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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King
Critic Reviews
Good
Based on 6 reviews on
The first full and authoritative biography of an American--indeed a world-wide--musical and cultural legend.
"No one worked harder than B.B. No one inspired more up-and-coming artists. No one did more to spread the gospel of the blues."--President Barack Obama
"He is without a doubt the most important artist the blues has ever produced."--Eric Clapton
Riley "Blues Boy" King (1925-2015) was born into deep poverty in Jim Crow Mississippi. Wrenched away from his sharecropper father, B.B. lost his mother at age ten, leaving him more or less alone. Music became his emancipation from exhausting toil in the fields. Inspired by a local minister's guitar and by the records of Blind Lemon Jefferson and T-Bone Walker, encouraged by his cousin, the established blues man Bukka White, B.B. taught his guitar to sing in the unique solo style that, along with his relentless work ethic and humanity, became his trademark. In turn, generations of artists claimed him as inspiration, from Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton to Carlos Santana and the Edge.
King of the Blues presents the vibrant life and times of a trailblazing giant. Witness to dark prejudice and lynching in his youth, B.B. performed incessantly (some 15,000 concerts in 90 countries over nearly 60 years)--in some real way his means of escaping his past. Several of his concerts, including his landmark gig at Chicago's Cook County Jail, endure in legend to this day. His career roller-coasted between adulation and relegation, but he always rose back up. At the same time, his story reveals the many ways record companies took advantage of artists, especially those of color.
Daniel de Visé has interviewed almost every surviving member of B.B. King's inner circle--family, band members, retainers, managers, and more--and their voices and memories enrich and enliven the life of this Mississippi blues titan, whom his contemporary Bobby "Blue" Bland simply called "the man."
Book Details
- Publisher: Grove Press
- Publish Date: Oct 18th, 2022
- Pages: 496
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 8.20in - 5.50in - 1.50in - 1.15lb
- EAN: 9780802158062
- Categories: • Music• Individual Composer & Musician• Genres & Styles - Blues
About the Author
Critics’ reviews
Praise for this book
Praise for King of the Blues:
Named a Best Arts Book of the Year by Library Journal"A fluent read of a major artist's evolution . . . de Visé has dived deeply into the world of an American master and discovered that the guitar god was mortal after all . . . The author is at his best when homed in on King's sound."--Preston Lauterbach, Wall Street Journal"A comprehensive and unfiltered look at the complex musical giant . . . De Visé tells King's fascinating story with great detail and fluid prose . . . King of the Blues helps encapsulate his incredible life and his enduring legacy."--Jackson Clarion Ledger"Adds flesh and blood to the standard cultural codification of King as icon. It presents a career full of ambition and a life informed by longing, with triumphs and setbacks, discrimination and canonization."--Houston Chronicle"A full-blown hero's journey . . . Filled with interviews with King's relatives, band members and managers, the resulting biography feels at once intimate and encyclopedic, offering a full picture of the man behind the myth."--AARP"B.B. King, who died in 2015 at age 89, gets the royal treatment from his biographer, and rightly so . . . Essential."--David Wesley Williams, Chapter 16
"As blues royalty and one of the 20th century's most influential musicians, B.B. King has long deserved a well-considered biography that places his achievements in a cultural and historical context. This is it . . . Interweaves tales of American history, pop culture, racial relations, music theory, and much more to fully demonstrate King's significance . . . Magnificent . . . The thrill is here, as B.B. King finally gets his due in this first meticulous account of his historic life."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist De Visé amply demonstrates his masterful storytelling and research skills in this definitive look at legendary blues musician B.B. King . . . An intimate portrait of a cultural luminary . . . Even readers who aren't fans of the blues will be engrossed by this nuanced look at an American icon."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The definitive biography of blues master Riley 'B.B.' King . . . Engaging. The book expertly interweaves King's music career into the U.S. social fabric, especially the civil rights movement. With this fast-moving, informative, evenhanded, and exhaustive biography, de Visé vividly captures King's life."--Library Journal (starred review)
"De Visé tells King's story in the context of his swirling times, intertwined with profiles of historic people and events musical and otherwise. A fine portrait of an iconic musician."--Booklist (starred review)"B.B. King was a marvelous man and an international ambassador for the blues. King of the Blues tells the extraordinary story of his life in great detail, and a wonderful story it is. A fitting tribute to a great artist."--John Landis, director of The Blues Brothers, Animal House, Trading Places, and Michael Jackson's Thriller
"Like hopping onboard B.B.'s tour bus for a ride straight to the heart of the blues. Told me about the B.B. I knew and a few other B.B.s as well. I loved them all."--Shemekia Copeland, three-time Grammy-nominated Alligator Records recording artist
"The name B.B. King now resonates with longevity amongst blues lovers and music enthusiasts alike. With more than six decades of noteworthy expressions of a great American art form, B.B. King's guitar playing and singing hold a strong place with an unmistakable sound of his professional and effervescent personality. Get a head start within these fine pages for an intimate trip with B.B. King's lifetime attachment to creativity. B.B. is truly King of the Blues, oh yeah!"--Billy F. Gibbons, guitarist and singer, ZZ Top
"Mr. de Vis-é meticulously dives deep into why and how young Riley, who graced this planet from a world of extreme complications, was able through his talent, relentless drive and humility, to rise to the deserved title 'King of the Blues.' Get your records out and enjoy the read. I did!!"--Robert Cray, five-time Grammy-winning blues guitarist and singer-songwriter
"B.B. King, one of the great bluesmen of all time. Can any other person hold one note on the guitar and make it say so much? Daniel de Visé's book on B.B. King is a great read."--Joan Armatrading, three-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and guitarist
"B.B. King was the stone truth, the man who took down home uptown and, yes, the undisputed king of the blues. This, his first full and authoritative biography, is both right on time and long overdue. Dan de Visé has done a solid for music lovers everywhere."--Leonard Pitts, Jr., Pulitzer prizewinning national columnist and author
"De Visé writes beautifully. His command of narrative is compelling. The level of detail he amassed is awesome."--Charles Sawyer, author of The Arrival of B.B. King: The Authorized Biography
"Extremely thoughtful, thorough and insightful."--David Ritz, biographical collaborator with B.B. King, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin, and biographer of Marvin Gaye