How did you get your blues?
A few weeks ago I drove many miles from the Charlie West Fest to attend the Tornado Relief Benefit that was held at Moondog's. If you were not there, you missed one great show! Pittsburgh has a wealth of talent and the generosity of those players is unbelievable. The added treasure is when you bring the players together on a day like that and watch them interact with other players on stage. Whew! It is something to behold! Players roamed in and players roamed out. Again, it was a wonderful array of music for the blues fans that turned out.
Mid afternoon, I looked up and standing in the doorway was Craig King. His smiling face and melodic voice filled the room, you knew that you were in for a treat! Craig, without his band, took to the stage and began to work his magic with his friends who were also donating their time that day. I heard Craig laugh as he threw back his head...and wow, I was blindsided. The Thrill is Gone .....a BB King tune...was done to perfection....Craig King style. His rendition, always wonderful, would have had BB King standing and asking for more.
The sound was sweet. Craig played it with such feeling and depth...it took me back to the first time that I heard that song. My thoughts drifted back to a time almost thirty years ago. I had been whisked away from my day job to go to see some guy named BB King at the Stanley Theater (now the Benedum). It had been a long day and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. My hotel's general manager, a man who loved music and followed it around the world in his travels, assured me that I would love it. Skeptical, I went along for the ride...not wanting to miss out on it ...if it proved to be good. Sitting there in the balcony, I was caught up in the BB King craze. True, it was thirty years ago....but it was just like yesterday. The mood, the flavor and the energy that permeated the theater. The fans were "over-the-top"! Women, dressed to kill with "steppin out dresses and exotic hats" and myself in jeans and t-shirt, were 'swooning' and begging for more. BB King, a man who seemed larger than life, stood center stage. He sang. He played. He worked the crowd, throwing out seductive quips, playfully toying with the enthralled audience. The more he gave, the more they wanted. Several fans almost fell over the balcony in their zest to get the most out of the evening. There I was...just a girl from the burbs, an interloper ...listening, watching and soaking up the evening.
Then....he told his Lucille story....and he started playing...The Thrill is Gone. Wow, talk about being blown away. The audience went crazy. I hung on every sweet note, every move, every word that oozed so slowly and rhythmically from BB King. I was not a blues fan before but at that moment...I knew that something sensational was happening. That feeling...that wonderful, powerful feeling that BB created when he melded with his guitar....it was THE moment when I finally understood the blues.
I drifted back to Craig King...it too was a wonderful moment in time! How did you get your blues? Where were you when you understood the blues? What song, what player, what concert made the blues come alive for you? Thank you Craig for your wonderful talent and the easy way that you deliver the "moment" to your fans. Thanks for taking me back to a point in time that had such bittersweet, powerful memories.
~ Jonnye Weber