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B.B. King sings the blues through year's end
B.B. King has added a dozen more dates to his US tour, which now extends through New Year's Eve.
The blues legend, who finished a coast-to-coast summer jaunt in August, hit the road again earlier this month, and continues the trek tonight (9/25) in Bridgeport, CT. Since last check, he's added multiple nights in Texas, New Jersey and California, as well as gigs in Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana and New York. An updated itinerary is listed below.
King is supporting his latest effort, "One Kind Favor," which surfaced last month and debuted at No. 37 on The Billboard 200, making it the highest-debuting solo album of his nearly 60-year career, according to the magazine. The set has also retained the No. 1 spot on the Top Blues Albums chart for the last four weeks.
"One Kind Favor," produced by T Bone Burnett (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Roy Orbison), features covers of old blues songs that inspired King as a young man and was made to sound like it was recorded in the '50s. Players include Dr. John on piano, Nathan East on standup bass and Jim Keltner on drums.
King, who turned 83 last week, got an early birthday present from his hometown of Indianola, MS: the opening of the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center. The $14 million facility is home to artifacts from the bluesman's life and career.
King has released more than 50 albums, won 14 Grammys and has been inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The honors keep coming, as the legendary musician is scheduled to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award this weekend at Memphis' 15th annual Blues Ball, according to the Memphis Business Journal. The event will also commemorate the renaming of the city's Third Street as B.B. King Highway.
