THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

556-B. B. King-The Thrill Is Gone.

1969-It has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 3.15. B. B. King was once performing in Arkansas, United States, when a fight broke out between two men, which caused a fire. King evacuated the hall along with the audience, but forgot his guitar, so he decided to go back in and retrieve it. He found out later that the two men were fighting over a woman called Lucille. From that moment on he named his guitar ‘Lucille,’ as a reminder not to fight over women, or run into a any burning building.

B. B. King was born Riley B. King, on September 16th, 1925, near Itta Bena, Mississippi, United States, he died in his sleep from Vascular Dementia, caused by a series of small strokes, as a consequence of his type 2 diabetes, on May 14th, 2015, at the age of 89. B. B. King was one of the most influential ‘Blues’ musicians of all time, earning the nickname ‘The King of the Blues,’ and is considered one of the ‘Three Kings of the Blues Guitar,’ along with Albert King, (1923-1992) and Freddie King, (1934-1976) none of whom are related. He was a major inspiration, especially on white guitar players, such as Eric Clapton, (see also best songs 726) Jeff Beck, (1944-2023) (see also best songs 361 and 205) and Gary Moore (1952-2011) (see also best songs 932.) Prior to becoming a world renowned ‘Blues’ musician, King had worked as a singer, and Disc Jockey at the ‘WDIA,’ radio station in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had been given the nickname ‘Beale Street Blues Boy,’ as he was part of the ‘Blues’ scene situated on Beale Street, in Memphis, Tennessee, the nickname was later shortened to ‘Blues Boy,’ and finally ‘B. B.’

The discography of B. B. King includes 43 studio Albums released between 1956-2008, and 138 singles released between 1949-2014, there are also at least 21 official compilation Albums, and 16 live Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, five of his singles have reached the top 40, with ‘The Thrill Is Gone’ charting the highest at Number 15 in 1970. 61 of his singles have made the Billboard ‘Top R&B’ chart, with two of those tracks, ‘3 O’Clock Blues,’ (1951) and ‘You Know I Love You,’ (1952) both reaching the Number 1 spot. In the UK, his only top 40 chart entry is his collaboration with the Irish Rock group ‘U2’ on the 1988 song ‘When Love Comes to Town,’ which reached Number 6.

‘The Thrill Is Gone’ was the first of two singles released from ‘Completely Well,’ the 17th studio Album from B. B. King,’ from December 1969, the song was co-written by Roy Hawkins, (1903-1974) and Rick Darnell, (1929-2008) with the production being by Bill Szymczyk. ‘The Thrill Is Gone’ was originally recorded in 1951 by Rick Darnell, and reached Number 6 on the ‘Billboard R&B chart’ in that same year. B. B. King had known of the song from playing it when he was a disc jockey, and when finally getting around to recording it, he was not happy with the initial outcome. It was the songs producer Bill Szymczyk who suggested the radical idea of adding strings to the track, which was a complete departure from B.B. King’s usual sound. The idea worked remarkably well, and ‘The Thrill Is Gone’ went on to become B.B. King’s signature song.

Bill Szymczyk was born William Frank Szymczyk, on February 13th, 1943, in Muskegon, Michigan, United States, he is a music producer, and recording engineer. Unlike many music producers, Szymczyk has no background as a musician. He was originally a sonar operator for the U.S. Navy, and took some audio production classes as part of his Navy training. After leaving the Navy in 1964, he enrolled at the ‘New York University’s Media Arts School,’ and then worked at a firm which produced demo recordings for ‘Screen Gems Records.’ Szymczyk has frequently been noted as the sort of producer who pushes bands to expand their musical horizons. He himself has credited this tendency to his lack of musical knowledge, stating: ‘I’m a professional listener. I listen and I react. I never was a musician, so I don’t bring any preconceived prejudices to the table. I don’t favour the guitar over the keyboard, and so fourth. I just listen and try to figure out if I have anything I can bring to a song.’ Szymczyk has produced for many artists including The Who, and Bob Seger, but it is his productions on six ‘Eagles’ Albums,’ (see also best songs 505 and 198) including ‘Hotel California,’ for which he will be best remembered.

‘The thrill is gone, it’s gone away from me. The thrill is gone baby, the thrill is gone away from me. Although I’ll still live on, but so lonely I’ll be, the thrill is gone, is gone away for good.’