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How did B.B. King combine blues guitar with jazz and rhythm and blues influences?
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Mississippi Delta blues
Mississippi-born blues legend B.B. King, 1979.
B.B. King was a pivotal figure in the evolution of blues, known for creating an expansive guitar style that synthesized traditional Delta blues with elements of jazz, rhythm and blues, and other popular idioms.12
His unique approach was built upon several key influences:
- Guitar Technique: King played lyrical, single-string guitar responses to his own impassioned vocals, utilizing a distinctive vibrato. This style was heavily influenced by the playing of T-Bone Walker, traditional Delta blues musicians like his cousin Bukka White, and jazz guitarists such as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian.1
- Musical Integration: While his roots were in the Delta, King often incorporated a horn section into his performances, which aligned him more closely with the sophisticated, band-backed sound of the rhythm and blues era than the smaller, guitar-led ensembles common in Chicago blues.31
- Vocal Roots: His singing style was deeply rooted in the gospel music he heard in church during his youth in the Mississippi Delta.1