Project 1001: Live at the Regal by B.B. King

The first time I heard B.B. King was on The Tonight Show in December of 1980. As I was wont to do when on Christmas breaks from school, I stayed up late to watch Johnny Carson with my younger brother. I was mesmerized by the incredible guitar playing on his famous ax “Lucille” and his emotive voice. King’s greatness was obvious, and I became a fan instantly in that moment. King is often described as the greatest blues guitarist. I think he’s one of the greatest guitarists period, regardless of genre. One observer says, “B.B. King was without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half of the 20th century.”¹ I love B.B. King and I always feel better after a session with this master.

My Rating:

Live at the Regal Review by Daniel Gioffre":

More than anything else, Live at the Regal is a textbook example of how to set up a live performance. Talking to the crowd, setting up the tunes with a vignette, King is the consummate entertainer. Live at the Regal is an absolutely necessary acquisition for fans of B.B. King or blues music in general. A high point, perhaps even the high point, for uptown blues.²

BB King’s ‘Live At The Regal’: From Beale Street Blues Boy To Global Legend:

Many cultures believed that their monarchy were living gods descended from a higher plane. BB King rightly claimed his throne as “King of the Blues” through the brilliance radiating from performances like the one at the perfectly-named Regal.

Live at the Regal made history and will stand as a testament to the power of the blues and BB King’s brilliance. Both Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler have used this album to get them in the zone before their own live performances. It is in just about every list of the greatest live albums of all time, and yet it was never on the Billboard charts. The fact is some albums just rise above the fray to take on mythical proportions – just play it now, and the smile will stay on your face for whatever is left of the day.³

In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Matthew Oshinksy wrote: 

…it was the blues, and B.B. was the one bursting with longing and heartache. urning renditions of “It’s My Own Fault,” “How Blue Can You Get,” and “You Upset Me Baby,” accentuated by King’s emotive caresses of Lucille’s neck, would become the standard bearer of live blues and help crown the King as the greatest guitarist in the genre’s history.⁴

Charts

• Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: #56⁵
• Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: n/a
• RIAA certification: n/a

Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!

Prime Playlist: 145. Live at the Regal by B.B. King

Recorded on November 21, 1964. Here’s what else was happening:

Pop Culture

• Number one song: “Baby Love” by The Supremes⁶
• Number one album: People by Barbara Streisand⁷
• Number one movie: My Fair Lady by George Cukor⁸
• Most watched TV programs: Bonanza, Bewitched, Gomer Pyle USMC, Andy Griffith Show, The Fugitive.⁹
• NYT bestseller, fiction: Herzog by Saul Bellow¹⁰
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: Reminiscence, by Douglas MacArthur¹¹

Other albums released that month

• Blue Jeans a'Swinging by The Swinging Blue Jeans
• Ike & Tina Turner Revue Live by Ike & Tina Turner
• The Beach Boys' Christmas Album by The Beach Boys
• Hello Broadway by Marvin Gaye
• Who Can I Turn To by Tony Bennett
• The Beatles' Story by The Beatles
• Spotlight on Rick by Rick Nelson
• 12 Songs of Christmas by Bing Crosby with Frank Sinatra
• A New Kind of Connie... by Connie Francis
• St. Louis to Liverpool by Chuck Berry
• Softly, as I Leave You by Frank Sinatra¹²

Sport

• Nov 14 Detroit Red Wings Gordie Howe sets NHL record 627th career goal.
• Nov 15 Ajax soccer star Johan Cruijff debuts against GVAV.
• Nov 18 Baltimore Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson wins American League MVP.
• Nov 24 30th Heisman Trophy Award: John Huarte, Notre Dame (QB).
• Nov 24 Cards' 3rd baseman Ken Boyer is voted NL MVP.
• Nov 28 1965 NFL Draft: Tucker Frederickson from Auburn University first pick by New York Giants.
• Nov 28 CFL Grey Cup, BC Lions defeat Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 34-24; BC's Bill Munsey scores 2 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, one on offence and another on defence.¹³

Notable Births

• Nov 14 (Joseph) "Run" Simmons, American rapper and minister (Run-D.M.C. - "Walk This Way"), born in New York City.
• Nov 14 Patrick Warburton, American actor (Seinfeld; The Civilization of Maxwell Bright; The Tick), born in Paterson, New Jersey.
• Nov 16 Diana Krall, Canadian Juno and Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and singer, born in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
• Nov 16 Dwight Gooden, American baseball pitcher (4 x MLB All-Star; NL Cy Young Award, Triple Crown 1985 NY Mets; no-hitter 1996 NY Yankees), born in Tampa, Florida.
• Nov 16 Harry J. Lennix, American actor (The Five Heartbeats, Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Zack Snyder's Justice League).
• Nov 21 Marjorie Judith Vincent, Miss America (1991), born in Oak Park, Illinois.
• Nov 23 Dan Snyder, American NFL team owner (Washington Football Team), D-bag extraordinaire, born in Silver Spring, Maryland.
• Nov 24 Garret Dillahunt, American actor.¹⁴

Historical Events

• Nov 13 Pope Paul VI gives up the jewel-encrusted gold papal crown, donating it to the poor at a service in Rome.
• Nov 15 Sudan Premier Ibrahim Abbud resigns.
• Nov 17 British Labour Party installs weapon embargo against South Africa.
• Nov 18 J. Edgar Hoover describes Martin Luther King Jr. as a "most notorious liar" as part of his smear campaign against King. Details: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3fvv9j
• Nov 21 Verrazano-Narrows suspension bridge opens in New York City, then the world's longest.
• Nov 24 Rebellion ends in Zaire.
• Nov 28 Mariner 4 launched; 1st probe to fly by Mars.
• Roman Catholic Church in US replaces Latin with English.¹⁵

Notable Deaths

• Nov 24 (Edwin) "Buster" Pickens. American blues pianist (Texas Alexander; Lightnin' Hopkins), shot dead by his cousin during a barroom argument at 48.
• Nov 25 Clarence Kolb, American actor (My Little Margie - "Mr. Honeywell"), dies at 90.
• Nov 28 Charles Meredith, American actor (Court of Last Resort), dies at 70.¹⁶

All the videos: You're Welcome 145; Live at the Regal by B.B. Kin

1. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bb-king-mn0000059156#biography

2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-regal-mw0000650357

3. https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/rediscover-b-b-king-live-at-the-regal/

4. Oshinsky, Matthew, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, ed. by Robert Dimery, p. 78.

5. https://elpee.jp/artist/B.B.%20King/

6. https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1964-11-21/

7. https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1964-11-21/

8. "National Box Office Survey", Variety, November 18, 1964, p. 4.

9. https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1964-11-18_236_13/page/4/mode/2up

10. The New York Times Best Seller List November 15, 1964

11. Ibid.

12. 1964 In Music

13. https://www.onthisday.com/sport/events/date/1964/november

14. https://www.onthisday.com/birthdays/date/1964/november

15. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1964/november

16. https://www.onthisday.com/deaths/date/1964/november