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| B.B. King, Wednesday, November 21, 2012 The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents award-winning, blues guitarist B.B. King at the Benedum Center on Wednesday, November 21, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. The performance is a part of the Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Riley B. King, better known as B.B. King, has been enthralling audiences for more than fifty years. Growing up in the Mississippi Delta, King played on street corners for dimes and would sometimes play up to four towns in a night. His passion for music led him to Memphis, Tennessee where he got his big break performing on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM. This led to steady engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis, and later to a ten-minute spot on Memphis radio station WDIA. "King's Spot, " became so popular, it was expanded and became the "Sepia Swing Club." In 1952, King had his first hit with "Three O'Clock Blues" which was followed by countless more. Over the years B.B. King has performed an estimated 15, 000 shows and is one the most beloved blues musicians of all time. Known as the King of the Blues, he is credited with inventing the genre of the blues. President Obama recently declared at a B.B. King performance, "This music speaks to something universal. No one goes through life without both joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. The blues gets all of that, sometimes with just one lyric or one note. " King named his famous guitar Lucille after narrowly escaping a fire in a dance hall caused by two men fighting over a woman named Lucille. The beloved Gibson guitar has become an essential part of his identifiable guitar style. Borrowing from Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, King integrated his precise and complex vocal-like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarist's vocabulary. King has mixed traditional blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a totally unique sound. In King's words, "When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille." King released his 24th studio album, One Kind of Favor, in August, 2008. It went on to win a Grammy award for Best Traditional Blues Album at the 51st Grammy Awards. He also contributed to Cyndi Lauper's album Memphis Blues in 2010. He continues to tour playing many of his hit songs from over the years. King has received many accolades and awards throughout his career. In 1984 he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. That same year he received NARAS' Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award. King also holds honorary doctorates from Tougaloo (MS) College in 1973; Yale University in 1977; Berklee College of Music in 1982; Rhodes College of Memphis in 1990; Mississippi Valley State University in 2002 and Brown University in 2007. In 1992, he received the National Award of Distinction from the University of Mississippi. He continues to tour extensively and his classic hits such as "Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss, " "The Thrill Is Gone, " How Blue Can You Get, " "Everyday I Have The Blues, " and "Why I Sing The Blues" continue to thrill audiences today. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit organization whose mission is the cultural and economic development of Pittsburgh's 14-block Cultural District through public and private support. The Trust presents and encourages diverse performing and visual arts programs within the District, and is an impetus for additional development in downtown Pittsburgh. write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Jazz News :: home page |