B.B. King
Any time we played together it was exciting.
At first, he would always pull punches a bit. So one night I told him, "Play your thing. Go ahead, don't worry about me." And he did. His ideas were limitless. He flowed. He was like water, constantly drippin' with rhythm.
It's a loss not just to the music - it's a loss to people as a whole. He was just such a nice man.
I tell you the truth, it really hurts. The only thing that keeps me from crying is knowing the joy that he brought to us. I can see his smile right now, him sitting there with his Mexican hat on, going, "Hey, it's all right."
He was always quick to show gratitude to me and other artists who have been around. But when it came to playing the blues he earned plenty of respect himself.
The fact is that he affected the way blues will be played and heard forever. I've said that playing the blues is like having to be black twice. Stevie missed on both counts, but I never noticed.
