B.B. King: There Is Always One More Time

by David McGee

The Lives in Music series meshes biography with discography. This debut title profiles the legendary King of Blues, B.B. King. An opening essay charts his life from childhood in the Mississippi Delta up to his first studio session. The author then takes an inside look at his distinguished career, album by album, offering a critical appraisal of each recording and a portrait of the making of each album. First-hand interviews with B.B. King, as well as producers, engineers, arrangers, and key musicians, bring these sessions to life and provide readers a context for understanding B.B. King's recordings in light of his career and life events that shaped them. This definitive book also incudes a complete history of every B.B. King session.

Genres: Biography

354 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2005

Reviews

[Kym Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book by David McGee depicts Riley B. King's reach of music touching many generations, stemming from his gospel music influences as a boy growing up in Mississippi coupled with the raw emotions he felt when he first heard the blues sung by his Uncle Jack in the cotton fields outside Indianola. B.B. King started out as a DJ and later as an artist, worked with many famous musicians (old school and new). His love affair with Lucille (his guitar) made his recordings and performances connect intimately with his audience.

I met B.B. King after one of his concerts in North Carolina. He received a few fans on his tour bus and autographed one of his pictures for me. What a gentleman. He was the sweetest person and seemed like a dear uncle of mine.

"B.B. King: There Is Always One More Time" is a chronological, biographical reminder that the thrill is not really gone at all. Although he passed away in 2015, he will always be remembered as the reigning "King of the Blues."