B.B. King

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known by his stage name B.B. King, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. B.B. is an abbrevation for 'Blues Boy'. B.B. King is a cousin of Bukka White, who is a blues musician and often credits White as an early teacher and mentor. King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. King was also inducted into 2014 class of the R&B Music Hall of Fame. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of Blues", and one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and Freddie King). King was also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at more than 200 concerts per year on average into his 70s. In 1956, he reportedly appeared at 342 shows. In 1990, King was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President George H.W. Bush. In 2006, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush.

Links To Peel
As a fan of blues and it's associated genres, Peel would often play tracks from blues musicians including B.B. King. The artist received substantial airplay in the late 60's by Peel, but by the time of the 70's and beyond, he seemed to rarely play King's material according to available playlists. Nonetheless in an interview with John Walters on Peeling Back The Years, who interviewed B.B King for a special Arena programme about Blues music on BBC2 in 1985, Peel claimed that he found Eric Clapton's music as a whole better to listen to than B.B. King:


 * "In the same way that years later, listening to Eric Clapton, people would say, “Well, of course Eric Clapton is very well, quite skilled for a boy, and he’s white and so forth, but at the same time what you really want to hear is BB King.” So I went and listened to BB King and I thought, again, on the whole I rather prefer Eric Clapton"

Shows Played
1969
 * 16 February 1969: It's My Own Fault (LP; B.B. King Live At The Regal) HMV


 * 09 March 1969: I Done Got Wise (LP - His Best) ABC


 * 27 April 1969: Sweet Little Angel (LP - Live and Well) ABC

1972 1978 1979 2003
 * 29 June 1969: Sweet Thing (LP: The B.B. King Story Chapter 1) Blue Horizon
 * 23 May 1972: I Got Some Help I Don't Need (LP - L.A. Midnight) Probe
 * 1978 In Concert: Peel presented the concerton 21st October 1978
 * 16 October 1979: When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer (single – You Upset Me Baby) Modern Oldies
 * 23 September 2003: 'Rock Me Baby (LP- My Kind of Blues/ The R)' (Ember)