Blues biography
Blues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B.B. King
An additional treat is the solid, simple lucidity of B. B. King's writing. I'm sure it helps that his coauthor in this venture is an accomplished biographer, but King achieves a poetry at times that reminds me of his music. He comes across as a friendly, affable, humble, hard working guy. He tells his story with all the emotion and feeling he can muster, creating an intimacy that, were it missing, would weaken the impact of this book. King is very matter of fact about the events of his life. He's so straightforward that it was uncomfortable to read some of these passages. I got the sense there was a great deal of catharsis for King in the telling of his tale.
Blues All Around Me is full of amazing stories, not just about King but also about the various characters he came into contact throughout his career. Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, George Bush, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King and many more feature in the story of B. B. King and King's insight lends something to their stories, as well. King discusses cotton farming, racism, guitar playing, religion, family, relationships, sex and more, all in a clear, even way.
It's interesting that, according to King, he first experienced sexual intercourse as a young boy of six. I recall reading Ike Turner's autobiography years and years ago and being surprised at the young age he became sexually active. I believe Little Richard may have also have been sexually active at a very young age. I wonder if this has to do with the three of them having to grow up faster than children typi
B. B. King
American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter (1925–2015)
Musical artist
Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B. B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato, and staccatopicking that influenced many later electric guitar blues players.AllMusic recognized King as "the single most important electric guitarist of the last half of the 20th century".
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and is one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of the Blues", and is referred to as one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and Freddie King, none of whom is related). King performed tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing on average at more than 200 concerts a year into his 70s. In 1956 alone, he appeared at 342 shows.
He was attracted to music and taught himself to play guitar beginning his career in juke joints and on local radio. He later lived in Memphis and Chicago. Then, as his fame grew, he toured the world extensively.
Early life
Riley B. King was born on September 16, 1925, on a cotton plantation in Berclair named Bear Creek in Leflore County near the city of Itta Bena, Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers Albert and Nora Ella King. When he was four years old, his mother left his father for another man, so he was raised by his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael, Mississippi, then in Lexington. As a teen, he moved to Indianola which he referred to as his hometown, later working at a cotton gin.
While young, King sang in the gos The drama of In Cold Blood meets the stylings of a Coen brothers film in this long-lost manuscript from musicologist Robert “Mack” McCormick, whose research on blues icon Robert Johnson's mysterious life and death became as much of a myth as the musician himself .Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey
Product Description
When blues master Robert Johnson’s little-known recordings were rereleased to great fanfare in the 1960s, little was known about his life, giving rise to legends that he gained success by selling his soul to the devil. Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey is musicologist Mack McCormick's all-consuming search, from the late 1960s until McCormick’s death in 2015, to uncover Johnson's life story. McCormick spent decades reconstructing Johnson's mysterious life and developing theories about his untimely death at the age of 27, but never made public his discoveries. Biography of a Phantom publishes his compelling work for the first time, including 40 unseen black-and-white photographs documenting his search.
While knocking on doors and sleuthing for Johnson's loved ones and friends, McCormick documents a Mississippi landscape ravaged by the racism of paternalistic white landowners and county sheriffs. An editor's preface and afterword from Smithsonian curator John W. Troutman provides context as well as troubling details about McCormick’s own impact on Johnson’s family and illuminates through McCormick’s archive the complex legacy of white male enthusiasts assuming authority over Black people’s stories and the history of the blues.
While Johnson died before achieving widespread recognition, his music took on a life of its own and inspired future generations. Biography of a Phantom, filled with lush descriptive fieldwork and photographs, is an important historical object that deepens the understanding of