B.B. King returns to his blues roots with the help of producer T Bone Burnett on "One Kind Favor," due Aug. 26 via Geffen. The legendary artist is backed on the effort by pianist Dr. John, drummer Jim Keltner and bassist Nathan East.
"I saw B.B. at the Central Forest Ballroom in Dallas in '65 or something like that," Burnett tells Billboard. "I remembered exactly how that felt and how that sounded, so I wanted to go back and sort of re-create that very live sound. We all cut it just sitting around in a circle. I tried to be very true to who [King] was when I first heard him and that energy -- in other words, not try to update him in any way."
The track list includes such blues chestnuts as Big Bill Broonzy's "Backwater Blues," Lonnie Johnson's "Tomorrow Night," Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and T-Bone Walker's "I Get So Weary."
King, 82, is on tour in North America through Thanksgiving. On Sept. 13, he will be on hand for the opening of B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in his hometown of Indianola, Miss.
Also in September, King will begin hosting a weekly blues radio show with XM Satellite Radio.
Here is the track list for "One Kind Favor":
"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (Lemon Jefferson)
"I Get So Weary" (T-Bone Walker)
"Get These Blues Off Me" (Lee Vida Walker)
"How Many More Years" (Chester Burnett)
"Waiting For Your Call" (Oscar Lollie)
"My Love Is Down" (Lonnie Johnson)
"The World Is Gone Wrong" (Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon)
"Blues Before Sunrise" (John Lee Hooker)
"Midnight Blues" (John Willie "Shifty" Henry)
"Backwater Blues" (Big Bill Broonzy)
"Sitting On Top Of The World" (Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon)
"Tomorrow Night" (Lonnie Johnson)
"I saw B.B. at the Central Forest Ballroom in Dallas in '65 or something like that," Burnett tells Billboard. "I remembered exactly how that felt and how that sounded, so I wanted to go back and sort of re-create that very live sound. We all cut it just sitting around in a circle. I tried to be very true to who [King] was when I first heard him and that energy -- in other words, not try to update him in any way."
The track list includes such blues chestnuts as Big Bill Broonzy's "Backwater Blues," Lonnie Johnson's "Tomorrow Night," Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and T-Bone Walker's "I Get So Weary."
King, 82, is on tour in North America through Thanksgiving. On Sept. 13, he will be on hand for the opening of B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in his hometown of Indianola, Miss.
Also in September, King will begin hosting a weekly blues radio show with XM Satellite Radio.
Here is the track list for "One Kind Favor":
"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (Lemon Jefferson)
"I Get So Weary" (T-Bone Walker)
"Get These Blues Off Me" (Lee Vida Walker)
"How Many More Years" (Chester Burnett)
"Waiting For Your Call" (Oscar Lollie)
"My Love Is Down" (Lonnie Johnson)
"The World Is Gone Wrong" (Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon)
"Blues Before Sunrise" (John Lee Hooker)
"Midnight Blues" (John Willie "Shifty" Henry)
"Backwater Blues" (Big Bill Broonzy)
"Sitting On Top Of The World" (Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon)
"Tomorrow Night" (Lonnie Johnson)
Comments