Bobby “Blue” Bland & B.B. King — Soundstage, Chicago, 1977

Live capture of Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland and B.B. King for the ‘Soundstage’ program, recorded at the WTTW studios in Chicago on 17 March 1977, in the United States. A summit meeting between two blues giants: Bobby Bland, master of blues-soul and the velvet voice, and B.B. King, undisputed king of blues guitar and his Lucille. This filmed live concert, restored and remastered, immortalises a warm exchange between the two men, between standards and conversation about the blues. The setlist brings together ‘Call It Stormy Monday’, ‘Drifting Blues’, the essential ‘The Thrill Is Gone’ and ‘It’s My Own Fault’. A rare document from 1970s American public television, this capture is ideal for lovers of classic blues and African-American music history. A live concert to savour in full, a testament to a generation of blues legends gathered on one stage. For lovers of vintage blues and soul, this televised meeting between two legends remains a piece of history, where one can feel the rapport and mastery of two greats at the peak of their art, trading verses and smiles across the studio stage.