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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 1980)
P«g«4 Portland Observer January 10. 1980 ENTERTAINMENT HAPPENINGS entertainment “ The blues became a part o f me early on from Blind Lemon Jefferson and Leroy Carr. I heard them on records. I heard Lonnie Johnson, too, and I idol ized him. Bukka White was another influence on me when I was a boy.” B.B. also remembers the many C hicago-based blues singers who toured the South. "T h e blues-minded people were mostly those who were born and raised down there.” reflected B B.. “ And they did more for the artist than the northern cities.” Among his favorite musicians. B.B. puts Kenny Burrell and George Benson ("H e made me feel like throwing the guitar away.” ) In jazz he talks most about Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian. Back with the blues he’s with T-Bone Walker. B.B. feels that he can play the blues anytime, in spite o f or because o f what ever mood he happens to be in. ” 1 have my good and bad nights. Maybe my guitar doesn’ t sound good to me or the auditorium has bad acoustics. But I love to play, and I give it everything I ’ ve got every time I ’ tn on stage." When he’s on stage he also thinks o f himself as something o f a proselytizer “ I ’ m trying my best to get people who don’t like the blues not to hate them Maybe I ’ m just defending what I ’ m doing, but when I sing and s in g -a n d people don’ t seem to understand what I'in doing— I almost cry.” Through his chosen art form , B.B tries to tell people about people as they really are— with their love and hate, hopes and failures, wisdom and folly Here’s what he says in "Paying the Cost to be the Boss.” I ’ ll drink if I want to, and play a little poker, too, Don’ t you say nothing to me, baby, as long as I ’ m taking care o f you, As long as I ’ m working and paying all the bills, I don’ t want no mouth from you, about the I ’ m supposed to live. You must be crazy, woman, you just got to be out o f your mind, As long as I ’ m footing the bills. I ’ m paying the cost to be the boss. Young whites who have followed rock as far as repetition and volume car take them are looking to blues for freshness. Jerry Greenberg o f Hock Maga zine puts it this way. Many of them identify with the blacks as an out-group, and many of the blues are direct and personal messages— much more relevant and meaningful than popular songs. They like the way the blues tells it like it is, dealing with recognizable situations in everyday language.” In what ways does B. B. consider his own style distinctive? “ I would think that it would be my vibrato and the way I phrase. My phrasing and using a trill on the left hand are the things I have developed. There weren’t many people doing that when I started. My style is from a mix ture of people I have idolized, like Blind Lemon, Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James and Bukka White. Some o f them used a slide, but I could never do that. The closest I could gel to that sound was through trilling with my hand. That would make the notes sustain.” DO YOU REALLY WANTTO SAVE ON YOUR FOOD BILL? We offer savings of up to 40% and more on fine quality products, plus large discounts on other baked 9 °°d s_ day low prices, we feature in store specials daily Jus gam" signs on the displays in our store Discover tor y u sands of smart shoppers in the area have found a" d ^1,3« thou © You'll be amazed at the savings you make at our Wonder Thrift Shop! Food stampsjjladly accepted SATISFACTION GUARANTEED You must be completely satisfied with every purchase or we will cheerfully refund your purchase price WONDER-HOSTESS THRIFTSHOP 115 N Cook St. C orner o f V ancouver Er Cook St., P ortland, Oregon Open M o n th ru Sat —9am 6pm —Closed S undays JOIN WEIGHT WATCHERS SAVE$4°° It's easier to lose weigh, when you’re not trying to do it alone. Join now and save on your registration and first meeting fee! OFFER ENDS January 31, 1980 Of all the weight loss programs in the world none has been more successful than Weight