i know that a lot of people look over b.b. king's 1970s output, because they think he sold out a lot of his blues roots and the result was inferior to his 1950s & 1960s output...

i cannot dispute that b.b.'s 1970s output isn't as good as that of the previous 2 decades, but i was listening to the "to know you is to love you" album today and that shit rocks...

on this album in particular, b.b. king embraces funk in a way that meshes beautifully with his unparalleled guitar playing and singular singing and musical styles... the memphis horns, stevie wonder, and a ton of the philly players that put grooves down behind the o'jays, the stylistics, harold melvin & the blue notes, etc lay it down funky & heavy behind b.b. and the man just grooves...

i love the pure sweaty nasty funk of the 8 & a half minute title jam... stevie wonder is all up on this one...

but the song that really inspired this thread is "i like to live the love"... this is just pure soul... from the opening rhythm guitar licks that lead to the plodding drums and wonderfully tasty horns, this song just oozes phillysoulfulsmoothness... then when the chorus kicks in and b.b. just rides the groove with his underrated falsetto ("i like to liiive") while the background singers just go on behind him... this pure 1970s gold right here...

oddly enough, king doesn't play any guitar on this cut... it just focuses on the vocals and he nails that shit...

although this is not my absolute favorite b.b. king song (i could be here for days trying to figure that one out) there's a special place in my heart for it as being the first b.b. king song that i ever heard as a kid and the one that got me hooked... i remember being about 5 years old and and scowering the isles of k-mart trying to find a cassette with this song on it... i found it on a cassette with b.b. king & bobby "blue" bland live, which introduced me to a whole world of stuff...

anyway, i just wanted to start a thread in appreciation of b.b. king, in particular this album and this song...


"i like to live the love"

My song is a serious matter
It reflects what I feel
If I say I love you, I mean it
`Cause in my song every line is for real

Every man or woman enjoys going home
To a peaceful situation
To give love and receive love
Without any complications

Whether my tune is short or long
Whether my lyrics are weak or strong

I like to live the love
That I sing about in my song
I like to live the love
That I sing about in my song

Music is love and my love is music
In perfect harmony
So when I sing I have sung all about
The love of you and me

I never got angry with my guitar
`Cause when I strike a chord
It gives me what I wanna hear
So I'm finding out that
We are quite like my song together, my dear

Outside answers
Should always be forbidden
Problems should be solved
And never hidden

I like to live the love
That I sing about in my song
I like to live the love
That I sing about in my song

B.B. to this day is the man. This song is amongst my favorite B.B. King songs. It is a beautiful song.

Big B.B.King Fan&in the 70's Loved His Live Stuff with Bobby "Blue" Bland. also BB's "Cook County Jail" is a Must Have ASAP.

mistermaxxx said:

his two live albums with bobby bland are excellent... they were a great way for me to get acquainted with both artists... the way they both play off of each other is just amazing... i've seldom heard two artists have such great chemistry together...

i saw them together in greenville, sc 2 weeks ago... bobby did his set and them bb did his set, but they didn't do anything together... they both spoke very highly of each other... bobby said that he was glad that b.b. remembered him, when b.b. was thinking of people to pick as an opening act... and b.b. said that he has always thought that there was no better blues singer than bobby, and he always wished that he could sing that way...

i think the main reason why they didn't do anything together is because the sound guy was pissing bobby off pretty badly...

but they both put in excellent shows... at 72 and 77 years old, you couldn't have asked for more lively and energetic performers... they gave it their all and killed us...

and i did get to hang out with b.b. in the dressing room... so that was just icing on the cake right there... (i have the pictures developed, i just haven't had the time to scan them in here)...

I saw B.B. in August and am going to see him next month here in Chicago/Indiana. I might be a young whippersnapper, but I appreciate great music.

stymie said:

B.B. King and Bobby Blue Bland are the "classic" blues dynamic duo! I recall many a party with Mom and Dad playing them all night long! Has anyone ever heard B.B. King with the Crusaders, Live in London? It is great!! B.B. sings "Street Life" and "You Better Not Look Down" among others!

