I have a very clear recollection of watching Don Kirschner's Rock Concert in 1973 in which The Guess Who, Melanie and B.B. King performed. All of them played so well that I remember that particular show to this day.
Of the three, the performer that enthralled me most was B.B. King with his rendition of "The Thrill is Gone." That song remains in my top 5 songs of all time list to this day.
As I age, I'm piling up some regrets and the ever expanding bucket list. Sadly, seeing B.B. King live was on that list and now it's not going to happen. I made an earnest effort at it over the past few years but each time, a family or work obligation interfered. Sigh.
I will leave it to others to appropriately eulogize and pay tribute to him and his contributions to the blues, to rock music in general, and to our lives. But what most inspired me was not only his rise to stardom from being the son of sharecroppers to music legend, but that he NEVER stopped. Well into an age where many people have been retired for two decades or more, B.B. King kept up a full touring schedule, only recently slowing down to "only" 100 shows a year. Sadly, in the last year of his life, he had to cancel some shows and in others, he began to falter. But until then, he kept rolling, doing what he loved and what God gave him a tremendous gift for doing.
B.B. King, his guitar Lucille and his music left an indelible impression on me. Rest in
peace.
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