B. B. KING, WHO INSPIRED A GENERATION, DIES AT 89

OBITUARIES

BLUES LEGEND B. B. KING, INSPIRATION TO GENERATIONS OF MUSICIANS, DIES AT 89

By Randy Lewis | LA TIMES Staff Writer | May 15, 2015, 12:04 AM

B. B. KING

B.B. King, the singer and guitarist who put the blues in a three-piece suit and took the musical genre from the barrooms and back porches of the Mississippi Delta to Carnegie Hall and the world’s toniest concert stages with a signature style emulated by generations of blues and rock musicians, has died. He was 89..

The 15-time Grammy Award winner died Thursday night in his Las Vegas home, said Angela Moore, representative for his youngest daughter, Claudette. He had struggled in recent years with diabetes.

King died peacefully in his sleep, Claudette King told The Times.

Early on, King transcended his musical shortcomings — an inability to play guitar leads while he sang and a failure to master the use of a bottleneck or slide favored by many of his guitar-playing peers — and created a unique style that made him one of the most respected and influential blues musicians ever.

“B.B. King taps into something universal,” Eric Clapton told The Times in 2005. “He can’t be confined to any one genre. That’s why I’ve called him a ‘global musician.’”

Because King couldn’t figure out how to play and sing simultaneously, he separated the two functions, laying the blueprint for the sung verse followed by the extended solo passage that would become a crucial element in blues as well as in rock music rooted in the blues. That template was exploited by subsequent generations of players, from Clapton and Jimi Hendrix on through to John Mayer and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Finding that he couldn’t make his elegantly long but thick fingers work the beer bottlenecks and metal slides used by so many other blues guitarists, he discovered that he could emulate that effect by rocking the fingers of his left hand rapidly on the guitar’s frets similar to the way a classical violinist creates vibrato, establishing a ringing tremolo that became his hallmark.

MCRFB Note: For the rest of this Los Angeles Times B. B. King Obituary article (May 15, 2015) please GO HERE.

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— Initially posted on Motor City Radio Flashbacks, May 17, 2015 —

ROOM AT EXEC SUITE FOR MOTOWN ARTISTS . . . FEBRUARY 11, 1967

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1967

At Motown ‘Quality Control’ Opportunities Granted as Artists Critique Talents, Projects Inside Gordy’s Stables

LOS ANGELES — At Motown Records one can be an executive and an artist at the same time. Smokey Robinson and his three associates who work as the Miracles outside the environments of Motown s Detroit headquarters, are three such executive/artists.

Robinson is a producer and vice-president with the company. Bobby Rodgers and Pete Moore work in quality control. Checking sound quality, and Ronny White spends his “white collar” time with Jobette Music, auditioning tunes and distributing songs among the firm’s own talent.

The Miracles have been with Motown since its inception. Because they are salaried employees with important posts, the quartet limits itself to three – week personal appearance junkets. The major change in the Miracles act is that Robinson’s wife Claudette doesn’t travel with the group anymore.

Robinson classifies the company as a “family affair” in which many people work on projects. While he has auditioned and recorded sessions by a number of the
label’s top acts, he says it’s not unusual for several producers to work on an album project.

On the first Saturday of each month, Motown holds open auditions. A number of producers are assigned to attend the sessions and select the top representatives.

At Motown, Robinson contends, everyone listens to everyone. Martha of Martha and the Vandellas was a former company secretary, given an opportunity to perform. The company maintains its own artists’ development school where state presence and presentation are taught. For two years Lon Fontaine ran the operation; now Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol handle the “kick, turn, and smile” school. END

— Initially posted on Motor City Radio Flashbacks, February 27, 2017 —

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Information and news source: Billboard; February 11, 1967

RADIO.COM: SMOOTH JAZZ V 98.7 SOUNDS IS ON HD2

RADIO.COM

— DETROIT’S HOME FOR SMOOTH JAZZ —

NEW! JUST ADDED TO OUR BLOGROLL!

