{"id":55289,"date":"2015-12-21T08:19:50","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T14:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=55289"},"modified":"2015-12-21T09:19:40","modified_gmt":"2015-12-21T15:19:40","slug":"b-b-king-continues-to-inspire-through-blues-archive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/b-b-king-continues-to-inspire-through-blues-archive\/","title":{"rendered":"B.B. King continues to inspire through Blues Archive"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Screen<\/a>C<\/span>elebrated Mississippian and blues legend B.B. King died in his sleep on May 14. The winner of 15 Grammys\u00a0and\u00a0a\u00a0Presidential Medal of Freedom\u00a0passed away peacefully at 89 after a half-century career of moving audiences with his music and live performances. But the thrill isn\u2019t gone; it can be rediscovered in the Blues Archive at the University of Mississippi.<\/span><\/p>\n

Between\u00a01982 and 1983, King donated almost 10,000 sound recordings from his personal collection to UM\u2019s\u00a0Blues Archive, one of the world\u2019s largest public collections of blues recordings, publications and memorabilia. Established in 1985, the archive, which is now a unit in the Department of Archives & Special Collections, is located on the third floor of the J.D. Williams Library. It\u00a0features more than 70,000 sound recordings, 40,000 photographs and 1,000 videos.\u00a0This noncirculating collection\u00a0serves not only UM students and faculty but also researchers worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brett Bonner, editorial director at Living Blues<\/i>\u00a0magazine, worked for a short time at the Blues Archive and has seen his fair share of King\u2019s monstrous collection.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can tell a lot about a man by his record collection,\u201d Bonner said. \u201cWhile working on the radio show \u2018Highway 61\u2019 with Bill Ferris (first director of Southern studies and the Blues Archive), I was able to look and pull from B.B.\u2019s collection. It featured thousands of LPs. I felt I learned more about him looking through his collection; I could figure out what kind of music excited and influenced him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

King was regarded as a kind and gracious man, always treating people the right way, and he was also an avid learner. It is fitting that UM is able to house and chronicle his unique collection since it features not only recordings of other musicians but also books, manuscripts and materials signifying how King never stopped learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe always tried to better himself,\u201d said Greg Johnson, blues curator at the J.D. Williams Library and associate professor. \u201cIn his collection, I found foreign language books that he would study to learn common phrases in order to speak to audiences when he would tour around the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI found a pilot book because B.B. was a trained pilot,\u201d Bonner added. \u201cAnd you wouldn\u2019t believe it, but I also found a copy of a book detailing how to play the guitar!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

King made it a point to return to Mississippi. In 2004, the university gave him the title of Honorary Professor of Southern Studies, one of many distinguished titles he had received from numerous universities. Johnson interviewed King for the ceremony.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a testament to the various universities honoring him with degrees and doctorates,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWhen I got to publicly interview him, he was such a gracious and kind man, very down to earth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cB.B. would always come back to give concerts,\u201d Bonner said. \u201cWhether it was his homecoming concert in Indianola or the Medgar Evers Memorial Blues Concert, B.B. felt it was really important for him to be there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

King performed and recorded decades of musical hits such as\u00a0his signature \u201cThe Thrill Is Gone.\u201d Among his honors, he was inducted\u00a0into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991,\u00a0and is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008, his hometown of Indianola opened the\u00a0$14 million B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

King influenced millions of people with his music. Musical genres, such as rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, R&B, gospel and jazz, can thank the work of King and his beloved Gibson guitar, Lucille.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe number\u00a0of people he influenced and the reach of his music is unbelievable,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cBlues is the biggest cultural export of the state, and B.B. truly was an ambassador. He wasn\u2019t one just for the blues or Mississippi but for the entire United States.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For more on B.B. King, read Johnson\u2019s blog at http:\/\/www.libraries.olemiss.edu\/blogs\/blues\/im-not-retiring-until-he-retires-me-thoughts-b-b-kings-passing<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celebrated Mississippian and blues legend B.B. King died in his sleep on May 14. The winner of 15 Grammys\u00a0and\u00a0a\u00a0Presidential Medal of Freedom\u00a0passed away peacefully at 89 after a half-century career of moving audiences with his music and live performances. But the thrill isn\u2019t gone; it can be rediscovered in the Blues Archive at the UniversityRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[831,1268,45],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nB.B. 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