Thanksgiving day, 1972.
Instead of gathering around the family table, BB King spent it performing at New York’s maximum-security Sing Sing prison. He was joined by a cast of famous friends, including the singer Joan Baez. His blues-heavy concert is widely considered one his greatest to this day, by both himself and critics alike. This entire epic Thanksgiving day performance was captured on film by documentary director David Hoffmann, naming it the “Sing Sing Prison Concert.”
In a dazzling and passionate performance, BB King plays for both inmates and wardens, giving them a show they’ll never forget.
His entrance is greeted by a resounding cheer from the audience, audibly echoing their excitement for the music.
King begins the show with a bit of comedy, stating:
“I was told that some of you dudes don’t know anything about blues, that’s what they told me. So I wanna say this to you: I came to swap some with you. I imagine that quite a few of you dudes have the blues already.”
His friendly banter is well-received, and he immediately launches his act into the song “Downhearted (or How Blue Can You Get)” for an admiring ocean of correctional facility inmates.
King’s performance comes three years after Johnny Cash visited San Quentin State Prison, right outside of San Francisco. It’s one year following Nixon’s declaration of the “War on Drugs,” which flooded prisons with mass incarceration. His performance is timely and heartfelt.
He doesn’t hesitate to flood the room with a soulful sound, the notes of his electric guitar ringing out and illustrating the circumstances of the prison.
The blues flow clearly from his music while he sings out into the crowd, “How blue can you get, babe?”
He’s met with unified cheers and applause.
Much like Johnny Cash, this wasn’t King’s first prison performance.
Just two years earlier he played a show for Chicago’s Cook County Jail. At the time, this prison was also known as the “world’s worst jail.” The resulting album was well-received. Upon releas, it topped the R&B charts for three weeks in a row and also made it to the Rolling Stone’s 500 Best Albums list.
His keyboardist, Ron Levy, commented on the concert:
“If anybody had the blues, it was those people incarcerated. And B.B. really felt compassion for those guys…. People don’t realize B.B. King was much more than just a musician and entertainer. He’s a human being, a humanitarian. He cared. He’s one of the really good guys. There aren’t many like him in history. He’s not just the king of the blues. He’s one of the kings of humanity.”
The late “King of Blues” was a continued advocate for inmates, and even helped to co-found an organization working to better their living conditions.
Throughout his career, King was often teased for his passion for performing in prisons. But it was his heart that was truly involved. He spoke candidly in a 1990 NBC News interview about it.
“I’ve never been in trouble myself but I think about, it could have just as easily been a B.B. King instead of B.B. King going out there to play.”
King was awarded for his humanitarian efforts in 1972 by the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
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