I was lucky enough to see B.B. King live three times. Each was memorable.

In reverse order:

3) October 2011. Lee Hall, Mississippi State University. With Bud Sorey​ and C.J. LeMaster​. He played a short set and it was obvious that he was getting more feeble. But he still had a sense of humor: After the show a few people huddled around the stage looking for autographs. One guy had a guitar he wanted signed. Right before King got to him, the handlers came and told him it was time to go. “Please, Mr. King!” the guy pleaded. “I’m from Indianola just like you!” King stopped, turned around and said, “If you’re from Indianola, then I bet you’ve got a boss just like I do. And when the boss says it’s time to go, you go.” Then he went.

2) May 2010. Silver Star Casino, Philadelphia, MS. With Josh Bagwell and Michelle & Bryant Wait​.​ We left the MSU graduation ceremony that afternoon and drove down. I had free tickets from the casino. Michelle and Bryant were getting married the next day in New Orleans (another story for another time). Josh and I watched King play for about an hour and a half while the lovebirds frolicked around the blackjack tables. His heart wasn’t in this show; the casino crowd didn’t really care for any deep cuts, just the famous stuff. I think he played The Thrill is Gone three times just to shut them up. We drove on to Jackson afterward and got pulled over in Flowood at 1 a.m…. For driving too slow.

1) June 2009. 47th Annual Medgar Evers Homecoming. The Old Big Lots, Ellis Ave., Jackson, MS. By myself. I had never seen King before and was convinced he was gonna die within a year. I didn’t know he was playing until the day before, and I had planned to leave Pearl for Starkville early that day so I could pack for my week as a counselor at Sardis Lake Christian Camp, which began the next day.

None of my friends would go with me, so (against the strongly-worded advice of my mother) I went by myself. Turned out King was the headliner of a long day of awesome blues acts. Chick Willis, Bobby “Blue” Bland, and Clarence Carter all opened. I kept looking at the clock. King took the stage around 11 p.m. and played until after one. It was a crowd of about 500 and I was one of 10 white people there. He was electric. Told stories, howled, flirted with the women (“I may be old, but my Viagra ain’t!”). I loved every second of it, and it was easy to see why he was a master performer. At 1:15 a.m. I got in my car and started driving down one of Jackson’s most dangerous streets. I noticed a poster for the show on a light pole, so I stopped, got out and pulled it off. This is still my favorite concert poster I own. I got to Starkville at 3:30 a.m., packed a suitcase and slept til church started.

Then I went to spend some time with The Lord, just like B.B. did this morning.