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The Latest Breaking News from BB King

Occult Elvis: was Presley a telepathic demigod who could heal the sick and change the weather?

According to a lively new book, the King of Rock’n’Roll claimed to be a faith healer from Jupiter’s ninth moon – who as a boy was given a future vision of himself in a white jumpsuit by aliens. We talk to its author

The Guardian - UK

“The goal was to shake up B.B. King’s music and make it chart-friendly”: B.B. King had his breakthrough blues guitar moment with The Thrill Is Gone – but it was Jerry Jemmott’s bass that made it groove

For The Thrill Is Gone, Jemmott played his 1964 Jazz Bass – which would be stolen soon afterward

Guitar World

“You might want to play on the cleaner side of the tracks, buttry cranking it up a little – it damn-near takes off”: Why Gibson’s B.B. King ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ 1974 ES-355 is a technical knockout

Gibson and B.B. King have had many Lucilles over the years but it is this one commemorating the King of the Blues' legendary Zaire the heavy-hitter we've been waiting for?

Guitar World

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“In the flesh, he was earth-shattering. His style on every level was fantastic… playing with his teeth, his feet, and behind his head": When Buddy Guy rewrote the blues rulebook with a Strat and blew the collective minds of Clapton, Beck and Page

Best of 2024: The inspirational playing of the last living American blues legend: "I was bringing it up to Eric and Jimmy – ‘Have you heard this stuff!?'"

MusicRadar

“There is a certain sound you can only get from pushing the air, by turning the amps up, running those tubes super hot”: Kenny Wayne Shepherd on what it takes to cover Hendrix, his fistful of Dumbles and the secret to a cookin’ overdrive

Shepherd's tone on Dirt On My Diamonds Vol 2 is smoking hot, reference quality blues-rock, but like any master chef, it's all about the ingredients and how you use them

MusicRadar

“It works every time… although you'll ruin your pick”: Joe Bonamassa shows you how to get out of a slow blues solo

Drawing upon B.B. King's seminal Live at the Regal, JoBo offers pointers for "high-note activity" and the emotional build-up before deferring to Jeff Beck for the coupe de grace

Guitar World

“I’m playing a nice old Gibson ES-335 through Lowell George’s Dumble amplifier…” Joe Bonamassa brings out the holy grail gear to explain how to get into a slow blues jam – and, crucially, how you can get out of it

In this exclusive video lesson, the bluesman walks us through an essential skill for the blues guitar player, the slow blues… And he’s going to demonstrate how using an amp it took him 15 years to track down

Guitar World

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“Beat It was interesting. Of course, Eddie Van Halen did the solo. But the rest of the guitars were Steve Lukather and myself...” Session ace Paul Jackson Jr. on how he became Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones’ go-to guitarist

From meeting Michael Jackson at 19, to playing with B.B. King and on Daft Punk’s Get Lucky, his career has thrived on variety – but the session great tells us it starts with your ears, not your hands...

Guitar World

What if Jimi Hendrix jammed with Eric Clapton, or Gary Moore traded solos with Joe Bonamassa? We imagine 5 all-star fantasy blues jams and what they would sound like

Welcome to an all-star fantasy blues jam, featuring a greatest hits of blues players, their signature licks, and how to put them together and incorporate them in your own playing

Guitar World

“I see people my own age in the audience, and their minds are blown. I’m making this stuff sound new to them”: Grace Bowers on her dizzying rise as the world’s next guitar hero, breaking the law to hone her chops, and why she’s “not a natural”

The 18-year-old might be the greatest thing to come out of Nashville since Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint but she's keeping her feet on the ground, hands on her SG, as everyone else stands in awe of her prodigious talent

Guitar World

“When we finished playing, Bill Clinton came up and introduced himself – with the Secret Service all around. A couple of weeks later, I got this envelope in the mail from the White House”: Jimmy D. Lane was raised among blues greats, but found his own way

The Strat-wielder’s religious moment with Hendrix’s Hey Joe compelled him to spend all his money on a pawn shop guitar… which led to him performing for Bill Clinton, guesting with B.B. King, working with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble and much more

