Eulogy

A Eulogy for B.B. King, September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015


    All it took was one note. In that one note you felt it all. On that one note you immediately knew who it was playing. On that one note you were hooked and the song had to play out. There was no fast forward with B.B. King. The song demanded to be played to the end. If you played guitar you listened to each note brought forth by Lucille and marveled at its complexity, tremolo and that famous string bend. How could so little produce so much? That one note influenced and inspired countless folks of all manner of strata and stripe to pick up a guitar and try it for themselves. Today, there is not a single musician that has ever laid his hands on string that cannot say that B.B. didn't play a part in his performance. We all aspired to play like him, but many of us felt it was just too sacred a thing to master. Many words have been written on what notes to play and how to formulate his "style." However, deep down inside you just knew that it was impossible to duplicate. So much came from so little. Yes, it was that one note.
     He was at home with any sized audience whether it was someone's living room or a packed arena. His performance never slackened. He was always consistent. He gave everything he had as a personal gift to the audience, you, the listener. He sang with a vulnerability that told of enduring hardship, heartache and just plain feelin' bad. He would draw you in with his sincerity and punctuate his pain with a hard growling and dark wail that you could feel as though it were yours alone. His songs told of the misery of betrayal, the sadness of loss and the joy of friendship shared, angels and the romance that once gained was bliss, but so easy to lose. Yes, there is sadness in the blues, but there is also a joy to be had. B.B. and Lucille delivered it every time they came together.
    When we first heard the news he was in trouble we all knew the end would be soon. Thankfully, he was able to go home to see the end of his days and to be with the woman he loved, Lucille. Today, she has lost her muse never to return. But her legacy will stand forever. Her muse was the kind of a man whose voice crossed all lines and playing her did more for the blues than anyone could possibly measure. Her sound was the boilerplate and standard for the blues. We knew from the first note. That first note that would touch our hearts and say more than a million in the time it took to pluck the string until the moment it stopped. There are many that I miss, today. However, I doubt there will another I will miss more. Thank you, B.B. You made my heart sing and dance, you lifted me up when I was down. You loved us all and we are better for it. 
    Today, the testimonials are pouring forth and there will be many tributes to come. The one common message is the same. B.B. King was a friend of mine. How many of us never knew him personally enough to call him friend? It really doesn't matter. His smile and broad grin made us his friend in an instant. With weighted sadness in our hearts we say good-bye to our friend on this day. But with his passing I hope there will be a resurgence of interest into one of the most influential musicians of our lives. Share his legacy with your children and persuade them of his importance. Persuade them that his music is the real thing and not something that has been computer generated or polished up by studio magic. There wasn't a lot to his rig. It was guitar, an amp and his almighty voice. It was that simple and it never failed to knock us over.

The jam session in heaven will be long, tonight.


Dave Tongay
May 14, 2015