B.B. King - The Blues LP

Riley B. King — universally known as B.B. King — is the pre-eminent electric blues guitarist of the twentieth century. Born in 1925 on a sharecropping plantation in Itta Bena, Mississippi, he forged a playing style of extraordinary economy and expressiveness: fluid string bends, shimmering vibrato and perfectly placed single-note phrases that conveyed more feeling than any amount of technical showmanship. The Blues collects material from the earliest and most vital phase of his career — sides cut for RPM, Kent and Modern Records between 1951 and 1958 that established his voice and his legend.

About the Album

Originally issued in 1958 on the Crown label (catalogue number CLP 5063), The Blues was B.B. King’s second Crown LP and one of the first long-playing compilations to draw together his definitive RPM and Modern single recordings. At a time when the American single dominated, this twelve-track LP gave listeners the first sustained portrait of King as an album artist. “When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer,” a Top Ten R&B chart entry in 1954, anchors the set alongside raw, churning small-band blues such as “Why Do Things Happen to Me,” “Ruby Lee” and “Boogie Woogie Woman.” Later sides like “Troubles, Troubles, Troubles” show the mature, sophisticated stylist King was becoming. The record remains an essential document of post-war electric blues and a cornerstone of any serious vinyl collection.

Track Listing

• Side A
• 1. Why Do Things Happen to Me
• 2. Ruby Lee
• 3. When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer
• 4. Past Day
• 5. Boogie Woogie Woman
• 6. Early in the Morning
• Side B
• 7. I Want to Get Married
• 8. That Ain’t the Way to Do It
• 9. Troubles, Troubles, Troubles
• 10. Don’t You Want a Man Like Me
• 11. You Know I Go for You
• 12. What Can I Do

This Pressing

This is the Vinyl Passion limited-edition reissue (catalogue VINLP3853), pressed on 180g translucent blue and gold mixed vinyl using Direct Metal Mastering (DMM). Limited to 750 copies worldwide, it presents the original twelve-track Crown album in stereo from remastered recordings. Made in the EU, the pressing offers an accessible and collectible way to own this historically significant recording in the analogue format for which it was conceived.