If you want to be a good blues singer, people are going to be down on you, so dress like you're going to the bank to borrow money.
I think of guitar players in terms of doctors: you have the doctor for your heart, the cardiologist, then one that works on your feet, your leg. But I believe George Benson is the one that plays all over. To me, he would be the M.D. of them all.
Interpretation
What this quote means
B.B. King compares guitar players to specialists in the medical field, suggesting that George Benson is a master musician who excels in all styles.
In this quote, B.B. King uses the analogy of doctors to highlight the diverse talents of guitar players, emphasizing that just as different doctors specialize in different areas of health, musicians can be specialized in different styles of music. He particularly elevates George Benson, suggesting that he is a master of multiple styles and techniques, making him the 'M.D.' of guitarists, or the all-around expert. This appreciation reflects the artistry and versatility required in music, much like in medicine.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a music appreciation class, when discussing versatile musicians.
More from B. B. King
All quotes →The way I feel today, as long as my health is good and I can handle myself well and people still come to my concerts, still buy my CDs, I'll keep playing until I feel like I can't.
Everything I record, I just try to sound like me and come up with songs that suit what I do and then just go for it. I never know what the public's going to like, anyway.
A guitar is like an old friend that is there with me.
I have not been a good father, but no father has loved his children more. Like my father, I decided the best thing I could do for my kids was work and provide. Fortunately, I've been able to do that. Unfortunately, my work was on the road, and that's meant a life of one-nighters.
People all over the world have problems. And as long as people have problems, the blues can never die.
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When I'm in Senegal, I can't just sit in isolation making music. People need my help. And the Senegalese people helped create my music. It comes from the country itself.
And I think as long as a song has beautiful lyrics, I'm so happy.
The worst evil which can befall the artist is that his work should appear good in his own eyes.
Heart is what drives us and determines our fate. That is what I need for my characters in my books: a passionate heart. I need mavericks, dissidents, adventurers, outsiders and rebels, who ask questions, bend the rules and take risks.
And I don't consider Broadway the acropolis of theatrical art. I mean Broadway is commercial - that's what it is. It's expensive seats and a lot of them that have to be filled every night. Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway, as far as I'm concerned, is in New York the pride of New York theater.
Art has always been the raft onto which we climb to save our sanity. I don't see a different purpose for it now.