B.B. King Museum has Banner First Year

The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, located in Indianola, Miss., has been packing them in during its first year of operation despite the economic hits taken by most popular tourist attractions in this country. More than 30,000 visitors paid the $10 admission to see artifacts from the "birthplace of the blues."

The museum is a tribute to the legendary bluesman who grew up in the Mississippi Delta, as well as a collection of the history and culture spawned by the area. The building itself is carved out of a cotton gin where King worked before music took over his life.

Visitors can see memorabilia of King's life and musical career-- a quilt from childhood, his draft card, and versions of his famous guitar, Lucille. In addition, there are display items on loan from other artists, including hand-written lyrics from Janis Joplin.

Be sure to put this fascinating landmark on your "must see" list the next time you travel down south. No music fan should miss it!

B.B. & Buddy - Together At Last

Two guitar legends - B.B. King and Buddy Guy - are just finishing their 3-week tour together with a final show at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ. It seems incredble, but these two kindred spirits of the blues have never been on the road together before.

B.B. King, who's now 83 years old, tours exhaustively during the year, and was recently joined by the still spry 72 year old Buddy Guy to make up for lost time. They've spent their time on tour swapping stories and enjoying their continued good fortune to still be doing what they love after all these years.

King will CHIME IN

B.B. King's two-hour set in Durham inaugurated the city's $46.8 million Durham Performing Arts Center.

NBC announced that musical stars including B.B. King, Cling Black, The B-52’s, Richie Sambora, and many others will join stars of NBC in the network’s CHIME IN campaign. The musicians will autograph the chimes with their own personal style.

One Kind Favor...

The King of the Blues is scheduled to release a new album featuring covers of King’s early influences.

The album, One Kind Favor, was recorded to sound like an album that was produced in the 1950s complete with piano, acoustic bass, drums and more. The outcome is vintage wizardry filled with great music from King’s early days.

Rolling Stone agrees, "This isn't just B.B. King's best album in years, it's one of the strongest studio sets of his career, standing alongside classics such as Singin' the Blues and Lucille. Where those early titles highlighted his youthful, wailing vocals and stinging guitar, this one plays to King's current strengths: the tear-stained vibrato of his mature voice, punctuated by raunchy licks."

B.B. King Grants Us "One Kind Favor"

The reigning ‘King of the Blues’ is set to release a new album featuring covers of old blues songs from his early influences.

The music revisits that which influenced B.B. in the 1950s, which was the beginning of King’s extraordinary professional journey. The album, titled “One Kind Favor,” will be released on August 26th.


The full track listing for One Kind Favor, along with the name of the artist who originally recorded the track, is: “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” (Lemon Jefferson); “I Get So Weary” (T-Bone Walker); “Get These Blues Off Me” (Lee Vida Walker); “How Many More Years” (Chester Burnett); “Waiting For Your Call” (Oscar Lollie); “My Love Is Down” (Lonnie Johnson); “The World Is Gone Wrong” ( Walter Vinson); “Blues Before Sunrise” (John Lee Hooker); “Midnight Blues” (John Willie “Shifty” Henry); “Backwater Blues” (Big Bill Broonzy); “Sitting On Top Of The World” (Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon) and “Tomorrow Night” (Lonnie Johnson).

At 82 BB is Better Than Ever

BB King is one of the greatest songwriters and guitarists to ever walk the earth. After a stellar performance at Bonnaro in mid-June, the blues god is days away from embarking on a nationwide tour.

Although at 82 BB might seem rather old to be in the midst of a summer long tour, the King is only two years removed from a European farewell tour that didn't disappoint.

If you don't want to miss out on the opportunity to see one of the all-time greats you can view concert dates and ticket information here.

Some upcoming shows at popular venues include:

7/6 - Les Schwab Ampitheatre - Bend, OR
7/11 - Pacific Amptitheatre - Costa Mesa, CA
7/25 - Riverfest Ampitheatre - Little Rock, AR
7/27 - Chastain Park Ampitheatre - Atlanta, GA
8/6 - Charlottesville Pavilion - Charlottesville, VA
8/10 - Wolf Trap - Vienna, VA

B.B. King Museum

B.B. King is an international music icon, and though you’ve been able to experience his music for the past 5 decades, you might still be wondering: Who is this man?

All your questions will be answered thanks to the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center. Located in King’s hometown, the museum will tell the stories of his life, career, and the Delta where he was raised.

The museum is set to open September 13, 2008--Save the date!