Watchers. We ve helped more people lose more pounds than any other program We II teach you to change your attitude about food so you can Keep your weight 08 Because with many other programs all you lose in the long run is time The legendary B.B. King retu rns to P ortland fo r a one n ig h t p e rfo r m ance on Friday, Ja n u a ry 25, 1980, at 8:00 p .m . in the P a ram ou nt Theatre. C lau Liainga and Inform stlon CALL W ell, I've been around a long tim e, I've really paid my dues. B.B. was born as Riley King 53 years ago on a plantation between Indianola and Itta Bena, Mississippi. When he was four years old his parents separated; at nine his mother was dead and he lived on a farm where he worked as a m ilkboy and general hand. His employers let him go to school during the rainy season or when work was slack, and B.B. managed to get through the ninth grade. A preacher uncle taught him to sing and play the guitar for church services when B.B. was about I4 years old. Soon after that he bought his first guitar (a red one) for $8. In 1947 lie headed lor Memphis (“ to a Mississippian like me, it was like going to Europe” ), where he landed a job as a disk jockey and singer on the Negro stal led radio station W DI A. He announced himself to his listeners as “ The Boy from Beale Street.” That quickly changed to “ The Beale Street Blues B o y," then to "Blues Boy” — and finally to B.B. People listened to him and liked what they heard. His radio show expanded to 2(4 hours daily, and he began playing one-nighters in the Memphis area. But the blues had a stigma. Blacks and whites alike considered it to be “ d ir ty music, and many wouldn’ t give it or the people who played and sang it a chance. The blues performers were touchy.too. “ It was like a practice they used to have in the South,” said B.B., “ if a family had a child born with something wrong with it I hey would build a little shack out back behind the house and that person would live out his whole life there, being fed and taken care o f. but never being seen by anybody else. It wasn’t that they didn’ t love him, but that they were afraid other people might not understand or make fun o f him . T hat’ s the way it was with the blues. The things people used to say about those I thought o f as greats in the business, the blues singers, used to hurt me. A few whites gave me the blah- blah about blues singers, but mostly it was the Negro people, and that was why it hurt. They just didn’ t want to be associated with the blues because they thought it was something still ‘ back there.’ To me it wasn’ t like that. II Nat Cole could sing in night clubs and be a great popular singer, if I rank Sinatra could sing his songs and be a great per son; if Mahalia Jackson could sing spirituals and be great— why couldn’ t I be a blues singer and be great?” In I949 B.B. recorded Lowell Fulson’ s “ Three O ’clo ck Blues” for FPM Records. It was his first hit and climbed to the top o f the rhythm and blues charts in I950, and stayed there for 18 weeks. For the next few years he traveled, stopping first in Little Rock and later in Nashville. He also contin ued to cut records, took on a heavy load o f one-night stands and attained a high artistic standing (largely among blacks) during the so-called "blues revi val” o f the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was during one o f his one-night stands in the sticks— in Twist, Arkan- sai^that B.B. found his first Lucille (the name he’s given to all o f his guitars since then). It all started when two men started fighting in the club in which B.B. was playing and singing. A kerosene stove was knocked over, fire started spreading in the frame structure and everyone made fast steps for the nearest door. Satelv outside, B.B suddenly remembered that he’d left his guitar be hind, and dashed back. He grabbed the guitar and made it out again just as the place caved in (killing two other men). He later learned that the fight was started over a woman named Lucille, and decided to give that name to his guitar—" t o remind myself never to do anything that