King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-10 17:21:03
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Daniel de Visé
- ISBN：0802158056
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Summary
"No one worked harder than B。B。 No one inspired more up-and-coming artists。 No one did more to spread the gospel of the blues。"--President Barack Obama
"He is without a doubt the most important artist the blues has ever produced。"--Eric ClaptonRiley "Blues Boy" King （1925-2015） was born into deep poverty in Jim Crow Mississippi。 Wrenched away from his sharecropper father， B。B。 lost his mother at age ten， leaving him more or less alone。 Music became his emancipation from exhausting toil in the fields。 Inspired by a local minister's guitar and by the records of Blind Lemon Jefferson and T-Bone Walker， encouraged by his cousin， the established blues man Bukka White， B。B。 taught his guitar to sing in the unique solo style that， along with his relentless work ethic and humanity， became his trademark。 In turn， generations of artists claimed him as inspiration， from Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton to Carlos Santana and the Edge。
King of the Blues presents the vibrant life and times of a trailblazing giant。 Witness to dark prejudice and lynching in his youth， B。B。 performed incessantly （some 15，000 concerts in 90 countries over nearly 60 years）--in some real way his means of escaping his past。 Several of his concerts， including his landmark gig at Chicago's Cook County Jail， endure in legend to this day。 His career roller-coasted between adulation and relegation， but he always rose back up。 At the same time， his story reveals the many ways record companies took advantage of artists， especially those of color。
Daniel de Visé has interviewed almost every surviving member of B。B。 King's inner circle--family， band members， retainers， managers， and more--and their voices and memories enrich and enliven the life of this Mississippi blues titan， whom his contemporary Bobby "Blue" Bland simply called "the man。"
"He is without a doubt the most important artist the blues has ever produced。"--Eric ClaptonRiley "Blues Boy" King （1925-2015） was born into deep poverty in Jim Crow Mississippi。 Wrenched away from his sharecropper father， B。B。 lost his mother at age ten， leaving him more or less alone。 Music became his emancipation from exhausting toil in the fields。 Inspired by a local minister's guitar and by the records of Blind Lemon Jefferson and T-Bone Walker， encouraged by his cousin， the established blues man Bukka White， B。B。 taught his guitar to sing in the unique solo style that， along with his relentless work ethic and humanity， became his trademark。 In turn， generations of artists claimed him as inspiration， from Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton to Carlos Santana and the Edge。
King of the Blues presents the vibrant life and times of a trailblazing giant。 Witness to dark prejudice and lynching in his youth， B。B。 performed incessantly （some 15，000 concerts in 90 countries over nearly 60 years）--in some real way his means of escaping his past。 Several of his concerts， including his landmark gig at Chicago's Cook County Jail， endure in legend to this day。 His career roller-coasted between adulation and relegation， but he always rose back up。 At the same time， his story reveals the many ways record companies took advantage of artists， especially those of color。
Daniel de Visé has interviewed almost every surviving member of B。B。 King's inner circle--family， band members， retainers， managers， and more--and their voices and memories enrich and enliven the life of this Mississippi blues titan， whom his contemporary Bobby "Blue" Bland simply called "the man。"
Reviews
David Stewart
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This terrific book not only provides a comprehensive survey of B。B。 King's many decades of recording and performance， but also captures the passion and creativity of its subject。 King dragged himself up from the poverty and ignorance of the Mississppi Delta， making the absolute most of each opportunity that arose。 The author has tracked down so many survivors who provide a 3-dimensional portrait of a musical giant who changed the blues， pairing its pain and heart with a liberating melodic instin This terrific book not only provides a comprehensive survey of B。B。 King's many decades of recording and performance， but also captures the passion and creativity of its subject。 King dragged himself up from the poverty and ignorance of the Mississppi Delta， making the absolute most of each opportunity that arose。 The author has tracked down so many survivors who provide a 3-dimensional portrait of a musical giant who changed the blues， pairing its pain and heart with a liberating melodic instinct。 This book will stand the test of time as THE book on a legend。 。。。more
Dan