Guitar World

"If ever there were a live album where the crowd function as an additional instrument, this is it": B.B. King rips it up on Live At The Regal

Released in 1965, Live At The Regal is the blues equivalent of The Who’s Live At Leeds – an exhilarating, honest account of an artist at the top of their game

Louder

“BB King’s performance alongside James Brown and more set the tone for one of the most iconic sporting events of all time”: Gibson unveils the BB King Rumble In The Jungle 1974 ES-355, and it’s a heavyweight knockout

This limited edition semi-hollow is a Murphy Lab replica of the Walnut 355 that King used when playing at the legendary Muhammed Ali and George Foreman showdown in 1974

MusicRadar

“It wasn’t just a concert – it was a defining cultural moment”: Gibson honors one of B.B. King’s greatest live performances with knockout ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ ES-355

Before Gibson officially launched its Lucille model in 1980, King favored a 1974 Walnut ES-355, which was by his side during his iconic ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ set

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“The blues deserve a chance… My love really sits with that genre of music”: Jackson 5 guitarist and singer Tito Jackson has died aged 70

Tito's guitar work was key to the group's success, while his last solo album saw him collaborate with George Benson, Joe Bonamassa and Stevie Wonder

Louder

"The sun will rise and fall, and BB King will play the blues": The incredible life of BB King

BB King was the greatest bluesman the world has ever seen. We look back at his life, with a little help from his friends

The Guardian - UK

Will Jennings obituary

American lyricist who enjoyed huge success with Up Where We Belong and My Heart Will Go On

Guitar World

“He plays five notes, and those five notes said more than any of these metal shredders could ever wish they could say”: Grace Bowers on how B.B. King completely changed her perspective on what makes a good guitar solo

Bowers discusses her transition from hair metal to blues

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Guitar World

What do the finest blues guitarists of the past 60 years have in common? From B.B. King to Eric Gales, these are the technique secrets behind 30 of the most iconic players

Starting from ’50s electric blues pioneers, we're bending the blues scale into different shapes, with 30 licks taking us up to the present day as the art form continues to evolve and thrive

Newcastle Herald

Taking a final bow: Bluesfest the latest festival to face the music

Easter 2025 will be the last goodbye for the Byron Bay event.

Guitar World

“Pearly Gates, our long-standing fave-rave six-string, entered the studio to do that righteous thing”: Billy Gibbons on bringing out his legendary Les Paul for Slash’s all-star blues album – and the liquor store run-in that sparked their friendship

Gibbons checks in to tell us how he and reimagined Willie Dixon's Hoochie Coochie Man for a new era, and to assure us why the blues is in safe hands with today's players

Guitar World

“My favorite British guitar players are amazing, but they all pale in comparison to the original blues guys. That was their own personal technique, from its origin”: Slash on his journey to discover the original guitar heroes

Orgy of the Damned finds the Guns N' Roses guitarist and A-list guests tackling blues standards that shaped his sound. Here he talks blues gear, the ethos, and how blues can be a force for good

Guitar World

“We wanted to take these timeless classics and add some funk to it in order to reach a younger and different audience”: B.B. King Blues Experience tour announced for 2025 in honor of the late blues great’s 100th birthday

Former Aretha Franklin guitarist, King’s own daughter and B.B.s drummer of 30 years will join the 10-piece band for The Thrill Lives On tour, which is set to hit the road next year

MusicRadar

"When he felt the spirit, he was untouchable" – the story of Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton and Peter Green

Two legendary players. Two near-mythical Les Pauls.Two all-time-great blues albums and the greatest guitar handover in blues history

Guitar World

“Eric called and said, ‘Buddy Guy, George Harrison and I are playing tonight. You’re going to come and jam’”: Richie Sambora recalls receiving Eric Clapton’s spontaneous invite to a star-studded jam session

Sambora once asked Slowhand to feature on one of his singles, and it wasn't long before the pair were trading licks at the Roxy with a couple of other blues greats

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