The King of the Blues. Make that the undisputed King of the Blues.
And no contenders for the crown. Not now. And not many over the past 50 years.So why does B.B. King, at age 73, still try so hard? Getting hold of Riley B. King for a few minutes on the phone is like trying to get a few words in with somebody leaving on a fast-moving train. A train that rolls into a different town to set up a blues-drenched party about 225 days a year.
And that's only since he cut down from the schedule of 240-250 concerts a year he maintained for decades.
"I still enjoy playing. I get a chance to meet a lot of people," said King, currently on the road again. "And we're having things happen for us that never happened before. I've played in 88 different countries around the world.
"I'm not doing it because I have to. I could have retired when I became 65."
But then he would have missed the chance to play for President Clinton and the first family a couple of weeks back on the White House lawn.
And he would have had to give up a few more Grammy Awards he picked up over the past decade.
Retirement just wouldn't make much sense to King, who still has goals on his menu. He nicked one off the list this year with his album "Blues on the Bayou," which marked his debut as a producer.
Although King has not altered his stage show much over the years, he has experimented with various producers in their quest to break him to a wider audience. It clicked back in the mid '60s when King scored a Top 20 hit with "The Thrill is Gone," which remains his signature song. His "Duets" album in 1997 had him paired with rock and pop stars such as Eric Clapton, Tracy Chapman, Bonnie Raitt and even rapper Heavy D.
But for his most recent record, King decided it was time to go back to his roots. "Blues on the Bayou" features nothing but his own songs, both classic and new. It was cut live in the studio in Louisiana with his touring band, plus a string section on a few tracks. No guest stars. No gimmicks.
"I was very happy with it. I've wanted to do that for quite some time," King said last week from a hotel room in California. "Back in the '50s, most of the things I did were under my own direction. I've worked with the company and worked for the producers. I just thought that maybe it was time that I do one on my own."
"Bad Case of Love," one of the album's tracks, received heavy airplay in some areas. But nationwide, the blues -- including King's music -- largely remains tucked away on specialty programs on late nights or weekends.
"I'd like to get my records played like other people," King said.
"For some reason, programming directors don't think people like it. Even in my hometown -- I've been in Las Vegas for 23 years, and I hardly hear any blues at all."
Over the years, King has repeatedly demonstrated on record and on the stage that the blues is not just about sadness and pain. Influenced as much by the upbeat jump blues of Louis Jordan as by the rural style of Blind Lemon Jefferson, King and his trusted guitar, Lucille, have shown people a good well-rounded time.
"There are many colors of the blues," King said. "Blues is like the tonic for anything that ails you."
Michael Cote writes for the Daily Camera in Boulder, Co.