Congo Square 2016

The Thrill’s On: A Portrait of B.B. Kingby George Hunt B.B. King began playing on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1948. The antenna on the horizon marks that start. This led to his own show on Memphis, Tennessee’s WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, acquiring the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", later shortened to "Blues Boy," then Bee-Bee and ultimately B.B. The hand-painted tube amp King used to promote himself depicts that modest start. Hunt’s portrait subtly captures the emotional highlights of King’s musical voyage. The artist’s palette echoes the colors King coaxed from his beloved guitar, Lucille, King’s constant companion in creating his brand of blues. King’s road passes Club Ebony, a vital “chitlin circuit” nightclub and another constant in his life. Opened in 1948 in Indianola, Mississippi, the club showcased every legendary black act of the era, including B.B. His 1957 Flexible Starliner Tour Bus dashing towards us represents his peripat