Blues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B.B. King - Hardcover

King, B. B.; Ritz, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0380973189 ISBN 13: 9780380973187

Publisher: Avon Books, 1996

Synopsis

The fabled blues guitarist chronicles his youth on a Mississippi cotton farm, years as a disc jockey, experiences with racism and the civil rights movement, romantic relationships, and forty-five years on the road.

About this title

Review

"Charming...honest...transcendent...an eloquent autobiography...It reads like a warm and lengthy conversation with a closefriend. Aficionados of the blues will find plenty to pique their interest, but the book truly shines because of the portrait itpaints of a man who has made kindness and respect a lifelong philosophy."--Billboard

"The thrill is never gone."--"USA Today"

Charming...honest...transcendent...an eloquent autobiography...It reads like a warm and lengthy conversation with a closefriend. Aficionados of the blues will find plenty to pique their interest, but the book truly shines because of the portrait itpaints of a man who has made kindness and respect a lifelong philosophy. --Billboard"

B.B. King is the preeminent living practioner of the blues Blues All Around Me is a treasure trove of informatino told with real feeling --"Washinton Post Book World""

An excellent musical life dotted with encounters from everyone from Sonny Boy Williamson and Miles Davis to Stevie Ray Vaughn --"Philadelphia Inquirer""

Candid heartbreaking deceptively and disarmingly casual and controversial King s book is as self-questioningly honest as any blues song. --"Houston Chronicle""

An amazing success story an eminently entertaining tale of a true American hero. --"Austin American-Statesman""

For almost 50 years, King has let his guitar, Lucille, do the talking. Now the celebrated bluesman tells his own gutsy story. --"Buzz""

A classy book from a classy man straightforward, frank, unaffected, and breezy, with many funny, insightful stories and anecdotes. --"Seattle Times""

King tells his very American success story with the lyricism and leisurely pace of a born storyteller with warmth and sincerity. --"Rolling Stone""

From the Back Cover

B. B. King has the blues running through his blood.

Growing up in the rural poverty of the Mississippi Delta, King first experienced the blues at nine years old, when his mother passed away. The man of the house before the end of his first decade, he used this strife as a source of inspiration and launched one of the most celebrated musical careers in American history.

King has led a remarkable life, and this riveting autobiography dramatizes his whirlwind adventures from the Memphis of the forties to the Moscow of the nineties with unflinching candor and sincerity. But most of all, B.B.'s story is the story of the blues--the evolution from country acoustic to urban electric, the birth and explosion of rock 'n' roll--and B.B.'s own long, but ultimately triumphant, struggle for crossover success, during which he remained unwaveringly true to the music of his heart.

Edition details

• Publisher: Avon Books
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0380973189
• ISBN 13: 9780380973187
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336