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B.b. King At King's Row, April 1-6

B.b. King At King's Row, April 1-6 image
Parent Issue
Day
6
Month
May
Year
1976
OCR Text

B.B. King at King's Row April 1-6

An adventurous booking gamble -B.B. King and his band in a nightclub setting for six nights at ten dollars a head-paid off beautifully for the Afro-Americans, the Former Natives of Mississippi and the King's Row Showcase Lounge on West Chicago April 1-6, as a few thousand of the faithful flocked to the plush 700-seat club to see and hear the undisputed "Boss of the Blues" and his impeccable eight-piece rhythm & blues orchestra. Turn-away crowds on the weekend kept your reporter off the set until the Monday night show, but the reward was well worth the wait, and a follow-up visit closing night (April 6) more than doubled the fun.

B.B. King has been awarded every accolade in the book, but there are still not enough words to describe the utter mastery evidenced by this veteran performer. His guitar work, monstrous in and of itself, looms even larger by virtue of its all-pervasive influence on modern-day popular music. And his vocal approach, which is rarely mentioned in accounts of B. B.'s genius, stands alone among current practitioners of the form in its soulfulness, range of inflection, thrilling control, economy, and precise utility. Every shout, moan, grimace, and falsetto cry fits perfectly into the unfolding fabric of the King repertoire, complemented flawlessly by B.B's totally articulate guitar and set off by the smooth, rich arrangements punched out or purred by the band behind him.

At 50 B.B. King is in complete control of his stage persona, a compelling figure to watch and to listen to as he moves the tempo and the mood carefully up and down, bridging his vocals with long, spectacular guitar improvisations on the blues changes and witty, urbane, yet always down-home raps between songs. In concert his power is unmistakable, but in the intimate atmosphere of a nightclub, his performance grows almost unbearably intense, making the experience many times more satisfying than the concert situation can provide.

At King's Row B.B. was ever the gracious host, welcoming the many local celebrities including Rev. CL. Franklin, Purvis Jackson of the Spinners, David Ruffin, Spanky Wilson and the lovely Rosetta Hines), thanking the management and employees of the club from the stage, and showcasing the remarkable talents of his sidemen- particularly tenor saxophonist Bobby Forte, second guitarist Milton Hopkins (a spritely jazz master in the Charlie Christian tradition) organist James Toney, and trumpeter musical director Eddie Rowe.

At one point well into his set -following three juicy instrumentals by the band, a rousing reading of the Ray Charles arrangement on "Let the Good Times Roll," a stunning "Sweet Sixteen." and a throw-away pop number, "Ain't Nobody Home'' -B.B. laid out the classic blues ethic by means of a medley of "Don't Answer the Door" and "Five Long Years," reminding his audience that "every song that I sing, Ladies, you know you can turn it around and sing it yourselves." While the male expects marital fidelity, he is willing to pay tor it with his paycheck from the steel mill. After working "five long years for that woman, she had the nerve to put me out"-prompting B.B. to suggest a switch in the traditional male-female economic routine: "The next woman that I marry, she have to work and bring in the dough!"

"I Like to Live the Love I Sing About," "Philadelphia," "The Thrill Is Gone," and other B.B. King favorites filled out the night, capping a brilliant performance and leaving the deeply-grooved audience as thrilled as it wanted to be. What more can we ask for? -John Sinclair