Jazz Casual: B.B. King

King of the Blues

B.B. King. His very name evokes aural images of warbling, lilting blues guitar lines, and a shouting, wailing voice singing about love gone bad. When most of us think of B.B. King, we probably think of him as he appeared in his middle and later years: a large, stout man in sequined jackets with large rings on his hands. We don't think of him as the boy and young man who played his guitar and sang on street corners in his native Mississippi.

This 1968 episode of Jazz Casual, B.B. King's first national television appearance, can't help but remind us of that other, pre-fame B.B. King. His slimmer, youthful appearance and his soft, boyish speaking voice combine to almost belie the powerful blues performer, and presence, that he was, even then. Performing with B.B. here is his longtime organist James Toney, who still tours with him today.

Billed in the original program credits as B.B. King Of the Blues, this episode of Ralph J. Gleason's Jazz Casual can only serve to delight existing fans of B.B.King and, I hope, introduce him to new fans. I've been a fan of B.B. King for 25 years. To me, he was, is, and always will be the King of the Blues.
-Toby Gleason

Toby Gleason is a 30-year music-business veteran, nationally credited voiceover performer, and son of Ralph J. Gleason.