At 83, blues legend B.B. King says he’s grateful that more and more young people are listening to blues. But then again, it is a natural soundtrack to the nation’s current economic state.
“I believe that blues, the way things are today, are more important now than ever before,” KIng said backstage after picking up a Grammy Sunday for Best Traditional Blues Album for “One Kind Favor.”
He said that when people are having hard times, they can see that blues is “kind of an international thing, not just from Mississippi.”
King said the election of Barack Obama as the nation’s first black president showed that America is “growing up,” and urged the country to give the new Commander-in-chief time to clean up the economic crisis.
“I think he’s doing very well,” said King. ”I don’t think we’ve been supportive enough or given this guy enough time,” he said, but added, “I’m happy that they did get him elected…it makes me believe America is really growing up.”
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And it’s a good time to visit the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, newly opened in his hometown of Indianola, Mississippi. This $15 million, 20,000 square foot facility, built around the last surviving brick cotton gin in Mississippi where B.B. worked as a young man, is full of photos, memorabilia and over 2 hours of high-def video as well as interactive music exhibits. Come see the Mississippi Delta!
- Posted by Ann at B.B. King Museum