Everybody knows “The Thrill is Gone” as the major hit of B.B. King and of course I agree that his version of this song is best of the best.
Sometimes I like to check how other artist feel and perform well known hits.
Let start from the beginning…
In 1951 West Coast blues musician Roy Hawkins and his friend Rick Darnell wrote the slow blues in minor-key “The Thrill Is Gone”. The song recorded by Hawkins climbed to sixth position of Billboard R&B chart the same year.
Roy Hawkins – The Thrill is Gone
B.B. King recorded his version of “The Thrill Is Gone” in June 1969 for his album Completely Well, released the same year. King’s version is a slow twelve-bar blues notated in the key of B minor in 4/4 time. The song’s polished production and use of strings marked a departure from both the original song and King’s previous material. When released as a single in December 1969, the song became the biggest hit of King’s career, appearing in the R&B chart at number three and the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart at number fifteen and became one of his signature songs.
B.B. King’s recording earned him a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1970 and a Grammy Hall of Fame award in 1998. King’s version of the song was also placed at number 183 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Memorable live versions of the song were included on King’s albums Live in Cook County Jail (1971), Bobby Bland and B.B. King Together Again…Live (1976), and Live at San Quentin (1991). (Source Wikipedia)
In my selection of ‘The Thrill is Gone’ performance I focus on guitarists or where guitar plays significance role.
First lets check Joe Bonamassa version. Small venue, club atmosphere, worth to listen for sure.
Joe Bonamassa – The Thrill is Gone
Next Little Milton. He is really lulling you to sleep and that even though accompanied by a horn and string section
Little Milton – The Thrill is Gone
Now time for blues-rock ballad by Chicken Shack, but be patient because actual song starts around 2:30 min.
Chicken Shack – The Thrill is Gone
Back to the blues. Luther Allison recorded this song on theirs album “Live in Paris”
Luther Allison – The Thrill is Gone
Although they had to be only artists, other than BB King… At the end, allow me to present a funny story told by King as an introduction to this song.
