B. B. King

Even now, at 82 years old, if I don’t learn something every day, you know what I think? It’s a day lost. Now, I don’t practice every day. I just take the guitar, swear at it. But I should be swearing at myself. But I fool with music. I’m doing something musically all the time. And my ears are wide open for anything I can hear.

The crowds treat me like my last name. When I go onstage people usually stand up, I never ask them to, but they do. They stand up and they don’t know how much I appreciate it.

When I was in the country and I was trying to play, nobody seemed to pay too much attention to me. People used to say, ‘That’s just that ole blues singer.’

I guess you can look at me, and tell I’m the old man. My name is BB King.

Water from the white fountain didn’t taste any better than from the black fountain.

I like jazz, rock n’ roll, some hip hop – I can’t think of any music I don’t like.

I was really running a music school back then, because my band wasn’t making any money. I keep talking about money, because most people don’t understand the part of money in running a band.

In my opinion, I think sarcasm and humor in a song, without turning it into a novelty song, is really charming.

I developed in my head that I’m never any better than my last concert or the last time I played, so it’s like an audition each time. You get nervous just before going onstage. I still have that, but I think it’s more like concern. You’re concerned about the people – like meeting your in-laws for the first time.

A good quartet is like a good conversation among friends interacting to each other’s ideas.

The reward for playing Jazz is playing Jazz.

My singing evolved with a feeling of intense relaxation, always using my diaphram and breathing specifically through my nose.

I’m not like a legend that – so I’m sort of in the middle in this sort of gray area where, you know, I’m creating music, and I’m not saying there isn’t an audience, because there is; because all of those people go out and spend $80 to $150 on a concert ticket.

The drummer; he inspired me to play like no one else I have ever met.

It angers me how scholars associate the blues strictly with tragedy.

The only award I’ve ever worked for or wanted really were the ones that were given to me by the fans. So, whether it’s a platinum record or hit songs, those are the ones that last the most.

I don’t believe that a lot of the things I hear on the air today are going to be played for as long a time as Coleman Hawkins records or Brahms concertos.

I can play all I know in eight bars.

Let the music speak for itself.

If you’re making money people don’t think you’re playing Jazz. When you’re not making money they think you’re a great Jazz musician.

Jazz goes into my coffee in the morning, in my wine at night.