Stymie, you have good taste Mistermaxxx, my hat's off to you always

Thanks for this cool thread...Tina (~!~)

NettieSmiles said:

Hats off to EllisDee. It's about time people around here recognize the King!

stymie said:

thanks...

it seems too often like people just write him off for some reason...

b.b. king is 77 years old and is still out there playing 300 shows a year... the man has not slowed down a single bit... and time has not seemed to take its toll on his voice or guitar playing... it was wierd, but when i saw him a few weeks ago, i heard him do things with the guitar that i'd never heard him do before... so if anything, time is only making the best even better...

b.b. king is the king...

...

EllisDee said:

True that!! Musicians love to forget pioneers sometimes and this is sad. Blues is the roots for R&B...that's just my opinion, though.

Tina (~!~)

PS...you get the kudos today Ellis Dee!! Thank you!!

Great Posts on Here Loving it.dug His Book&still have the Vhs Tape of Him&James Brown together from 83.also have that Episode of Him on"Sanford&Son".what I dug about B.B. so much is that He makes Simplicity so Magical&He doesn't try to be the Quikest at Picking His Axe or any Over The Top Drama what you See&Hear is what you get.I have the Crusaders Vocals Album with B.B.King,BillWithers,Tina Turner,&Others.tight Stuff.

mistermaxxx said:

I just saw that Sanford & Son with BB, sofa king cool!

I've seen BB 4 times and everytime it was just amazing, looking forward to Bobby & BB in Detroit.

EllisDee said:

anyhting bb toches is gonna be classic in my eyes cause after robert johnson muddy water lightinin hopkins and all them he was the next 2 lay the foundation 4 the rest of us musicians comin up... the thrilll is gooone... thrill is gooone awaaay...

i love the music of b.b. king... i dig his guitar tone immensely... but i'm not a knowledgeable fan... i've only scratched the surface really

MrBliss said:

... ooh... no good... run to your local cd store... start with the anthology or box set, move on to the live albums, add in appropriate studio albums from the eras that you like best (which you will learn via the box set)... now...

EllisDee said:

I think B.B. is one of the most underrated vocalists in the history of music. He's THAT powerful to me.

Supernova said:

easily... all people talk about is his guitar playing... you almost never heard anyone mention his singing, which is superb... b.b. king has one of the sweetest falsettos that you will ever hear (especially coming from a blues artist)... the way he sings "someday, baby, ahhh" in "worry, worry"... the way he begins each new line in the falsetto on "sweet little angel"... and he just tears it all up "i like to live the love"...

he can make you feel all kinds of emotions with his voice... like on "chains and things"- there's another song that doesn't have a ton of guitar solo-ing in it (until the end of the song)... but as soon as i hear his voice in this song, i'm instantly depressed...

and when he wants you to feel downright blue and you can get, and he wrings every drop out of every word- "i gaaave you seven children, and now you wanna give 'em... oooh, i been dooownhearted baby, eeevvvr since the day we met..."

no one does it better...

Whenever I hear " I like to live the love"
I just laugh ! My mom is singing on the live version.
B.B. let a few audience members sing with him.

I like B.B ,Little Milton and Bobby Blue Bland. I grew up listening to them with my parents.

It's something, no one sings blues like that anymore.

CRYSTALBALL said:

the version on the b.b. king/bobby bland live album..? geez... that's friggin' awesome... which one is she..?

little milton- he's a bad mutha, too... ... he's so underrated, it's a crime...

CRYSTALBALL said:

people stopped singing blues that cause it's not commercially viable... sadly enough, people care about the money more than they care about quality music... it's been happening ever since people found out that you could make more money doing blues influenced rock than you could on straight-up blues... now, the straight-up bluesmen are few and far between...