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| Riley "Blues Boy" King (1925-2015) |
Han hade den för bluesen allra mest klassiska bakgrunden, född som Riley B King på en bomullsplantage i Mississippi 1925 i en fattig familj, till stor del uppvuxen hos sin mormor. I tjugoårsåldern sökte han sig till nöjesmetropolen Memphis, där hans mammas kusin bluessångaren Bukka White bodde. Där blev han snart en radioprofil under namnet The Beale Street Blues Boy, vilket successivt kortades ned till BB.
(Citat från Nils Hansson: BB King var en av de sista stora i sin epok. Dagens Nyheter, 2015-05-15)
Jag inleder med en låt som har all den stämning som kännetecknar bluesen, och som jag definitivt bär på idag.
"How Blue Can You Get" (också känd som "Downhearted") spelades först in av Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, 1949. Upphovsmän till den var jazzkritikern Leonard Feather och hans fru, Jane Feather. BB King spelade först in låten som "Downhearted", och den ingick i albumet "Blues in My Heart" från 1963. Ljudklippet är från en välkänd spelning i Sing Sing-fängelset.
How blue can you get?, recorded in B.B. King's version, 1964.
(Text & Musik: Leonard Feather (1914-1994), Jane Feather)
I've been down hearted baby
ever since the day we met
I said I've been down hearted baby
ever since the day we met
our love is nothing but the blues, woman
baby, how blue can you get?
You're evil when I'm with you, baby
and you're jealous when we're apart
I said You're evil when I'm with you, baby
and you're jealous when we're apart
how blue can you get baby
the answer is right here in my heart
I gave you a brand new Ford
But you said: I want a Cadillac
I bought you a ten dollar dinner
and you said: thanks for the snack
I let you live in my pent house
you said it just a shack
I gave seven children
and now you wanna give them back
I said I've been down hearted baby
ever since the day we met
our love is nothing but the blues
baby, how blue can you get?
***
Hans största hit är förmodligen "The thrill is gone" som spelades in 1969. Även den hade en förhistoria. "The Thrill Is Gone" är en långsam "minor-key blues song" skriven av Roy Hawkins och Rick Darnell, 1951. Hawkins inspelning nådde nummer 6 på Billboard's R&B-lista under 1951.
B.B. King fick en Grammy för "Best male R&B vocal performance", 1970. Mycket tack vare låten.
Nu får ni ett klassiskt ljudklipp med Gary Moore och B.B. King.
The thrill is gone, från B.B. King's album "Completely Well".
(Label: ABC, 1969. Upphov: Roy Hawkins (1903-1974), Rick Darnell)
The thrill is gone
The thrill is gone away
The thrill is gone baby
The thrill is gone away
You know you done me wrong baby
And you'll be sorry someday
The thrill is gone
It's gone away from me
The thrill is gone baby
The thrill is gone away from me
Although, I'll still live on
But so lonely I'll be
The thrill is gone
It's gone away for good
The thrill is gone baby
It's gone away for good
Someday I know I'll be open armed baby
Just like I know a good man should
You know I'm free, free now baby
I'm free from your spell
Oh I'm free, free, free now
I'm free from your spell
And now that it's all over
All I can do is wish you well
***
B.B. King invaldes till "the Blues Hall of Fame" 1980 och till the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1987.
Följande citat går att läsa på hemsidan för Polar Music Prize, som B.B. King erhöll 2004.
He is not just an ambassador of the blues, which he dreamed of. B.B. King is universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues and the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century. His style of soloing based on fluid string bending and weeping vibrato – together with his staccato picking style – has influenced virtually every blues and rock guitarist that followed. His gritty and confident voice – capable of wringing every nuance from any lyric – provides a worthy match for his passionate playing.
Jag avslutar med min favoritlåt "Chains and things" från albumet "Indianola Mississippi Seeds" (1970). Låten skrev B.B. King tillsammans med Dave Clark.
Chains and things
(Label: MCA, 1970.)
Woke up this morning
After another one of those crazy dreams
Oh, nothing is going right this morning
The whole world is wrong it seems
Oh, I guess it's the chains that bind me
I can't shake it loose, these chains and things
Got to work this morning
Seems like everything is lost
I got a cold hearted wrong doin' woman
And a slave driving ball
I can't lose these chains that bind me
Can't shake them loose, these chains and things
Just can't lose these chains and things
Oh, you talk about hard luck and trouble
Seems to be my middle name
All the odds are against me
Yes, I can only play a losin' game
These chains that bind me
Can't lose these chains and things
Just can't lose these chains and things
Oh, I would pack up and leave today people
But I ain't got nowhere to go
Ain't got no money to buy a ticket
And I don't feel like walkin' anymore
These chains that bind me
Oh, I can't lose, I can't lose these chains and things
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