{"id":5231,"date":"2025-09-16T14:23:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/b-b-king-would-have-been-100-today-a-new-generation-of-blues-musicians-are-making-sure-we-dont-forget-it\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T14:23:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:23:04","slug":"b-b-king-would-have-been-100-today-a-new-generation-of-blues-musicians-are-making-sure-we-dont-forget-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/b-b-king-would-have-been-100-today-a-new-generation-of-blues-musicians-are-making-sure-we-dont-forget-it\/","title":{"rendered":"B.B. King Would Have Been 100 Today. A New Generation of Blues Musicians Are Making Sure We Don\u2019t Forget It."},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/bb04.jpg\" width=\"\" height=\"\" alt=\"\"><\/figure>\n<p>When B.B. King passed away in 2015 at the age of 89, he left behind a challenge. \u201cDo what you can to keep the blues alive,\u201d he often told those who crossed his path.<\/p>\n<p>Today, on what would have been King\u2019s 100th birthday, a new collaborative album launches with the ambition to do exactly that. Titled <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.jbonamassa.com\/collections\/b-b-kings-blues-summit-100\" target=\"_blank\"><em>B.B. King\u2019s Blues Summit 100<\/em><\/a>, the 32-track project assembles a staggering lineup of artists \u2013 from old-school titans to next-generation torchbearers \u2013 to honor the King\u2019s musical legacy and spiritual influence.<\/p>\n<p>More from Spin:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/09\/6-alt-rock-artists-you-need-to-hear-right-now\/\">6 Alt-Rock Artists You Need to Hear Right Now<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/09\/now-hear-this-sept-2025\/\">Now Hear This: Sept. 2025<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2025\/08\/erica-fox-is-the-next-generation-of-rocking-session-guitarists\/\">Erica Fox is the Next Generation of Rocking Session Guitarists<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"1290\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image2-1290x1290.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-472903\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image2-1290x1290.jpg 1290w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image2-340x340.jpg 340w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image2-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image2-498x498.jpg 498w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image2-1668x1668.jpg 1668w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image2.jpg 1999w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\"><\/figure>\n<p>Spearheaded by blues guitarist and historian Joe Bonamassa, the project was born out of equal parts admiration and frustration. \u201cVery few people in music define the genre in which they flourish, and B.B. King is one of them,\u201d Bonamassa says. \u201cWhen B.B. was alive and active, he was the blues \u2013 he was the sun which all planets rotated around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bonamassa\u2019s connection to King is lifelong. He opened for him at just 12 years old\u2014an experience that would shape his musical identity and forge a friendship that lasted decades. \u201cHe mentored me,\u201d Bonamassa has said. \u201cBut I wasn\u2019t the only one. All the people in his orbit have the same story about how kind B.B. was, and how he embraced the younger generation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But as King\u2019s centennial approached, Bonamassa noticed a lack of formal celebration and decided to take matters into his own hands. With the blessing and cooperation of the B.B. King estate, he reached out to friends, mentors, and musical heroes to ask if they would record a B.B. King song in his honor.<\/p>\n<p>The answer, unanimously, was yes.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/joeb.me\/StreamBBKVol1\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>first five tracks<\/strong><\/a> arrive this week via KTBA Records, with standout performances from Michael McDonald, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Bobby Rush, George Benson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and D.K. Harrell. A new wave of songs will be released monthly through February 2026, culminating in a full digital album, double CD, and triple LP release on February 9, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The B.B. King Estate, which worked closely with Bonamassa and his team, offered its full support in a joint statement:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Blues are the roots, the rest are the fruits. These timeless words from B.B. King capture the essence of his life\u2019s work \u2013 reminding us that all music, and indeed much of culture, grows from the Blues,\u201d shared Estate Chairman Vassal Gradington Benford III. \u201cTogether with Joe Bonamassa, along with other great artists, we celebrate not only Mr. King\u2019s extraordinary music, but also his enduring spirit of love, unity, and the joy he brought to generations.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"968\" src=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image1-1290x968.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-472902\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image1-1290x968.jpg 1290w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image1-340x255.jpg 340w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image1-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image1-498x374.jpg 498w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image1-1668x1252.jpg 1668w, https:\/\/static.spin.com\/files\/2025\/09\/image1.jpg 1999w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo Credit: Debra Bonamassa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The tracklist reads like a who\u2019s who of contemporary roots music. Today\u2019s initial drop includes a gospel-soaked rendition of \u201cTo Know You Is To Love You\u201d with McDonald, Tedeschi, and Trucks; a show-stopping \u201cWhy I Sing The Blues\u201d with Bobby Rush; a sleek, big-band reimagining of \u201cLet The Good Times Roll\u201d featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Noah Hunt; a silky \u201cThere Must Be A Better World Somewhere\u201d from George Benson; and a powerhouse version of \u201cEvery Day I Have The Blues\u201d by 26-year-old Louisiana phenom D.K. Harrell.<\/p>\n<p>Future releases will include contributions from Buddy Guy, Slash, Shemekia Copeland, Aloe Blacc, Keb\u2019 Mo\u2019, Marcus King, Dion, Larkin Poe, and more. Each artist was matched with material that reflected their connection to King \u2013 as a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and cultural icon. \u201cHe\u2019s known as a guitar player,\u201d Bonamassa notes, \u201cbut if Frank Sinatra says, \u2018Hey, this is one of my favorite singers in the world,\u2019 you listen. He could shake the ground with that chest voice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The production, handled by Bonamassa and his longtime collaborator Josh Smith, was designed to elevate rather than modernize. Some tracks use lush horn and string arrangements; others stay lean and gritty. Across the board, there\u2019s a reverence for the source material that feels less like nostalgia and more like stewardship.<\/p>\n<p>That love is most evident in the pairings \u2013 some familiar, others surprising. Bobby Rush, who met B.B. King in 1948, delivers his vocals with lived-in authority. Kenny Wayne Shepherd recalls getting life advice from King on his 16th birthday. And D.K. Harrell, who opened for Bonamassa just last year, credits King\u2019s catalog as the blueprint for his sound.<\/p>\n<p>With <em>Blues Summit 100<\/em>, Bonamassa also continues his mission through KTBA Records, an offshoot of his nonprofit Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation. In addition to supporting music education in schools, the label has become a vehicle for spotlighting underappreciated talent and honoring the blues as a foundational American art form.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re a longtime fan or just blues-curious, the project offers an accessible, emotionally rich way to reconnect with one of the most important legacies in music history \u2013 piece by piece, month by month.<\/p>\n<p>As Bonamassa puts it, \u201cYou only get one shot to do this correctly. And I think we nailed it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2021\/07\/the-greatest-rock-stars-of-all-time\/?utm_source=yahoo&amp;utm_medium=bottomlink&amp;utm_campaign=yahoolink\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When B.B. King passed away in 2015 at the age of 89, he left behind a challenge. \u201cDo what you can to keep the blues alive,\u201d he often told those&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[214,904,3772,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ad-takeover","category-b-b-king","category-joe-bonamassa","category-spin-recommends"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5231\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}