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by: Sebastian Danchin
Amazon.com's Price: $30.00 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.643092
EAN: 9781578060177
ISBN: 1578060176
Label: University Press of Mississippi
Manufacturer: University Press of Mississippi
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 156
Publication Date: February 01, 1998
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Sales Rank: 938349
Studio: University Press of Mississippi
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
B B. King has never let up in his fight to become the living personification of the best of the blues for the whole world. He was indeed the first to introduce blues to Japanese, Russian, and Chinese audiences. Although he was born in the days of swing and big bands, his music has blossomed and prospered even as rhythm & blues, rock'n'roll, soul, funk, and rap have taken a turn at becoming the height of music fashion.
'I don't think there is a better blues guitarist in the world than B. B. King.' This statement by Eric Clapton could have been made also by Buddy Guy, the Rolling Stones, or Ireland's U2. All of them, and many others, have said recurrently that the man they nickname 'King of the Blues' was their true mentor.
By exploring all aspects of King's life and career, this book like none other before provides an objective description of the man and his music. A revision of the edition published in France in 1993 by `editions du Limon, it supplements B. B. King's moving autobiography Blues All Around Me. Whereas King's is a book of memories, this is an objective story with careful historical perspective and observations from key witnesses. It draws on many printed sources, from King's published interviews, and from the author's recurring encounters with King and his manager since 1977.
It shows how in some ways B. B. King's life has conformed to the commonly adopted image of the blues singer's early years of poverty and hardship in the American South, a backdrop of cottonfields and muddy waters of the Mississippi River, a musical apprenticeship in the big city (Memphis), and a career that reaches its peak under the spotlights of Las Vegas.
B. B. King's success is shown here as the result of his uncommon doggedness, of his constant attention to fashion and to African-American culture, and of his respect for his audiences and his roots. By exploring all aspects of blues music's leading figure, this book conveys a portrait of a creative genius who also is just a man.
Sebastian Danchin, a specialist in African-American culture, appears on France Inter, a leading radio network in his country. As an editor or author he has contributed studies of blues music and musicians to five volumes published in France and to periodicals in France, the U. K., Europe, and the U. S. A.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - There's Are Too Many Good Books on B. B. King to Read This!
B. B. King wrote his autobiography, Blues All Around Me in 1996, and if you're interested in the story of B. B. King that's the book to read. Charles Keil's book Urban Blues is also quite good. Mr. Danchin adds no new information to the B. B. King story and includes some misinformation and bad judgements that are misleading.
It would be difficult to overstate the influence B. B. King had on Blues music in the 1950's. B. B. was impressed by T-Bone Walker's sound. T-Bone recorded blues ... Read More
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