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.
B. B. KingRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
B.B. King expresses his passion for performing as long as he remains healthy and appreciated by his audience.
In this quote, B.B. King communicates his deep love for music and performing. He suggests that as long as he is physically able and continues to receive support from his fans, he will keep playing music. This highlights the connection between an artist's vitality, passion, and the appreciation of their audience, reflecting a dedication to their craft that transcends age and circumstance.
Themes
MusicPerformanceHealthPassionAudience
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech at an awards ceremony, a musician may quote B.B. King to emphasize the importance of performing as a lifelong journey.
More from B. B. King
All quotes βEverything 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.
B. B. KingRead
A guitar is like an old friend that is there with me.
B. B. KingRead
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.
B. B. KingRead
People all over the world have problems. And as long as people have problems, the blues can never die.
B. B. KingRead
When people treat you mean, you dislike them for that, but not because of their person, who they are. I was born and raised in a segregated society, but when I left there, I had nobody I disliked other than the people that'd mistreated me, and that only lasted for as long as they were mistreating me.
B. B. KingRead
Similar quotes
This has not changed: always like the first time, very, very nervous. But when the music begins, you are in the music, it's a sort of transformation. Your feeling for the music is greater and has nothing to do with your nerves. You go out of yourself.
Montserrat CaballeRead
I love producing, writing. I rarely write with other writers unless I have a real great respect for them. Like Burt Bacharach, or Carole Sager, or Stevie Wonder. Somebody like Smokey - like that. Otherwise, I choose to write alone.
Aretha FranklinRead
'When Doves Cry' came out - it sounded like nothing that was on the radio. 'Let's Go Crazy' was number one on R&B stations, and there's nothing that's been like that on radio since.
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I cannot give a single concert at which I do not play one piece after the other in an agony of terror because my memory threatens to fail me. This fear torments me for days beforehand.
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Rap has been a path between cultures in the best tradition of popular music.
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We are all spirits. We get depressed. But music makes you want to live. I know my music has saved my life.
Mary J. BligeRead