B.B. King Confirms Three Rare UK June Concerts

Universally hailed as the reigning King of the Blues, the legendary B.B. King will perform three UK concerts in Manchester, Edinburgh and London in June 2011. The dates mark King's first UK appearances in two years.

The blues guitar icon is pleased to confirm that the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter and pianist Avery Sunshine will be his very special guest for what promises to be one of the most spectacular R&B events of the year.

B.B. King's very special guest will be critically acclaimed singer/songwriter and pianist Avery Sunshine

The concerts take in the Manchester O2 Apollo (Saturday 25th June) Edinburgh Playhouse (Sunday 26th June) and the London Royal Albert Hall (Tuesday 28th June). Stage time for all three concerts is 7:30pm.

B.B. King UK CONCERTS JUNE 2011

24 Hour Credit Card Hotline: 0844 888 9991
Book Online: www.ticketline.co.uk
www.ticketmaster.co.uk
Edinburgh Ticket Hotline: 0844 847 1660
*Edinburgh tickets only available from Ticketmaster
Agency & CC Bookings subject to a fee
Concerts start at 7.30pm

MANCHESTER O2 APOLLO
Saturday 25th June 2011
Tickets: £50, £45, £40
Venue Box Office: 08444 777 677
www.o2apollomanchester.co.uk
Stockport Road, Manchester, M12 6AP

EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
Sunday 26th June 2011
Tickets: £42.50, £37.50, £32.50
Venue Box Office: 0844 847 1660
www.edinburghplayhouse.org.uk
18-22 Greenside Place, Edinburgh EH1 3HU

LONDON ROYAL Albert Hall
Tuesday 28th June 2011
Tickets: £50, £45, £40 (very few tickets left)
Venue Box Office: 0207 589 8212
www.royalalberthall.com
Kensington Gore, London, SW7 QAP

B. B. King Official Biography

Throughout the 1990's as well as the 1980's, 1970's, 1960's and 1950's, there has been only one King of the Blues - Riley B. King, affectionately known as B.B. King. Since B.B. started recording in the late 1940's, he has released over 50 albums many of them considered blues classics, like 1965's definitive live blues album "Live at the Regal", and 1976's collaboration with Bobby "Blue" Bland, "Together for the First Time".

Over the years, B.B. has had two No.1 R&B hits, 1951's "Three O'Clock Blues", and 1952's "You Don't Know Me", and four No.2 R & B hits, 1953's "Please Love Me", and 1954's "You Upset Me Baby", 1960's "Sweet Sixteen, Part I", and 1966's "Don't Answer The Door, Part I". B.B.'s most popular crossover hit, 1970's "The Thrill Is Gone" went to #15 pop.

But B.B. King, as well as the entire blues genre, is not radio oriented. His classic songs such as "Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss", "Caldonia", " How Blue Can You Get", "Everyday I Have The Blues", and "Why I Sing The Blues", are concert (and fan) staples.

Riley B. King was born on September 16, 1925, on a cotton plantation in Itta Bene, Mississippi, just outside the Mississippi delta town of Indianola. He used to play on the corner of Church and Second Street for dimes and would sometimes play in as many as four towns on a Saturday night. With his guitar and $2.50, he hitchhiked north to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1947 to pursue his musical career. Memphis was the city where every important musician of the South gravitated and which supported a large, competitive musical community where virtually
every black musical style was heard. B.B. stayed with his cousin Bukka White, one of the most renowned rural blues performers of his time, who schooled B.B. further in the art of the blues.

B.B.'s first big break came in 1948 when he performed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM out of West Memphis. This led to steady performance engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis and later to a ten minute spot on black staffed and managed radio station WDIA. "King's Spot", sponsored by Pepticon, a health tonic, became so popular that it was increased in length and became the "Sepia Swing Club". Soon, B.B. needed a catchy radio name. What started out as Beale Street Blues Boy was shortened to Blues Boy King, and eventually B.B. King. Incidentally, King's middle initial "B" is just that, it is not an abbreviation.

In the mid-1950's while B.B. was performing at a dance in Twist, Arkansas, a few fans became unruly. Two men got into a fight and knocked over a kerosene stove, setting fire to the hall. B.B. raced outdoors to safety with everyone else, but then realized that he left his $30 guitar inside, so he rushed back inside to retrieve it, narrowly escaping death. When he later found out that the fight had been over a woman named Lucille, he decided to give the name to his guitar. Each one of B.B.'s guitars since that time have been called Lucille.

Soon after his number one hit, "Three O'Clock Blues", B.B. began touring nationally, and he has never stopped, performing an average of 275 concerts a year. in 1956 B.B. and his band played an astonishing 342 one night stands. From the chitlin circuit with its small town cafes, ghetto theatres, country dance halls, and roadside joints to jazz clubs, rock palaces, symphony concert halls, college concerts, resort hotels and prestigious concert halls nationally and internationally, B.B. has become the most renowned blues musician of the past 40 years.

