City mourns passing away of King of Blues

Chennai: Denver Camoens (35), IT professional, was just five years old when he was first introduced to the world of blues. “It was my father who would put on the tape in the evening and make me
listen to artists like John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters,” recalled Denver. But it was the King of Blues, Riley B. King, better known as B.B. King, who stood out for Denver. So, on Friday, when he head of King’s death, Denver was stricken as were several of the now departed musician’s other fans.

Once ranked by Rolling Stones magazine as the third greatest guitarist of all time, King won the Grammy award, the topmost recognition for any musician, an astounding 15 times. The genre of blues, whose flag was held aloft by a long list of African-Americans, was characterised by the underlying emotions or the innate feelings of an individual. King himself was once quoted to have said, “As long as people have problems, the blues can never die.”

According to Adithya K, 25, sound engineer at the AR Rahman-founded KM music conservatory, the guitar wielding King was an entertainer at his concerts who could make his music sound both complicated and effortlessly simple.

He also described Chennai as a city with a fledging blues scene, though predominantly underground. “There are a lot of bands, including ‘Incarcerated’, that perform blues in the city, a testament to the popularity of the genre,” he said.

 Another fan, Errol Francis Manuel, 40, said blues music is the need of the hour considering that there are a lot of disconnected people in the world today. “Beset with violence and much sadness, I think people should listen to the music of B.B. King for reflection,” he said.