Now, you can listen to the sounds of Detroit’s Smooth Jazz, WVMV 98.7 on HD2, on your mobile device anytime, anywhere. Just go to your app store and download the free radio.com app (once there you can find V 98.7 on HD2 by searching the local Detroit radio stations on the app)

Or you can listen to Detroit’s Home for Smooth Jazz by clicking on our new WDMV link (added today) on our blogroll – or – you can listen right now by going HERE

WVMV 98.7 NOW ON HD2

TALKIN’ ‘BOUT MY GENERATION: TOP SINGLES OF 1964!

— ROBERT MAXWELL ORCHESTRA —

Debuted on March 21, 1964 (#92), 7 weeks playing the Billboard Singles chart, “Shangri-La” climbs to #15, this week, April 26-May 2, 1964.

THIS WEEK IN AMERICA! BILLBOARD HOT 100: 05/02/64

BILLBOARD HOT 100 TABULATED BY RECORDS RETAIL SALES AND RADIO AIRPLAY

BILLBOARD HOT 100 APRIL 26-MAY 2, 1964

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— 56 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK —

IN REMEMBRANCE OF A DETROIT BROADCAST LEGEND

Robin Seymour WKMH ‘56

Robin Seymour WKMH Show Theme 1950s

Robin Seymour Reflections and Memories

Robin Seymour Hello Detroit

CKLW RADIO 1972: IN MEMORY OF JOHNNY WILLIAMS

A 1972 JOHNNY WILLIAMS CKLW MONTAGE

IN MEMORY. HONORING THREE DETROIT RADIO STARS

*(Courtesy of Michael Seltzer Facebook page)*

*(Courtesy of Kevin O’Neill Facebook page; insert photo courtesy of Tom Ryan Facebook page)*

DEANO DAY: DETROIT FAVORITE, MR. COUNTRY MUSIC

**Detroit Free Press** November 25, 1984

Sunday, November 25, 1984

A DETROIT RADIO BACK-PAGE

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DETROIT FREE PRESS: DEANO DAY

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— DEANO DAY —

Passed away surrounded by his wife and children April 10, 2009 at the age of 70. Born April 8, 1939 in Fertile, Minnesota. Beloved husband of Martha. Loving father of Michelle (Peter) Gorton, Mitchell (Chantelle) Moen, Dean II (Lisa) Moen, Darcy Cypert, Michael, Kathryn, and Rachel Day and Max. Grandfather of Mitchell II, Nicole, Alexandra, Miles, Dean III, Tyler, Samantha, Malorie and Dakota. Deano was Detroit’s country music legend, winning several distinguished awards as a disc jockey. Day enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, and was sure to be found boating in Lake St. Clair or the Gulf of Mexico. Deano is remembered as a loving man and a friend to all. Memorial visitation Tuesday 4-8 p.m. at Chas. Verheyden Funeral Homes, 16300 Mack Ave., Grosse Pointe Park. Funeral Wednesday 11 a.m. at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, 16 Lake Shore Drive, Grosse Pointe Farms.

Published in the Detroit Free Press, Sunday, April 12, 2009

This featured DEANO DAY article (by Gary Graff) was ‘clipped,’ saved, and was digitally imaged from the credited source by Motor City Radio Flashbacks

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HARWELL. THE VOICE OF SUMMER’S PAST REMEMBERED

ERNIE HARWELL * Al Kaline’s Farewell to Tiger Stadium * September 27, 1999

**Al Kaline** Tiger Stadium, September 27, 1999 *(Credit: Detroit Free Press)*

1934 — 2020

— APRIL 6, 2020 —

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In lieu of his sudden passing this week, Motor City Radio Flashbacks today presents Al Kaline’s ceremonial ‘farewell’ speech he gave before the start of the final game at Tiger Stadium, Monday, September 27, 1999.

Introduction by Ernie Harwell. Broadcast on WJR 760, Detroit

**Detroit Free Press** September 28, 1999

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All newspaper images courtesy of the Detroit Free Press