B.B.'s technique is nonetheless complex; featuring delicate filigrees of single string runs punctuated by loud chords, subtle vibratos, and "bent" notes. The technique of rock guitar playing is to a large degree derived from B.B.'s playing.

In the army, B.B. was introduced to the music of such guitarists as Charlie Christian and T-Bone Walker. "I heard an electric guitar that wasn't playing spiritual", recalls B.B. "It was T-Bone Walker doing "Stormy Monday", and that was the prettiest sound I think I ever heard in my life. That's what really started me to play the blues".

Over the years, B.B. has developed one of the world's most readily identified guitar styles. He borrowed from Lonnie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, integrating his precise vocal like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarist's vocabulary. His economy, his every note counts phrasing, has been a model for thousands of players including Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Jeff Beck.

B.B. has mixed traditional blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a unique sound. His singing is richly melodic, both vocally and in the "singing" that comes from his guitar. In B.B's words, "When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille".

"I'm trying to get people to see that we are our brother's keeper, I still work on it. Red, white, black, brown, yellow, rich, poor, we all have the blues".

"From my own experience, I would say to all people but maybe to young people especially black, white or whatever colour, follow your own feelings and trust them; find out what you want to do and do it and then practice it every day of your life and keep becoming what you are despite any hardships and obstacles you meet".

"I'm me," B.B. told Time Magazine in 1969, "blues is what I do best. If Frank Sinatra can be the best in his field, Nat King Cole in his, Bach and Beethoven in theirs, why can't I be great and known for it, in blues?"

Sidney A. Seidenberg, B.B.'s former manager, likens B.B. to Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra. "B.B.'s goals have always been to be like an American Ambassador of blues music to the world, like Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra are to the jazz world. B.B. is still the King of the Blues".

In 1967, B.B. performed at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival, a portion of which was later aired over PBS TV. In 1968, B.B. played at the Newport Folk Festival and at Bill Graham's Fillmore West on bills with the hottest contemporary rock artists who idolised King and helped cross him over to young white audiences.

B.B. has influenced Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Rush, Johnny Winter, Albert King and many others while being influenced by CharLes Brown, Lowell Fulsom, Elmore James, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Jimmy Rushing, T-Bone Walker, Bukka White and others.

In 1969, B.B. was chosen by the Rolling Stones to open 18 American concerts for them; Ike and Tina Turner also played on 18 shows. B.B. also made the first of his numerous appearances on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show". In 1970, B.B. premiered in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace and at the Royal Box in the American Hotel in New York City as well as on the Ed Sullivan Show.

In the early 1970's, B.B. toured Ghana, Lagos, Chad and Liberia under the auspices of the United States State Department.

In 1989, King toured Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, West Germany, Holland and Ireland for three months as a special guest of U2. King is featured in "When Love Comes To Town" on U2's album "Rattle and Hum". Starting in 1992, King has headlined the Blues Music Festival of American amphitheatres.

On February 23, 1990 PBS started televising "All Day & All Night: Memories From Beale Street Musicians", which featured B.B. King and captured the lifestyles of musicians who performed on Beale Street (Memphis, TN) from the 1920's to the 1950's when being on Beale Street was like "living in paradise". King recalled on the TV special that Beale Street was "a place to learn, to make friends. It was a little world all of your own. There were always musicians who were willing to help you if you wanted to learn". And King and Rufus Thomas recalled Amateur Night at the Palace Theatre where "anyone who could carry a tune got a dollar for going on stage".

In 1990, King and Ray Charles co-headlined the Philip Morris Superband five continent world tour. The final concert was recorded and "Live at the Apollo" became King's first big band album. In 1991, King headlined the Philip Morris Superband International Tour again with Diane Reeves featured. And in 1991 King participated in the all-star Guitar Legends concert in Seville, Spain, where practically every guitar hero performed.

In 1990 King Received the Songwriter's Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 1991 the Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award from Gibson Guitar Company. In 1989, King's imprint was added to the Amsterdam, Holland Walk of Fame and in 1991 to the Hollywood Walk of Fame (between Milton Berle and Vivian Leigh). In 1973, King received the B'nai Brith Humanitarian Award from the Music and Performance Lodge of New York.

In 1990, King received the prestigious Presidential Medal of the Arts in Washington, D.C. with President Bush presiding. In 1991, King received the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts. In 1995, King received the Kennedy Centre Honours.

Over the years, B.B. has been bestowed eight Grammy Awards by his peers: Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance, Male in 1970 for "The Thrill Is Gone", Best Ethnic or Traditional recording in 1981 for "There Must Be A Better World Somewhere", and Best Traditional Blues Recording in 1983 for "Blues 'N Jazz" and in 1985 for "My Guitar Sings The Blues" from "Six Silver Strings".

In 1970, King's "Indianola Mississippi Seeds" won for Best Album Cover, an art director's award. In 1989 King received two more nominations: Best Contemporary Blues Recording "King Of The Blues 1989", and Best Rock Performance by a duo or group with vocal for "When Love Comes To Town" with U2 from U2's "Rattle And Hum". In 1990 King received another Grammy for the album "Live at San Quentin" as Best Traditional Blues Recording. In 1991, King was bestowed Best Traditional Blues Recording for "Live at the Apollo" and in 1993 the same award for "Blues Summit".

