B. B. King-Live In Cook County Jail (1971)


 

Artist: B. B. King

Title: Live In Cook County Jail

Label: MCA Records

Format: LP

Cat #: MCA-27005

Year of Release: 1971

Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 1980 Reissue Gloverville Pressing

Listed Condition: VG+/VG

Sell Date: 1/7/21

Sell Price:$11.99

Discogs Last Sold: 12/3/20 VG+/NM $14.00

Low: $5.43

Median:  $14.00

High:  $20.00

Current low price: $14.03 VG+/VG

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 11

Have/Want: 843/146

Where Sold: Richmond, VA

Time it took to sell:  5 years

Where and When Bought:  Worcester, MA Strawberries in mid-line scction mid-80's

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: A

Sad To See It Go: No

According to the liner notes a new warden was brought into Cook County Jail of Chicago in 1968.  Murder, rape and bribery were rampant, but when the new warden took over, he first took away the refrigerators, as Italian food was as hot a commodity as heroin and weapons if you believe the liner notes.  

The warden, Winston E Moore was a black psychologist and gave B. B. King an invite in 1970 to perform at the prison, which B. B. accepted and turned into an album.  For his troubles, Moore was lustily booed by the 2,117 captive audience members in the album's introduction, but there are a smattering of cheers as well.  Time has passed and perhaps dope, shanks and a great meatball could once again be found at the right price.  Don't ask me where they put the meatball, as I doubt the multiple refrigerators in the cells made a return.

Live In Cook County Jail is to Blues as Live at Folsom Prison is to Country.  These are seminal career defining documents.  King's effort for the incarcerated is filled with stage chatter and an ability to relate.  Unlike Cash, King didn't serve time, but he did serve the people.  By 1970 he had a couple decades plus under his belt and was fully seasoned to play any stage.   His trusty guitar Lucille jumps out of the recording throughout.

I got this new in the mid-80's as one of those discount titles not quite a cutout on MCA which reissued the record in 1980 after ABC Records issued it in 1971.  I've always known it as a foundational album to any Blues collection and listening to it today does nothing to change that fact.  I saw BB a couple times.  Once at the Worcester Auditorium in 1987 with Gregg Allman opening, riding high on his solo hit "I'm No Angel."   B. B. was in full on 35+ years in show business and was all pro that night.  I also saw him in 2013 as he was winding down with dementia issues and doing an uncomfortably epic audience participation version of "You Are My Sunshine."  "Fans" gave him a raw deal around that time saying he should hang it up, but he was doing what made him happy and he gave all he could.  His band knew the deal and coached his cues, while he did his leads and vocals in short blasts.  Pro and great until the end.

Now that he's gone, he's gone.  Buddy Guy is Buddy Guy.  Robert Cray is Robert Cray.

There will never be another B. B.

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