That time I asked B.B. King why he chose guitar as his instrument

bev davies photo

By Steve Newton

Way back in January of 1984 I did my first interview with B.B. King.

He was playing a string of shows at the Plazazz! Showroom in North Vancouver, so I drove my ’66 Dodge Polara on over the Lions Gate Bridge to visit the blues great in his room at the International Plaza Hotel.

I started the conversation by asking B.B. when he first encountered music, which soon led to my second question: what made him choose guitar?

Turns out there weren’t many options for him as a youngster starting out.

Have a listen:

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