remembering Elvis, 40 Years

    Read More

  • Format For Tribute Speech: The Life Of Martin Luther King Jr.

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    King is really known for. Which is his famous march, and his popular “I Have a Dream Speech.”

    Read More

  • Biopsychosocial Case Studies

    310 Words  | 1 Pages

    Michael A. Karson was born in Glenside, Pennsylvania. He moved at age one year old to Fort Myers, FL. After 14 years residing in the area the family moved to Virginia for one year. Due to his father employment he moved back to Fort Myers, Florida. He indicated that within the area of Fort Myers he has frequently moved.

    Read More

  • Riley B King Song Meaning

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    Riley B. King, known as B.B King was born September 16, 1928 in the hamlet of Berclair, Mississippi near the town of Itta Bena. His parents Albert and Nora Ell King were sharecroppers who divorced when he was four years old. He lived with his mother until she passed away when he was nine and was later raised by a host of his relatives that included uncles, aunts, and kind white plantation owners. Some of his first exposure to music was from the singing of workers in fields and from the guitar playing of a reverend in a local church. His mother passed on her devout Baptist nature and it led to him becoming the lead singer in the Holiness church’s gospel choir. He was heavily influenced by the recordings of Lonnie Johnson and Blind Lemon Johnson. He is known to have blended aspects of the blues with that of Jazz by borrowing techniques of famed Jazz guitarist Django Reinhart and saxophonist Lester Young.

    Read More

  • Guy De Maupassant Essay

    407 Words  | 1 Pages

    events in his life in that his mother retained custody of him. His mother was

    Read More

  • Drug Abuse In Johnny Cash, The Man In Black

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    Johnny Cash was discharged in 1954, he returned to stateside and married his first wife. He and his wife moved to Memphis where cash worked a variety of jobs. While in Memphis, Johnny Cash met a bass player and a guitarist( Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins). They did form a band and were very soon hired to perform once a week on a radio station. Cash toured mostly in the tri state area of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. He often toured with other artist like Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins. Cash ended up quitting his part time job as an appliance salesman and pursued his music

    Read More

  • Roy Wilkins Research Paper

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    After the decease of his mother Roy and his siblings were sent to St. Paul, Minnesota. There in Minnesota, lived his uncle and aunt who they were sent

    Read More

  • Elvis Presley: Unraveling the Rock ‘n’ Roll Icon

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    Like most other famous musicians and movie stars, Elvis had a childhood in which he started what would become a lifetime job. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935, Elvis’s first guitar was later given to him by his mother on his 11th birthday (“Elvis Presley Biography”). He won a talent

    Read More

  • Elvis Presley

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    By the late 1950s Elvis could be heard on the radio, seen on the television and even seen in the movie theaters on the big screen. He had breeched all medias and was creating a new era of style and sound.

    Read More

  • Robert Johnson: The King Of Blues

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mississippi is the state that it is today mainly because of the people in Mississippi. Mississippi is known for many things like slavery, cotton, juke joints, food, and other things especially the blues. There were a few people that made Mississippi famous for blues today. Such as Robert Johnson who is from Hazlehurst, Ms he’s one of the most famous Delta Blues musicians. Some call him the Godfather of rock and roll. Some say he sold his sold to the devil at a crossroad in the Delta in exchange for mastery of the guitar. He had the chance to record several records in Texas and he even traveled through Mississippi Delta and Arkansas. By that time he had died but six of his records had been released in the South as “race records”. His death occurred on August 16, 1938, exactly at the age 27 at a crossroad near Greenwood, MS; however, there is not an exactly known reason why or how he died. He was ranked 5th on the Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Guitarist of all time.

    Read More

  • Bb King Biography Essay

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    B.B. King’s first musical influence came from his church, Church of God in Christ. He was forbidden to play blues at home. Instead, he sang in spiritual groups like the Elkhorn Singers and Saint John’s Gospel Singers. A relative of B.B. showed him his first chords on the instrument. According to B.B. King, King of the Blues Worldwide (n.d.), as a teenager, he played on street corners for dimes, and would sometimes play in as many as four towns a night. When he started making more money playing in one night than he would in a week on the farm, he headed to Memphis. At that time, Memphis was where every style of African American musicians of the South gravitated. B.B. stayed with his cousin, Bukka white, a blues performer, who schooled him further in the art of the blues.

    Read More

  • The Roots Of Blues Music

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    The first country blues that was written and published was "Memphis Blues" by W.C. Handy in the early 1900's. The first recorded blues was " Crazy Blues" by Mamie Smith in 1915. Most country blues were played with an acoustic guitar and with someone singing. It also has a definite call and response between the voice and guitar.

    Read More

More about The Real King

Open Document