The
award-winning documentary series "American Masters" just entered its
30th anniversary season and to kick things off is a stunning hour-long
documentary on the life of blues singer/guitarist B.B. King titled "The Life Of Riley." It features
interviews with many of his fellow bluesmen, collaborators and students
of the genre as well as hearing from the man, himself revealing his life story. You can fill a whole hour up with just hearing how much
of an influence B.B. King had on the lives of Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana,
John Mayer, Derek Trucks, U2 and others.
In this
documentary, B.B. King tells us about his childhood in Mississippi and
moving to Memphis to become an entertainer. He would take side jobs as a
disc jockey where he developed the nickname "blues boy," which would
eventually be shorten to B.B. He glowed when he talks about learning to
play guitar from his cousin Bukka White and watching T-Bone Walker and
Django Reinhardt perform, but he would also become sadden at the failure of his
marriages because of his intense touring schedule. They say he holds
the record for touring 365-days of the year, but as he got older, he was
very much in demand as the film shows him rehearsing with U2 for their
hit single "When Love Comes To Town" and with Eric Clapton on his
"Riding With The King" album.
The
documentary closes with his passing as it ended a chapter in modern
blues music as a golden casket would be the only fitting resting place
for this blues legend. This latest installment of the "American Masters"
series will premiere on February 12th and will give you an eye-opening
insight into the early days of B.B. King and how he has grown to become a
larger than life icon in the world of music. To find out more about
"B.B.King: The Life of Riley," please visit pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters.
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