foolish again.” Just as many younger performers today look to B.B. King for inspiration and style, B.B doesn't hesitate to acknowledge the influences that other, older musicians have had on him. SPORTS HOUR JOE’S PLACE 1801 N.E, Alberta ILL DRAFT YOU FOR ONLY 15< Days: Sat., Sun. & Mon. For More Information « Call: 288 8788 COLLECT 503 297-1021 T.ike'thiscóupontoa VVe^hfvStcl WEIGHT WATCHERS’® THE a u t h o r it y 1 $4 This coupon cannot be combined with any other offer or discount program. Offer good only in participating areas. OFFER ENDS January 31, 1980 !ltX M a:'M ir* •>* ' R V A' . DM -• » W H Mf M W ATC HE S H D G (M N * R scount available onlyjyith this coupon j $4 EMANUEL HOSPITAL 280, N Gantenbein Emanuel East. Room B I (Nursinit Home) Thurs. 7:00pm HOLLADAY PARK HOSPITAL 1225 NE 2nd Ave. Bldg. No. 1 5th Floor Solarium Thurs 4:00pm NORTHEAST PORTLAND M A R A N A TH A CHURCH 1222 NE Skidmore Sat. 9:30am CARPENTERS HALL 2225 N Lombard St. Mon. 7:00pm Thurs. 9:30am For in fo rm a tio n call COLLECT Portland (5031297 1021. Waekdaya - 8 30 5 » W E ^ ^ r w Ä ^ V p V t e ^ ^ OF TH F ' T ickets fo r A n Evening w ith H.H. King are $7. $8. and $9: all seats are reserved. T icke ts can be purchased at: the P aram ount Theatre. M eier and Frank (D o w n to w n ). E v e ry b o d y s R e co rd s. B u d g e t Tapes and R ecords. Frederick and N elson (D o w n to w n ), and Stevens and Son (Lloyd Center). I n 'he b te 1950s he also began punctuating phrases by "bending” notes He nhch -,nlt h n0,e' P oSV he Slnng aCr° SS ,hC fre,S Wi,h ,us fin «crs ,o “s pitch, and hang on. Other guitarists had done this before h irn -L o n n ie John- tradem arks° m ,ild~ bUt ,hc fret’ uen‘ usc °> bent notes has become one o f his B .B 's advice to electric guitar students is pointed and potent. “ Get your self a teacher and learn everything you can about your instrument. Even o S aHUyhma i T T P'ay ' hC b' UCSJUSt likc ,ne’ hc shoul" ’ ‘ ”«a» out jus, playing. He should take lessons and learn to read music. I can read but only S Si° r yi ‘ r e,r, had a'’ y ,nUSk' bl11 ™ — «hen I ’ ye really S can » R « i dn ‘ Play~ 'lhey ShOUld try ,O lear" as ma‘-h as they can. B.B. King should know. He’ s done a world o f playing and study ing since the day he bought his first red guitar in Mississippi. X And everybody want to know, why I sing the blues. Well, I ’ve been around a long time, I ’ve really paid my dues. When B.B. King sings it, you believe it. Community Calendar In c id e n t at B ro w n s Ferry,a film on nuclear power, and Linus Pauling, C rusading S c ie n tis t, w ill be shown at Reed College, Eliot Hall Chapel January 14tha nd 19th at 7:00 p.m. H u m b o ld t N e ig h b o rh o o d Im p ro v e m e n t O rg a n iz a tio n w ill meet at Humboldt school on January 14th at 7:30 p.m. N o rth e a s t C o a litio n o f N e ig h b o rh o o d s w ill meet at King Neigh borhood facility, 4815 N.E. 7th Avenue. Dr. R obert Blanchard.Superintendent o f Schools, w ill speak on “ Equal Opportunity in Education” at the January 17th meeting o f the Jane Jeffer son Democratic Women’ s Club o f Multnomah County on January 17th. The no-host lunch w ill be held at noon at Manning's Restaurant, Lloyd Center, in the private dining room. The public is invited A W orkshop on N eighb orho o d Self Help D eve lop m e nt G rants will be held at the Water Service Building, 510 S.W. Montgomery, on January 16th at 7:00 p.m. The workshop is sponsored by the Portland H U D office and the City s O ffice o f Neighborhood Associations. The W om en and M ortg a g e C redit P ro je ct is offering free daylong workshops for women on “ Everything You Need to Know to Buy a House” , starting January 11th The kick-o ff workshop, sponsored by the Governor’ s Commission for Women, w ill be held that day at the PCC Sylvania Campus in the Cedar Room at 9:00 a.tn. To preregister call 378-6520. Workshops wi I include discussion o f the Equal Credit O pportunity Act, discrimination in lending, rights and options o f home ownership. " -1 » » » Co-coai«»' to. P u m k a, pad. Channel 10 - Portland
