The guitarist BB King said was better than Jimi Hendrix: “He’s number one”
Every guitarist who ever lived was always going to be drawing from the same blues licks that BB King pioneered.
He may not have been the flashiest guitar player ever, but what he did with the guitar was squeeze emotion out of every single note that he was able to get out on tunes like ‘The Thrill is Gone’. But even if his note selection was half of the battle, King felt that the true greats were the ones who were able to kick up the adrenaline and turn their instrument into an emotional translator whenever they played.
Then again, King was never someone known for being the fastest guitar player in the world. There had been shredders before and after him, but whereas someone like Robert Johnson was doing techniques that no one ever imagined could be done on one guitar, King made sure he put all of his mojo into perfecting that signature vibrato and some of the slowest blues licks ever made.
In theory, that kind of approach sounds like it would be the most boring thing in the world, but there’s no shame in being able to play something slow whenever entering a jam. King was more than happy to play the best that he could, and while it’s not exactly the most impressive technical feat in the world to match his speed, the magic was always in the way that he expressed himself. His guitar practically sounded like another singer in the group half the time, and no one else in rock and roll ever managed to come close to that kind of sound
But when talking about the biggest names in rock, they don’t come any more perfect than Jimi Hendrix. Even when the idea of a guitar hero was a fairly new concept, Hendrix was another breed of what a guitarist was supposed to be. He could do techniques that no one had ever talked about, and even if we were a long way from the likes of Eddie Van Halen shaking up the music world, there were certain musical colours that didn’t even seem possible whenever a Hendrix record came out.
And yet in terms of blues vocabulary, King felt that Hendrix got outshined when listening to what Eric Clapton could do later down the line, saying, “Jimi was it until Eric and in my opinion, to me, he’s number one – he stands at the top with nobody else. [Clapton] plays rock ‘n’ roll better than anybody else and he plays everything else as well, including blues, if not better than most of us. He’s number one as far as I’m concerned.”
‘Slowhand’ had already been dethroned in most people’s minds the minute that Hendrix reached the top of the charts, but it’s not like he was suddenly obsolete. The best moments of his career ended up coming after he performed with the likes of Cream, and even when Hendrix was reaching his final days, Derek and the Dominos showcased the best playing Clapton ever did, especially since he had someone like Duane Allman looking over his shoulder.
That said, it’s not like King couldn’t show Clapton who was boss every single time they jammed together. Any great blues jam should be like a conversation, but while Clapton was saying a million words a minute whenever he went on those long, extended solos, King only needed to give him one look and play a single note on his guitar to let the entire audience know why he was a legend.
Because outside of those who want to wow a crowd with their technique, Hendrix, Clapton, and King never forgot about the taste that someone needs whenever they start playing. It’s one thing to be the technical best, but if you’re not saying anything substantial, people are bound to go back to those who actually have a song in their heart.
