The Daily Chat
A chatbox where we can post comments and have discussions on artists & songs. However, if you just want to say thank you for a particular post then please continue using the usual comment box located below each post.
Hi everyone. I've decided to drop the Roll Call for now. I don't want it to appear that I'm looking to boot anyone off the blog. Things are rolling along nicely here, we have a good relaxed vibe and everybody seems happy and friendly, so we'll leave it at that.
Today's Assorted Best Of Jazz - Take Five - now up to Volume 7, kicks off with four great female artists: Trudy Pitts, Sarah Vaughan, Patti Page, and Julie London, followed by fine tracks from Richard 'Groove' Holmes, Oscar Peterson, Miles Davis, Alvin Red Tyler, Ray Brown, Ray Brown, and many others.
For our Blues, R&B, Soul & Gospel lovers, we're now up to Volume 82 in this series. Another 21 tracks from 1945-2006 by Goree Carter, Guitar Slim, Arthur Lee, Thurston Harris, Clyde McPhatter, Louis Jordan, Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, and other great rockin' artists.
And today's photo is the mighty B.B. King & Lucille. Here's story for ya all: I've played Lucille. Yep, it was during the B.B. King Australian Tour in March 1974. I went to BB's hotel room to do an interview for a Blues magazine I wrote for at the time. As I arrive several press people were just leaving, I walked in and there on the floor in her open case was Lucille. I squatted down to have a closer look at Lucille and BB came over and asked if I played. I replied I did. BB then told me to pick her up and have a play. I remember I played BB's 'You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now'. However I overbent a couple of notes, took them a tad too high, BB pointed this out to me, touching the frets with his forefinger, telling me to slightly lower the bend here and there. I could hardly believe what was happening right then: I was playing Lucille and getting a guitar lesson from B.B. King. A wonderful memory I still treasure half a century later.
Bob, that's an interesting story about Lucille. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your story about BB &Lucille, thanks Bob. Mike.
ReplyDeleteGreat story, lucky you!
ReplyDeleteGreat story! I read somewhere that BB King once advised Billy Gibbons to switch to lower-gauge strings (so he wouldn't have to work so hard). That could be part of the reason you were overbending -- maybe the strings on Lucille were a lot lighter than you expected them to be!
ReplyDeleteCould be the case, Crab Devil. BB gave me a set of guitar strings as a gift, I remember they were Gibson strings but forget what gauge.
DeleteGreat story Bob Mac, what a once in a lifetime experience. Not many musicians will let anyone touch, let alone play their instruments. Wonderful person.
ReplyDeleteHe was indeed Xyros, BB was one of the easiest blues musicians I interviewed, very easy going and giving nice detailed replies.
DeleteGreat story! I love lucille!
ReplyDeleteYes Monsieur Jujube, I love Lucille too...and Lucy. :-)
DeleteGreat memory Bob. Should have got him to sign the strings and framed them! But the question is which Lucille did you play? Apparently the last one he had, a black Gibson ES-345 prototype was given to King by the guitar company for his 80th birthday. That Lucille sold at an auction for $280,000 US after his passing. They have a very interesting history these Lucilles, rescued from burning buildings, stolen, found in pawn shops. I keep hoping I'll find one😎🎸♪♫.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the story.
Hi Albert, when I did these interviews with visiting bluesmen I always brought along the covers of my LPs for them to sign, so I did have BB sign about a dozen LP covers, however I had to sell my vinyl collection many years ago, these days I only have MP3 & flac. But I keep my entire music collection on 2 X 5 TB ext HDDs. I can carry around in my jeans pockets. If they were LPs I'd need a warehouse and a forklift to store them all. As for which Lucille. Well it was a black Gibson ES-355, that's what he played in 1974.
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