Released 15 years ago this week, B.B. King’s ‘One Kind Favor’ began with a dying plea: “When the day comes, don’t forget me.” No chance of that.

Guitarist Paul Nelson joined Ross Boissoneau to discuss career-shaping albums by Jeff Beck, B.B. King, Led Zeppelin and Billy Cobham.

That there wasn’t one already seems unfathomable. Now that the Memphis Music Hall of Fame has been created, however, its inaugural class can assembled with a snap resembling the legendary hometown Stax Records logo. You May Also Like: No related posts.

It probably goes without saying that, once you found yourself stranded on a distant island, there would be blues. And every kind, too — Delta, dirty, city, country, grease-popping, Texas crunching, let-it-all-hang low, you name it. You May Also Like: How Eric Clapton’s ‘Me and Mr. Johnson’ Made the CaseRead More

Guitarist Magazine is honoring B.B. King this month, releasing a gala 132-page magazine focused on the man they call “The Undisputed King of Blues.” That had us going back to a personal moment spent with this music-making legend … You May Also Like: How B.B. King Left Us With OneRead More

Tribute records are a tricky things; star-studded tribute projects even more so. It takes a strong unifying voice, some central character beyond the featured composer, to save them from sounding like choppy compilations. Steve Cropper, on today’s 429 Records release Dedicated, is that voice. Co-founder of Booker T and theRead More

Jeff Golub, a longtime sideman with Rod Stewart and Billy Squier, has compiled the expected all-star amalgam in this tribute to the blues stylings of The Three Kings — Albert, B.B. and Freddie. You May Also Like: No related posts.

Steve Cropper, of Booker T. and the MGs and Stax Records fame, has trouble picking any one moment on his upcoming star-studded project Dedicated as his favorite. So, we went further back into his legendary soul-soaked career. You May Also Like: No related posts.

You could argue that Robert Johnson, the doomed 1920s-era Mississippi bluesman, was the first rock ‘n’ roll star. Johnson certainly played the role, with his flair for the dramatic, questionable lifestyle choices and early death. More particularly, he sounded the part: Tough and honest, full of vibrancy, danger and rhythm.Read More

by Nick DeRiso Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads Blues” remains one of the most terrifying, wonder-filled songs, even if you don’t know the oft-told tale of how the doomed Mississippi bluesman became so proficient so quickly at playing his guitar. It’s one of the reasons that, despite the brevity of his timeRead More