The Thrill Is Gone... BB King... RIP...

[Nocturnal]

RIP Mr. King.

[westen44]

Tributes from musicians and others.

http://www.nme.com/news/bb-king/85425

[Dave W]

I saw this posted elsewhere about BB:

"...strictly a flat picker, didn't play acoustic, arpeggios, rhythm, chords in general except for the occasional double stop or triad, and totally entrenched in the blues, but what he did he did better than anyone else, IMO.

What I take away from his playing is figure out what you do well and perfect it, and above all else, exercise restraint, good taste, intelligent phrasing, and impeccable technique, all of which I won't achieve in my lifetime..."

[Pilgrim]

I saw this posted elsewhere about BB:

"...strictly a flat picker, didn't play acoustic, arpeggios, rhythm, chords in general except for the occasional double stop or triad, and totally entrenched in the blues, but what he did he did better than anyone else, IMO.

What I take away from his playing is figure out what you do well and perfect it, and above all else, exercise restraint, good taste, intelligent phrasing, and impeccable technique, all of which I won't achieve in my lifetime..."

Agreed.  You don't have to shred to be a solid musician. You should play in a style that fits you and pleases you.

[Highlander]

Was it Townshend, on Billy Gibbons, who said he "... was the sort of guitarist who'd play one note where a lesser player would play half-a-dozen..." ?

Regardless of where I heard/read it, the soul of the quote would still fit... BB probably hit-more-notes in a night than most would hit in a lifetime...

[uwe]

"What I take away from his playing is figure out what you do well and perfect it ..."

I thought I had invented that! Be awe-inspiring about a few things so people don't ask you about the other stuff ...

[nofi]

a couple of king's daughters now claim he was poisoned buy some business partners. coroner says no.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/26/entertainment/bb-king-death-allegation/

[Highlander]

Serialisation in the papers to follow...

[Dave W]

I don't believe that. Not for a minute.

[uwe]

Who would want to poison an 89 year old man?

[Rob]

I read that he left most of his estate to a foundation furthering music ed.
The family only received around $5,000 each.

That seems to explain it to me. 

[uwe]

I have the unfortunate observation to make that whenever a black artist dies, the behavior of his/her family tends to be no cause for celebration (Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston). 

[Pilgrim]

I wasn't aware that BB had multiple kids with multiple partners.  That can be pretty well guaranteed to muddy the waters (pun intended.)

[4stringer77]

Uwe, most of what ills the black community can be traced back to Lyndon B Johnson's war on poverty and the institutionalization of welfare in America. The family unit suffered since the community now depended on the government to fill the supporting role that a working father figure should. Margaret Sanger's establishing planned parenthood has for instance, resulted in more black babies being aborted in New York city than are born for the last few years (Black Lives Matter!). Top this off with the CIA directly involved in flooding the urban areas with illicit drugs such as Heroin and Cocaine and the results are what you see in America today. Democrats have been race baiting with the help of Obama, Eric Holder and Al Sharpton not to mention the backing coming from George Soros and we now have Baltimore in a state of criminal decay with the police being held back from enforcing any order. Really it's all part of the bigger picture for a one world government trying to assert itself by tearing apart the social structure in order to rebuild it according to their own globalist tenants. Divide and conquer. Burn baby burn. Another Bolshevik style communist revolution with a fascist dictator at the helm. Anyhow that's my 2 cents. Sorry to get political but if a moderator chooses to make racially charged statements, I figure it gives the rest of us free reign.

[Pilgrim]

All i can say Uwe, is that the above comments represent the view of one side of the political spectrum in the US.  Most of the assertions in it are highly questionable and debatable.

But since we are champions of the right to have different views, I salute the writer and his view!