When it comes to guitarists, B.B. King was one-of-a-kind.
The legend paved the way for blues musicians all around the world. In this 2006 duet with John Mayer, the king of blues shows the whole crowd why he was a cut above the rest. They go toe-to-toe in this friendly battle of blues and the crowd can’t get enough of their stellar blues riffs!
This a jaw-dropping—B.B. King was the man!
At the Guitar Center’s King of the Blues, John Mayer took the stage with B.B. King and they blew the audience away.
At the beginning of the video, Mayer talks to the audience with King beside him. He tells the crowd a little story while also throwing King some praise—but a modest King isn’t having it. He rolls his eyes as if to say, “Let’s get to the music already.”
“Every day I wake up, I put B.B. King on just to make sure I remember how to do it right.” Says Mayer as King hilariously rolls his eyes before saying: “You keep it up, I’m gonna get up and walk out of here.”
Mayer starts the performance off by showcasing his mesmerizing voice… and that’s when King breaks out into an incredible solo.
Even at 80 years old, King proceeds to show us why he’s in a league of his own. He plays stunning riffs that the crowd can’t help but cheer for. He slides up and down the guitar neck with his fingers plucking away and the sound he produces is magical.
King makes it look easy, gliding through the music while bouncing his head and closing his eyes. And it makes sense that he would be so confident—after all, he helped make the blues what it is today! He introduced a new technique based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that all blues musicians use today.
After King puts on a blues-clinic, Mayer comes in and plays some ridiculously complex riffs using the same techniques.
Everyone is stunned watching the two world-renowned musicians trading off spectacular solos. You can hear the crowd’s excitement as they scream for the dynamic duo!
King is especially impressive and the way he manipulates the strings is dumbfounding. Every time to touches the strings, a majestic blues rhythm comes screaming out.
Toward the end of the performance, the two musicians start playing together and it’s phenomenal.
With Mayer singing the words, these two give the crowd at the Guitar Center’s King of the Blues exactly what they came to hear. People absolutely love King, and being graced by his presence leaves them stunned.
The duet went massively viral on YouTube, with millions of people watching Mayer and the King of Blues lighting up the stage.
Over 18.3 million people viewed the video of King and Mayer performing together.
What a sad day, and a monumental loss. BB King's life was in and of itself a time capsule, and a yardstick for modern…
Posted by John Mayer onFriday, May 15, 2015
On top of the 18 million viewers, 107,000 liked the video and thousands left comments for the two talented musicians. Since this video was posted, King, unfortunately, passed away. In 2015, the blues genius died, though he left a music legacy that will live on forever.
This is a video I could watch over and over again. The sound these two create is like candy for your ears. There are not many people that could even keep up with King, but Mayer does an outstanding job.
To see the late but great B.B. King show us how blues is supposed to sound, watch the video below!
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