Artist: B.B. KING AND ERIC CLAPTON
Album: RIDING WITH THE KING (CD)

Release date: 2000
Media type: CD

Riding with the King is a blues album by Eric Clapton and B.B. King released in 2000.

Although Eric Clapton and B.B. King had a 30-plus years friendship originating with a chance meeting and subsequent jam session at New York City's Caf' Au Go Go in 1967, the idea for a collaborative album only crystallized during the sessions for King's 1997 album Deuces Wild. The resulting record, Riding with the King, is a stellar event thanks to a wealth of rich material and a solid supporting cast including Jimmie Vaughan, Joe Sample and Steve Gadd.

B.B. King's extensive catalog provides a wellspring of inspiration, including signature songs such as the smoldering "Three O'Clock Blues", alongside lesser-known numbers like the ribald shuffle "Days Of Old", and the Live at the Regal chestnut "Help The Poor". Elsewhere, King and Clapton look to guitarist Big Bill Broonzy (an acoustic "Key to the Highway") and Chicago pianist Maceo Merriweather (the slow-rolling "Worried Life Blues") for inspiration. Even the non-blues numbers are delivered with a rich subtlety befitting these guitar icons' consummate musicianship. John Hiatt's title track becomes a mid-tempo exchange between old friends, while their honeyed vocals on the standard "Come Rain or Come Shine" are worthy of Ray Charles' 1959 version.

Riding with the King won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

TRACKLIST:

"Riding with the King" (John Hiatt) – 4:23
"Ten Long Years" (B.B. King/Taub) – 4:40
"Key to the Highway" (Big Bill Broonzy/Charles Segar) – 3:39
"Marry You" (Doyle Bramhall II/Susannah Melvoin/Craig Ross/Charles Segar) – 4:59
"Three O'Clock Blues" (King/Taub) – 8:36
"Help the Poor" (Charles Singleton) – 5:06
"I Wanna Be" (Bramhall, Charlie Sexton) – 4:45
"Worried Life Blues" (Big Maceo Merriweather) – 4:25
"Days of Old" (Jules Bihari, King) – 3:00
"When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer" (King/Taub) – 7:09
"Hold On! I'm Comin'" (Isaac Hayes/David Porter) – 6:20
"Come Rain or Come Shine" (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer) – 4:11

LINE-UP:

Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar)
B.B. King (vocals, guitar)
Doyle Bramhall II (guitar, background vocals)
Andy Fairweather-Low, Jimmie Vaughan (guitar)
Joe Sample (piano, Wurlitzer piano)
Tim Carmon (organ)
Nathan East (bass)
Steve Gadd (drums)
Paul Waller (programming)
Susannah Melvoin (background vocals)
Wendy Melvoin (background vocals)