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My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Grove Press for an advanced copy of this music biography。 There seems to be two traps that most music biographies fall into。 Either the person or band are venerated as people who can do no wrong， whose every failing is because of others and not the musical genius， or the severe lack of momentum in the narrative that comes when the band has "made it"， and the struggles to reach it just becomes a tale of excess or stodgy lifestyle choices。 Daniel de Visé el My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Grove Press for an advanced copy of this music biography。 There seems to be two traps that most music biographies fall into。 Either the person or band are venerated as people who can do no wrong， whose every failing is because of others and not the musical genius， or the severe lack of momentum in the narrative that comes when the band has "made it"， and the struggles to reach it just becomes a tale of excess or stodgy lifestyle choices。 Daniel de Visé eludes these traps and has written not only a biography fit for a KIng， but one that will be considered the book on the life of the man， Riley B。B。 King。 King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B。B。 King covers not just the life， loves and music of B。 B。 King， but the society that shaped him， and in many ways trapped him。 Mr。 de Visé writes of the plight of the sharecroppers， Jim Crow and southern living， as well as about early radio， musical inspirations for the blues and the popularity the blues and folk had on America。 Well White America， I should say。 Just as a study rural life and the music formed by it， this would be a insightful read。 However it is B。 B。 King we have come to learn about， and we do。 Losing his mother， his distant relationship with his father， his stutter， his wanting to be a part of a family so much that anyone who had even the slightest chance of claiming lineage from him would be accepted， though his ability to truly have children was in doubt。 And the music。 Every page vibrates with the music， church， acoustic and electric blues。 Mr。 de Visé covers the music， writing， arranging and the sessions without going to audiophile， while not compromising on what tracks were good， great or better forgotten。 An incredible amount of research has gone into this book， I'm not sure how he did it。B。B。 King was a complicated man， as Mr。 de Visé shows。 A gambler， a lover， a self taught bibliophile， a father to many but at the end disappointed by those he surrounded himself with。 A fascinating book， one of the best biographies I have read about anybody in quite a while。 So much sadness， so much beautiful music。 Highly recommended for blues fans， or any music fans really， and anyone who enjoys well written interesting biographies about gifted people。 。。。more
Geff Ratcheson
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I received an advance review copy for free， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。Mr de Vise obviously put a ton of effort & research into this book。 This is quite likely the only B。B。 King book most fans will need。 Extremely detailed， from childhood to death， & doesn't seek to cover up the artist's personal shortcomings。 Has a pretty detailed discography of all but the public domain stuff。 The author makes an excellent case for why Mr。 King matters。 I also appreciate the somewhat explicit de I received an advance review copy for free， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。Mr de Vise obviously put a ton of effort & research into this book。 This is quite likely the only B。B。 King book most fans will need。 Extremely detailed， from childhood to death， & doesn't seek to cover up the artist's personal shortcomings。 Has a pretty detailed discography of all but the public domain stuff。 The author makes an excellent case for why Mr。 King matters。 I also appreciate the somewhat explicit descriptions of Racism that the once known as "greatest blues guitarist in the world" had to deal with。It's past time for the American public to truly know how inappropriately African Americans were （and are） treated， especially in the South。 While I tend to find the childhood sections of biographies the least interesting， the author successfully builds a case for how "Jim Crow" America shaped B。B。's personality; & most of the time not to Mr King's benefit; including but not at all limited to financially。The author both discusses the artists who influenced Mr King （T-Bone Walker， Bukka White， Lonnie Johnson， Blind Lemon Jefferson， Charlie Christian）， & the artists （many of whom were British Rock guitarists） that Mr King influenced: Eric Clapton， Peter Green， Jimmy Page， Jeff Beck， and many more。The author also discusses how the USA major labels really didn't know how to market BB's music， & how that resulted in some sub par albums & poor sales at times。 The Bihari Brothers at Modern probably produced BB's finest work in the 50's， but due to both the Bihari's lack of marketing skills & racism， Mr King made little money from hit after hit in days of 45 RPM singles。Tons of information for fans。 There were 2 things I didn't like as much:1。 There was more information about his grandparents & his childhood that I would have preferred。 The 1st 15% or so of the book took me longer to read than the rest of it combined。2。 I never felt like I emotionally connected with Mr。 King， despite a huge amount of information; some of which was personal。 In general， I would recommend this book for fans， or those deciding whether to become fans。 Many 50's blues fans think mainly of the Chess artists: Muddy Waters， Howlin' Wolf。 Willie Dixon， etc; but Mr de Vise makes a case for Mr。 King having equal importance （& some British Guitar heroes are quoted as agreeing）。 。。。more
Bonnye Reed
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