Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss
B.B. King & Carole King - Chains And Things
Posted on 08/02/2005 3:54:49 AM PDT by WKB
BILOXI Ms. - Several hundred people gathered Friday evening in the Isle of Capri's Flamingo Ballroom to pay tribute to, and gently mock, blues legend B.B. King.
King, who turns 80 on Sept. 16, was in South Mississippi to perform, and be the guest of honor, at Saturday night's benefit concert at the Coliseum.
Both events raised funds for the proposed $10 million B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, which will be dedicated to honoring King, preserving the Delta blues heritage and encouraging and inspiring young artists and musicians.
Friday's event, billed as a "roast," was hosted by the actor/comedian Bill Bellamy, who flew in from Los Angeles 20 minutes before it began.
Those doing the roasting included longtime King intimates Kato Walker (a former road manager and sax player for King who was six when he first met the artist); Charles Sawyer (a professor of blues history at Harvard University who has known King for more than 37 years); Carver Randle (King's childhood friend, attorney and, according to Bellamy, one of the first African-American graduates of the University of Mississippi law school); and Floyd Lieberman (King's manager for the last 40 years).
Also at the podium was blues legend Bobby "Blue" Bland. Movie star Bruce Willis and his blues band, the Accelerators, performed at the end of the evening.
As often as not, King sat on stage with his head buried in his broad hands, listening to one guest after another recall incidents and memories from their past together, though each recollection invariably turned into a glowing tribute.
One of the few times the evening lived up to the definition of a true roast (which, according to Webster's dictionary is "severe criticism or ridicule" or "an entertainment at which a person, especially a celebrity, undergoes severe but playful criticism") was presented by Randle, who spoke with the freedom that can only come from a lifetime of shared moments.
"The first man I ever knew to wreck a tractor was B.B. King...
Most of you think he left Indianola to pursue a music career. He left because he broke a white man's tractor! Everybody said, 'Where's B.B.?' " quipped Randle.
King thanked those in attendance and spoke of the importance of the museum that will bear his name.
"I believe that a lot of the young people, as well as people older, will learn a lot about the blues that will make them not be ashamed of this kind of music, and accept it as a part of our culture," said King, who also responded to his good friend Randle's allegations. "He didn't say that I left Memphis, and hitchhiked back to Indianola, to pay for that tractor."
Bruce Willis and the Accelerators played after the B. B. King Roast Friday night at the Isle of Capri.
Bruce Willis multi-tasks while performing Friday night at the Isle of Capri. Willis was the entertainment after the B. B. King Roast. During an instrumental solo, Willis snapped shots of the crowd.
Ms ping
from within the vaunted halls of ivy league higher education... puke/wretch/barf
Was Lucille there?
No but "The Thrill" was still there.
Well said.
Everyday I sing the blues..."
The Master of the Blues
I really like the idea of a "roast". But the ones I've seen have been brutal and not something I'd look forward to.
That's what happens when people go too far.
I really like the idea of a "roast". But the ones I've seen have been brutal and not something I'd look forward to.
Maybe they should rename "Republican Presidency"
and call it "Republican Roast"
Who doesn't love BB King?
I saw him at Wolf Trap two years ago with Jeff Beck, and it was spectacular.
I'm with YOU! I've been to numerous BBKing performance in CA -- including Monterrey Jazz Festival. He performs an AWESOME SHOW! Music which strums through your soul for days and days afterwards.
I respect endurance in the music profession, and also by the amount of imitators spawned in a particular idiom.
BB belongs up there with Muddy Waters, Albert King, T-Bone Walker, Robert Johnson, Elmore James and Willie Dixon.
Only he is still with us, and should rightly be celebrated.
also by the amount of imitators spawned in a particular idiom.
Elvis? :>)
Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss
B.B. King & Carole King - Chains And Things
I saw him two months ago. The way he plays is like a force of nature. It's amazing.
Oh, and Bobby "Blue" Bland opened up for him.
I wonder if anyone said something to the effect, "Only in America can someone make a fortune off of playing the same 3 notes"?
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