B.B. King - Sings Spirituals (1959)

B.B. King....the first thing that pops into your head when you hear this name is: great blues guitarist. That's true - the man can play! I had the pleasure of listening to him live many moons ago and I must agree. The 15 Grammy awards King keeps on his mantelpiece seem to prove he ain't no rookie!

However, the Spirituals album is something completely different. This time B.B. leaves his beloved Lucille (as he calls his Gibson ES-355 electric guitar) in the box and focuses on singing. And boy, he's actually quite good at it!

The album, released on Crown records in 1959, features 10 fantastic gospel songs - among them classics, like 'Precious Lord' and 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' but also no less than 6 tunes from the repertoire of the 5 Blind Boys of Mississippi group. And, as with gospel, the arrangements are the 'industry standard', so to speak. Electric organs, piano, bass, drums, tons of joyful hand clapping, a fantastic backing choir and B.B.'s powerful, full-bodied voice.

Many blues musicians have flirted with gospel from time to time. However, for King it was not just a passing fling. He grew up singing in a gospel choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael, USA - so for him, it was back to the roots!

The lyrics, as you might have guessed, are pretty predictable. With songs like 'Jesus Gave Me Water',  'Ole Time Religion', 'Servant's Prayer', 'Army of The Lord'....well, you get the picture. Don't be scared though. Even if, like me, you don't give a rat's ass about the Baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary, I'm sure you'll still be touched - everybody needs some spirituality every now and then. Besides, the lyrics and the general theme of the album give it a sense of authenticity - so yeah, it definitely is the real deal. Praise the Lord! ;)

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