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Disco Music > Disco History 101 Index > Unlikely Artists > B.B. King
B.B. King
"Philadelphia" by B.B. King
BB King recorded two great LPs with a Philly backing group, produced by Dave Crawford: "To Know You Is To Love You" and "Friends."
Yes .... this 6:03 song ... a sparse instrumental low-end groove driven by high hat , horns , and guitar .... sparse .... and yet it somehow continues to build ever so slightly, drops out, rebuilds , drops out, rebuilds ... ....B.B. King's guitar work is perfect (big surprise ) and a most unique feature for a disco song .......
Anyone that likes the Philly Sound ....that MFSB sound ...the Harris Machine .... ....oughta get this one ....the ABC album called " FRIENDS" recorded at Sigma Sounds , Philadelphia in 1974 .
Here's the disco who's who:
Background vocals: Dave Crawford and Charles Mann
Drums : Earl Young
Bass: Ronnie Baker
Guitars: B B King , Norman Harris , and others
Keyboards: Ron "Have Mercy " Kersey , Dave Crawford
Tonga : Larry Washington
Strings : Don Rinaldo, Philadelphia Strings
Horns : Memphis Horns
Vibes: Vince Montana
one other disco connection ...his redo of the song "BABY I'M YOURS" ...... & who wrote that ol' classic ? ..... Van McCoy ....
The album basically could be an O'Jays or a Teddy Pendergrass release .... but I very much like B.B. King's vocal work here .... and I admire his interest in exploring this "new" sound coming out of Philly.
(Above comments from DiscoMusic.com member Remicks)
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YOUR THOUGHTS & COMMENTS
I understand why you got B.B. KING as an UNLIKELY artist. He was OLD when DISCO was in its PRIME! Always a BLUES/JAZZ artist, I couldn't envision him getting on the dance floor.When you look at who was backing him up in the PHILLY days, it surprises me that nothing became a hit? The talent was there! The music business is fickle, this didn't really make it, and a piece of s*** like DISCO DUCK did!!!????
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