BB King is one of the best known blues singers and guitar players and he is probably the biggest influence on the blues rock guitarists who have come to fame from the 1960s onwards.
In these introductions, I normally list the studio albums that an artist or group has recorded or at least point out the dates of the classic albums.
BB King has released a huge number of albums recorded in the studio but he’s better known for his live albums. The only studio album to reach the US album charts top 20 was the album he did with Eric Clapton in 2000 called Riding With The King.
My advice is to head straight for his live recordings.
If you want to hear BB King play the blues live, there isn’t a shortage of albums to choose from.
1964 Live at the Regal
1964-1994 How Blue Can You Get? Classic Live Performances
1966 Blues Is King
1969 Live & Well
1970 The Incredible Soul Of B B King
1970 Live in Cook County Jail
1971 Live in Japan
1973 Muddy Waters Blues Band Ft BB King Live at Ebbets Field
1974 Together for the First Time…Live (With Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland)
1976 Bobby Bland and B. B. King Together Again…Live
1978 King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents BB King Live!
1978 to 1998 Live at the BBC
1979 Now Appearing at Ole Miss
1981 Royal Jam with the Crusaders and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (BB King was a guest)
1990 Live at San Quentin
1990 Live at the Apollo
2006 Live (In Tennessee)
2011 Live at the The Royal Albert Hall
? Why I Sing the Blues
? B. B. King and Sons Live
? Forever Gold: B. B. King Live
? Live At Newport BB King Muddy Waters & Big Mama Thornton
My advice is to start with Live at the Regal. It’s rightly regarded as a classic live blues album and I also highly recommend Live in Japan which is a much longer performance.
I have a readers poll for BB King to find out whatare considered to be the best live albums by BB King. Please vote.
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Inevitably BB King ranks well in the poll to find the best live blues albums.
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Live At Newport is a short album by BB King, Muddy Waters & Big Mama Thornton.
I’m struggling to find details of when this album was recorded but Wikipedia reports that Big Mama Thornton played at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1980.
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Live At The BBC is a collection of live recordings featuring BB King made by the BBC between 1978 and 1998.
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Live at Ebbets Field is a live recording by the Muddy Waters Blues Band Featuring BB King.
It was recorded at the baseball stadium in Brooklyn, New York City in 1973 and was originally a radio broadcast. The album has been released on the Klondike label.
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King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents BB King Live is a live recording by BB King.
It was recorded in New York City in June 1978.
It includes guest appearances by Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter and George Benson.
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BB King has issued a lot of live albums but which are the best two or three that should be included in the album collections of any blues fans?
Which are the albums you simply must here?
There are some obvious answers like Live At The Regal and Cook County Jail but, perhaps, those in the know have found an even better album?
BB King Live is a live album by BB King.
It was recorded at:
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How Blue Can You Get? Classic Live Performances 1964-1994 is a live compilation album by BB King.
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Blues Is King is a live album by BB King.
It was recorded in Chicago in November 1966.
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Now Appearing At Ole Miss is a live album by BB King.
It was recorded at the University of Mississippi in 1979 and it was released in 1980.
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Live At The Apollo is a live album by BB King and the Philip Morris Super Band.
It was recorded at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York on Nov 10, 1990 and was released in 1991.
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