In 1996, with Eric Clapton, Jimmie Vaughn, Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Dr. John and Art Neville, King received the Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "SRV Shuffle" from A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan.

B.B. King was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1984 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, where Sting of the Police made the induction speech. B.B. was the recipient of the 1986 National Association For Campus Activities Hall of Fame Award. B.B. was Blues Act of the Year in 1985, 1987, and 1988 Performance Award Polls. King is a founding member of the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Centre. He received the Grammy "Lifetime Achievement Award" in Dec 1987 at the first televised awards in May 1990.

He won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Blues Foundation in 1997. B.B. has received four honorary doctorates: Tougaloo (Mississippi) College (L.H.D.) in 1973; Yale University (D. Music) in 1977; Berklee College of Music (D. Music) in 1982; and Rhodes College of Memphis (D. Fine Arts) in 1990. In 1992 he received the National Award of Distinction from the University of Mississippi.

On May 3, 1991, "B.B. King's Blues Club" opened in Memphis, and also at the Universal City Walk in Los Angeles in 1994, and although King resides in Las Vegas, he plans to play at his clubs at least four times a year. A B.B. King Blues Club will open in New York's Times Square's E-Walk in early 2000.

In 1996, the CD ROM "On the Road with B.B. King: An Interactive Autobiography" was released to rave reviews. Also in 1996, B.B. King's autobiography "Blues All Around Me" (written with David Ritz) (Avon) was published and won second prize in the prestigious Eighth Annual Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Awards. The biography "The Arrival of B.B. King" by Charles Sawyer was published in 1980 by Doubleday.

In November 1997, MCA released B.B. King's album Deuces Wild with B.B. in tandem with 13 legendary artists. The line-up included Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Joe Cocker, Tracy Chapman, Mick Hucknall (Simply Red), Dr. John, Marty Stewart, D'Angelo, David Gilmore & Paul Carrick and Heavy D. Deuces Wild became B.B. King's second gold album.

In 1999, B.B. King released Let the Good Times Roll, his tribute to Louis Jordan. "Louis Jordan was a great musician," says King, "and in my opinion, was way ahead of his time. As people get to know him, they will realize what a great contribution he left to the music of today."

Avery Sunshine Official Biography

Bursting from an array of musical brilliance, singer/songwriter/pianist Avery Sunshine emerges onto the scene with her soon to be released self-titled debut album. Rooted in gospel, she reaches deep into that cornucopia of style and sound and sings a song which articulates the complexities of life with luminous insight. Fluent in many languages from soul and house to classical and hip hop, Avery Sunshine expresses with a voice that speaks boldly and tells a uniquely familiar story .. a story about love and loss .. healing .. and finding the newness of oneself in the midst of it all.

Who is Avery Sunshine? "I am a self-proclaimed therapist! I want to start the conversation that will lead to individual healing and in turn will affect our collective healing. Let's get people talking about their experiences so that we can learn from them, grow from them and more importantly, move on from them. "

Avery Sunshine is a native of Chester, PA where she nurtured a natural talent by singing in church and leading and directing choirs. A former member of the renowned Wilmington/Chester Mass Choir, she honed her vocal instrument and sharpened her ability to play piano in her hometown, then headed south to Atlanta, GA where she attended Spelman College. Though far from home, she was never far from her one true love - music. She embodies it. She lives to express through it.

Avery's talent couldn't be contained within the walls and staiNed Glass of the church for very long. Making her mark on the Atlanta-soul music scene, she and her Spelman sister, Broadway talent Maia Wilson, teamed up to form the singing duo DaisyRew; and later Avery lent her voice to the soundtrack for Paramount Pictures' The Fighting Temptations.

In 2005, she was hired as lead keyboardist for Tyler Perry's stage play Meet The Browns, and in 2007 she was sought out by vocal great Jennifer Holiday to be choral director for the theatrical production of Dreamgirls during the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta. Avery Sunshine recently made history with daily performances at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO and four private events during the 2009 Inauguration of President Barack Obama.

With vocals and lyrics that are thick and strong yet jazzy-smooth, coined "jazzgosoul" by a personal friend, it's easily recognized that Avery Sunshine has been singing all her life. However her sound and her music is perfected in collaboration with her musical partner Dana Johnson, a classically trained guitarist, gifted lyricist, producer and the man behind the tracks. What started in church at a young age has been refined by experience as she stands ready to proclaim her own story with her first CD project. "In the album I sing about my life - being a divorced mother of two, aging, being mean to the person I love. I sing about the possibility of being a single woman - indefinitely; as well as the feeling of being in love with my man before I even meet him. I also sing about the promise of God; the promise that He will never leave me or forsake me. The idea of never being left alone somehow makes things easier to deal with. Burdens seem lighter."

B.B. King: Official Website
www.bbking.com

 

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