Blues Is King [MCA] (CD - 1967)

Recorded live in Chicago on November 5, 1966. Originally released on Bluesway (6001) in September 1967. Includes original release liner notes by Stanley Dance.

Personnel: B.B. King (vocals, guitar); Bobby Forte (tenor saxophone); Ken Sands (trumpet); Duke Jethro (organ); Sonny Freeman (drums).

Liner Note Author: Stanley Dance.

Recording information: Chicago, IL.

Arrangers: Johnny Pate; B.B. King.

By 1967, King had refined his singing and guitar style (which were always intertwined) to a fine point. What was just beginning to emerge during this period was King the showman, the singer with a story to tell his audience; sometimes a sad story, sometimes an angry one, occasionally even a downright mean one. Nowhere was this more apparent than in live performance. Here he's captured in concert in Chicago, home of the blues and the ideal place to testify to the congregation. From "Tired of Your Jive" to "I Know What You're Puttin' Down" to the unequivocal "Baby Get Lost," B.B. lets his audience in on the ups and downs of romance in no uncertain terms, both through his impassioned vocals and characteristically stinging guitar. The effect is both cathartic and awe-inspiring. minimize