This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #141 (May/June 2009).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.
by Ed Silverman
| As far as B.B. King is concerned, the thrill is never gone. The venerable bluesman may
have turned 83 years old this past fall, but he continues to tour and record nearly as often
as musicians a quarter of his age. He may have diabetes and a disagreeable leg, but his
fingers glide up and down the frets as gracefully as ever. And his outlook is as fresh as
the day he began playing guitar as a teenager in Mississippi.
Never mind that a museum devoted to his outsized and influential career as an innovator and journeyman recently opened. Riley B. King is as vibrant as ever. In fact, the notion that a museum would open while he continues to play music for adoring fans not only reinforces his status as a legendary icon, but as a relevant artist whose work is still appreciated by a large audience. As King sees it, he is no museum piece. "You know, older people still have a place as long as they want to be active and do what they're doing. I can't walk around the way I used to because of my leg, and my voice today is like a calm lake. Back when I was young, it was more like an ocean," he said between shows recently in the Pacific Northwest. "But I'll keep going until my health wears out and people stop coming to see. My music may not be played on the radio, but an awful lot of people still come to see me play. So there's no reason to go home. Besides, what else would I do? I'm lucky. I have a job I love, and it makes a living for me." That inimitable King outlook is now permanently on display in Indianola, Mississippi, his hometown, where the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretative Center opened last September. This interactive affair, which features a wealth of King memorabilia that is placed smack dab in the middle of a wider display of the blues and Southern culture, clearly solidifies his place in 20th-century America as a purveyor and progenitor of a unique art form. His ability to capture and, essentially, repackage the blues for millions of Americans is now permanently enshrined -- a testament to his longevity and influence over generations. "The significance is vast for Mississippi and for this region," said Connie Gibbons, the museum's executive director. "Like many communities all over the country, they're beginning to realize and understand the importance of their cultural heritage. And it's important to preserve those stories. There's also a tie-in with blues trails around the Delta and the civil rights heritage." |
This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #141 (May/June 2009).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.
![[cover #141]](/linen/141/cover141t.jpg)
Copyright © 2009 Visionation, Ltd.