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Blues All around Me: The Autobiography of B. B. King | 
 enlarge | Authors: B. B. King, David Ritz
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $7.90
You Save: $6.10 (44%)
New (25) Used (14) from $6.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 80741
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 360
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.3 x 1
ISBN: 0380807602
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.643092
EAN: 9780380807604
ASIN: 0380807602
Publication Date: December 1, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Amazon.com Review
His real name is Riley B. King, but the B.B. stands, as any aficionado knows, for Blues Boy, a nickname he was given in the late 1940s when he was a disk jockey in Memphis, Tenn. Of course, he's best known as the King of the Blues to millions of fans throughout the world. At 70, B.B. King is still singing the blues and this is his story, from his childhood growing up in the Mississippi Delta, to the purchase of his first guitar at age 12, from his first real break after his appearance on Sonny Boy Williamson's King Biscuit Time radio show, to his ascent to international acclaim as America's ambassador of the blues.
Product Description
From the rural poverty of the Mississippi Delta to his celebrated position as the world's leading blues musician, B. B. King has led a remarkable life. In this riveting autobiography, he dramatizes his whirlwind adventures from the Memphis of the forties to the Moscow of the nineties with unflinching candor and sincerity--disclosing his complex relationships with women and chronicling his experience with racism, the Civil Rights movement, and the shifting politics of show business. But most of all, B. B. 's story is the story of the blues--the evolution from country acoustic to urban electric; the birth and explosion of rock 'n' roll--and B. B.' s own long but ultimately triumphant struggle for crossover success, during which he remained unwaveringly true to the music of his heart.From the rural poverty of the Mississippi Delta to his celebrated position as the world's leading blues musician, B. B. King has led a remarkable life.In this riveting autobiography, he dramatizes his whirlwind adventures from the Memphis of the forties to the Moscow of the nineties with unflinching candor and sincerity--disclosing his complex relationships with women and chronicling his experience with racism, the Civil Rights movement, and the shifting politics of show business. But most of all, B. B. 's story is the story of the blues--the evolution from country acoustic to urban electric; the birth and explosion of rock 'n' roll--and B. B.' s own long but ultimately triumphant struggle for crossover success, during which he remained unwaveringly true to the music of his heart.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
The makings of the blues October 16, 2008
The blues are not just a style of music. The appeal of the blues is it's unapologetic approach to the human condition. Rather than ignore the ups and downs of life, the blues find the human dignity revealed in suffering and rejoices in it. A good blues musician/singer is one who has discovered that human dignity in his own life and has become able to communicate it with others. B. B. King does that so well that he has done more than probably any other in promoting the blues in our time.
In this heartfelt account, Riley King shares his life in pros with the same passion he has always shared it in music. He admits that his writing is an attempt to understand himself and he claims (unconvincingly) that he is not very good with words. And that is, perhaps, the only thing that seems a misrepresentation to the reader. Far from seeming to stumble and falter, Mr. King conveys such emotion that we are quickly drawn in to his story and held captive by his words. This is the story of the deep heartfelt emotion from which good blues springs. The human suffering that produces that kind of emotion is not remembered with bitterness but with an underlying joy in seeing that he has been a better man for it. The story of Mr. King's life is the story of his impassioned performances. It is the story of being human and embracing all that comes with the human condition.
As engaging in words as he is in music October 15, 2008
BB King has penned a memoir that may be the best written of the many fine autobiographies issued by our finest blues musicians. And I've undertaken to read em all! This one is frank, revealing, entertaining and full of historical insight, a must for blues fans, history fans and anyone who enjoys a fun read.
BLUES ALL AROUND ME: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF B.B.KING March 20, 2007
THERE ARE MANY BLUES SINGERS FROM ROBERT JOHNSON TO THE PRESENT, BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE THEY CALLED "THE KING OF THE BLUES" THIS MAN IS A LEGEND HE IS CALLED B.B.KING. THIS POWERFUL BOOK GOES INTO THE HUMBLE BEGINNING OF RILEY B. KING AS A SHARECROPPER,THROUGH THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT,RACISM TO PERFECTING THE MUSIC THAT IS HIS FIRST LOVE "THE BLUES" .HERE IS A MAN WHO CAME FROM A SIMPLE HUMBLE BEGINNING TO PERFORMING BEFORE KINGS AND QUEENS AND PRESIDENTS AND EVEN THE POPE. IF YOU HAVE SEEN B.B.KING YOU KNOW WHY HE IS CALLED THE KING OF THE BLUES, IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN HIM YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON "THE MAN" HIMSELF ALL YOU CAN DO IS READ THIS POWERFUL BOOK
read the book several times September 6, 2005
I've read BB's book several times, maybe 5 or 6. Every time I read it I still love it. I learn something new about him every time. If you even consider yourself a fan of BB or the blues, you have to read this book. David Ritz is an awesome co-writer, keeping BB's voice in the forefront, and he just gently guides BB. He did a hell of a job with Etta James' autobiography also.
An excellent book!!
A MAN AND HIS BLUES... the great BB KING... November 3, 2004
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
His real name is Riley B. King, the B.B. stands for Blues Boy, and he is known as "America's ambassador of the blues". A recommended enjoyable, good read about growing up and into music, self-taught guitar, remarkable attitudes of a man who faced prejudice and hate with an even keel. A performer who went on stage even when he was suffering from a bad case of flu. B.B. King took his music to Israel, England, and Russia, and held up in stature through the lows and highs. And he loves his 'Lucille' (guitar)! David Ritz has co-authored with the King a wonderful synopsis of love, fortitude, belonging, and enthusiasm. Recommended for blues lovers or otherwise... please don't miss this splendid read. (Review based on hardcover 1996)
Reviewer also recommends: 'Between Each Line of Pain and Glory My Life Story' by Gladys Knight
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