Confessions of a Fanboy

All this talk about BB King’s new record One Kind Favor did exactly what it is supposed to do.  It drove me to listen to some cuts from BB’s Live at The Regal and King of the Blues.  While listening to the latter, I stumbled across “Gambler’s Blues,” one of my favorite blues songs ever.

King wrote the song and a live version of it appears on KOTB.  Otis Rush recorded it for Mourning in The Morning — recorded in Muscle Shoals — and has performed it countless times and thus it has appeared on any number of Rush’s live albums.  By my own unofficial count, I have three live versions of it (Tops, So Many Roads, Wise Fools).It’s an amazing song.  I’m kind of stunned the R&B world hasn’t unearthed this and taken a stab at modernizing (translation: destroying) it.  I’ve been wrong before, but I believe “Gambler’s Blues” could be a hit in the right hands.  Of course it’s been in the right hand of B.B. King and the left hand of Otis Rush, and that’s about as good as it gets.

Actually, as I sit and listen and look at the song titles there is an awful lot of common ground between King and Rush.  Otis covered several of King’s songs over the years and when you listen to the two artists you can hear the connection. 

That’s part of the beauty of the heritage of the blues– and to differing extents all art and music.  You can hear the shared influences and knowledge and discover the roots while simultaneously enjoying the differences and innovations that make artists unique. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, BB is playing “Rock Me, Baby” and I need to stop typing and just listen.

Filed under: Tags: Bloggin' the Blues, Otis Rush