Summaries

Synopsis

Everything comes out in Blues music: joy, pain, struggle AND life is the host for which all emotions play. All the moments of life are the signals of our existence, our feeling, and the fabric that connects every moment of greatness is said to be INSPIRATION. If inspiration is a key instigator of positive change, what happens when a single person is recognized for being able to inspire millions? Not only millions, but a legend who has also influenced many of the greats of our time?

There are only a few extraordinary people within this category. A handful within a vast universe of souls. One undeniable example deserving mention is BB KING. His personal contribution through greatness has led not only to his recognition as the "King of the Blues," which is a docuseries within itself, but also his personal struggles and sacrifice which crafted his life's work.

They say pressure creates diamonds. Well, BB King's journey began after being born onto a plantation in absolute meager conditions that could afford only his existence. From that disadvantaged moment he would strive forward only to face off with racial injustice, systemic inequality, and the sheer pressure of survival. With music as his only true ally, he amazingly transformed into one of the most celebrated musical and creative geniuses the world has ever known.

Today's world needs that type of inspiration as we prepare BB King's story to influence, through film.

One can justify that the story starts with a mother, screaming in succession from contractions, as she welcomes into the world her newborn son Riley B. King. It's on this day, September 16, 1925, we witness the beginning of an amazing story. The implications are clear as we look around a home barely standing, that BB KING was born into a world not intended to survive...BUT HE WILL... Every hero has a great challenge. Every champion has a season full of challenges and self doubt but LEGENDS are made when these stories are not fiction and the "game" has life threatening consequences. BB KING's legendary legacy was cemented from not only where he came from but also what he endured and what he would challenge during his journey for excellence.

From nothing, you have to build something, and with his formidable charm and keen desire to seek out a world beyond his own, BB KING did just that. He was one of only a few child laborers who could attend school, a five mile walk away, and his feet would keep moving. He would continue his walk towards education, integrity, and respect, and even though his mother would tragically die when he was only nine, and he would be living alone in their cabin by ten, by age twelve he would buy his first guitar with a cash advance. The gifted shine early...

KING would devote as much time as he could to play, however, in his late teens with adulthood approaching he did what most did and enlisted in the army. He may have left home but not prejudice. That seemed to be waiting at every stop. His time in the army was shortened due to him being a tractor driver, a skill needed in time of war. He returned, got married, and picked up where he left off.

Interestingly, this is where the story takes a turn, changing his life and embeds KING as part of the fabric of America. While back and working on the plantation, a tractor breaks and KING estimates the repairs to be massive. Not knowing what went wrong or even wanting to explain to the plantation owner, KING grabs his guitar and $2.50 in cash and hitches a ride in the back of a pickup. KING's destination, Memphis, Tennessee...

As if fate called him, he set out to Memphis to search for his cousin Bukka White, a professional bluesman. Riding off hope, because he doesn't even know if Bukka is in Memphis, KING finds Beale Street which fascinates him. The musicians, the women, the lifestyle all came as a shock to KING as he witnessed Black people and White people shopping on the same street. When KING witnessed other musicians and how talented they were, he knew he had work to do. The scene was different, the sound advanced, it was time to roll up his sleeves.

Even though KING was fascinated with Memphis he actually left to head back to square away the debt for the tractor plus he missed his wife. Luckily for KING and "The Blues" the plantation owner, Johnson Barrett, allowed KING to work off the debt. KING was known to be a man of character, but Memphis would call him again. He had been bitten by the energy and sound of this amazing world. Or maybe it was all timing because shortly after his arrival in Memphis he landed a gig performing at a club, then he landed a radio gig as well. KING sent for his wife and soon became the full time DJ on the Sepia Swing Club radio show.

The chain of events in KING's life from the tractor breaking, to KING hitchhiking back and forth from Mississippi, then ultimately landing gigs planting him square in the middle of Memphis are usually stories being told in a smoke filled room. Add the fact that KING would end up naming all of his future guitars "Lucille" after he saved the first Lucille from going up in smoke after a bar fight turned fire, and you realize the Blues ain't boring. How could they be? As KING's phenomenal talent grew, he would nurture a sound that would lead to the contemporary sounds of today, perform rigorously and land himself in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. KING was a fascinating talent who went from a sharecropper to working with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley to name a few.

To say BB KING worked hard is an understatement. When you realize that in 1956 alone he performed on 342 nights and his booking agency celebrated the year gifting him a gold ring. But is it really work when you love what you do? From activism, to poverty; from unifying polarized thinking through music to making music his life mission, KING was a force. Few come from where KING came from and advance, let alone become a Legend. Through the misery, anguish and unknown he prevailed. He lived a life that embodied the American dream and lived it his way, the BB King way. Wynton Marsalis' partial quote, "Everything comes out in blues music: joy, pain, struggle" is not only true but the blueprint for the upcoming BB KING film.