B.B. King Rides High On 'Riding With The King'

04/24/2001 1:00 PM, Yahoo! Music


(4/24/01, 1 p.m. ET) -- B.B. King has never had a dull career, but things have been pretty busy during the last year or so for the 75-year-old blues entertainer. Having picked up two Grammy Awards last year for best pop collaboration for "Is You Or Is You Ain't (My Baby)" with Dr. John and best traditional blues recording for "Riding With The King" with Eric Clapton, from the double-platinum selling album Riding With The King, King continues his march through America, and his current tour dates are listed below.

King may be three-quarters-of-a-century old, but he continues to attract a huge following, many of them younger fans who are introduced to the legend through artists they're already familiar with. In 1989, King teamed up with Irish rock group U2 for the song "When Love Comes To Town." As King explains, the exposure with U2 brought him a whole new fan base. "After we did the one with U2, yes, [it] made a big difference. But then we found that a lot of their fans had never heard of B.B. King, but when I worked with them, they learned about me. This started a new trend of [young] fans we have today."

King's illustrious guitar playing can also be seen in the new Imax film, All Access: Front Row. Backstage. LIVE!, which premiered earlier this month in 35 cities. In the film, King performs a version of "Rock Me Baby" alongside Phish's Trey Anastasio and hip-hoppers the Roots. Other artists featured in the film include Sting and Cheb Mami, George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic and Mary J. Blige, Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas, and the Dave Matthews Band and Al Green.

B.B. King tour dates (subject to change):

April 24 - Memphis, TN - B.B. King's Blues Club

April 26 - New Orleans, LA - Sheraton

April 27 - New Orleans, LA - Fairgrounds Race Course

April 28 - New Orleans, LA - Municipal Auditorium

April 29 - Bossier City, LA - Casino Magic

May 4 - Tuscaloosa, AL - Cityfestival

May 5 - Lula, MS - Isle Of Capri Casino

May 6 - Montgomery, AL - Civic Center

May 8 - New Orleans, LA - Generation Hall

May 11 - San Angelo, TX - Riverstage

May 12 - Killeen, TX - Ft. Hood Army Base

May 13 - Lake Charles, LA - Civic Center

May 17-19 - New York City - B.B. King's Blues Club

June 1 - Indianola, MS - Fletcher Park

June 2 - Jackson, MS - Thalia Mara Hall

June 12 - Clio, MI - Clio Area Amphitheater

June 13 - Kalamazoo, MI - Interlochen Center For The Arts

June 15 - South Bend, IN - Morris Performing Arts Center

June 16 - Ft. Wayne, IN - Embassy Theater

-- Sue Falco, New York

Got news tips, comments, or questions? Send them to newstips@launch.com.