Chaka Khan performs onstage during Angel Ball 2022 hosted by Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street on October 24, 2022 in New York City. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation
*Blues virtuoso Joe Bonamassa is making sure B.B. King’s 100th birthday receives a proper musical tribute.
As Soul Tracks reports, “B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100” brings together an extraordinary lineup spanning blues, jazz, R&B, rock, and country to honor the iconic guitarist. Bonamassa said the project came together after he noticed the milestone was at risk of going unrecognized.
“We figured out that nobody was really doing a tribute record to him. It wasn’t really on anyone’s radar, so in January of 2025, we decided to start the B.B. King Blues Summit 100 album,” he said.
The roster is remarkable. Buddy Guy performs “Sweet Little Angel.” George Benson, Trombone Shorty, Slash, Keb Mo, and Bobby Rush round out a stacked contributor list. Many of the artists had personal musical connections to King. That history is evident on the album’s debut single, a rendition of “The Thrill is Gone” featuring Chaka Khan and Eric Clapton. The song originally gave King one of his biggest chart successes and a Grammy Award in 1970.
Khan performed alongside the blues legend in both 1987 and 1993. Their joint version pairs Khan’s commanding vocals with Clapton’s reliably brilliant guitar work.
As King’s centennial year rolls on, Bonamassa’s ambitious project ensures that one of American music’s most towering figures is celebrated the way he deserves.
