B.B. King Goes Forward, Into The Past!

As blues musician B.B. King approaches his 83rd birthday in September, along with the opening of B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Mississippi, the legend has been thinking a lot about "The B.B. King That Was." King began his recording career in 1949, and in interviews he has acknowledged the evolution in his singing, his guitar playing, and in his choice of material over the course of almost 60 years. For his upcoming album, titled One Kind Favor, King and producer T-Bone Burnett decided to go forward into the past, the artist revisiting "The B.B. King That Was" and recording songs that he originally performed at the beginning of his career, or were influential on his development as a blues artist and performer.

One Kind Favor is more than just another covers album. Before venturing into the studio, Burnett handed King a list of some 200 songs, from which they chose the 12 tunes represented on the album. The tracklist of One Kind Favor reads like a veritable "who's who" of influential early-era blues music. From Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and T-Bone Walker's "I Get So Weary," One Kind Favor also includes songs by Howlin' Wolf, Lonnie Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Big Bill Broonzy, and others. To further ensure the proper atmosphere for King's performances, Burnett put together a three-piece band, including Dr. John on piano, and recorded the songs live under conditions similar to those experienced by King in the early-1950s. Representing a departure from King's contemporary blues music sound, One Kind Favor will be released on August 26, 2008 by Geffen Records.

CD cover photo courtesy Geffen Records