The only guitarist to give BB King cold sweats: “He has the sweetest tone I ever heard”
Two approaches typically come to the fore when discussing guitar playing styles: those who prioritise technical proficiency—the shredders and jazz musicians—and those who forgo that kind of showmanship to convey raw emotion. The usual suspects of the former include Joe Satriani and Pat Metheny, while the latter camp features players like David Gilmour and Neil Young. However, when it comes to placing emotion at the forefront, BB King and Peter Green are arguably the most important.
BB King’s work speaks for itself. He was one of the American bluesmen credited with crossing the racial divide and spreading the gospel of blues to white audiences in America, Europe, and beyond. Alongside his trusty Gibson ES, affectionately known as ‘Lucille’, King delivered countless moments of brilliance, his husky voice complemented by the warm, soulful tones of his guitar. Tracks like ‘Rock Me Baby’ and ‘Lucille’ stand as pinnacles of blues rock.
“When I play,” King once said of his style, “It’s sort of like talking. You say your sentence here, a sentence there. And then I’ve got stop and think for something else to keep my conversation going. But his didn’t seem to be that at all.”
As for Peter Green, he was one of the British guitarists inspired by King’s work, deeply immersed in the efforts of American bluesmen as a teenager. In 1967, he formed Fleetwood Mac with drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, with bassist John McVie joining soon after. Before long, the group were leading the British blues-rock explosion, releasing a string of classics including ‘Albatross’, ‘Man of the World’, and ‘The Green Manalishi’.
Green’s story is well known. His heavy use of LSD led to severe mental health issues, forcing him to leave the band in 1970. Despite his short time in the spotlight, he laid crucial foundations for guitarists looking to convey emotion through their playing. His relatively small body of work remains among the most celebrated in the genre, with everyone from Noel Gallagher to Joe Perry praising his skill over the years.
Green was so eminent that even the great BB King spoke about him with gilded praise. Reflecting on the former Fleetwood Mac man’s skill on the guitar, King said: “He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats”. That’s no small praise from a blues legend.
What impressed BB King most was Green’s ability to play with deep feeling without overplaying. Green was never particularly flashy or technically showy to be that way; he played with thoughtful phrasing and a sensitive touch. He allowed notes to breathe, with space and dynamics being used to good effect in a way that reminded King of himself but with a very British interpretation of the blues.
King also admired the emotional substance Green had infused into his playing. Numbers like ‘Need Your Love So Bad’ and ‘Albatross’ had a vulnerability and texture that separated Green from some of his contemporaries. For BB King, Green wasn’t covering American blues—he was living it himself with substance. It’s what earned him King’s respect.
