As promised more Blues appreciation this March, today I have to, simply HAVE to talk about BB King. No I'm not talking about every person who owns a Blackberry within the age group of 17-25, I'm talking about the real King of Blues, the absolute legend and one of the greatest guitarists of all time - Riley B King known fondly as BB King. Where do I even begin with this guy, I mean 86 years young, BB King is the Pink Floyd of Blues music. Given the nickname BB because in his cavalier days he was called the "Blues Boy" because he was the first guy to actually perform solo with his guitar and that eventually was the building block for an entire genre in music. Every blues artist who has rocked them blues in the 70' owes a great deal to BB King and there's no doubt they would have all been influenced by him.
Most people still don't know what Blues really are? They might actually like it without even knowing that such a genre does exist, LOL simpletons. A perfect example of Blues music is at every Poker table or a Casino based movie, you know that awesome music playing in the background - the one with the piano, guitar and the super seductive helping of jazz; well that ladies and gentlemen is the BLUES. Lil' kids nowadays raving on about Adele and her awesome tally in the grammy's, I'll have you know that Mr Riley King has only 15 Grammy's to his name, an induction in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, a special homecoming festival named after him in tribute to his music in his hometown of Mississippi, a Grammy Hall of Fame award and countless other honors. This guy is a true Legend in every sense of the word. Some mind boggling stats here, BB King is now 86 years old and he has officially retired. Yes officially, he just completed a farewell tour and all in 2009, and in these 86 years he has sung a staggering 43 studio albums, that's like an album every TWO years. So there's really no way you can actually get hold of his entire discography because a large chunk of it was much before our parents were even born. Still like I said before, Blues is one such genre where you don't need to care how many songs you have, hell they all are equally good, they all sound just as soothing and trust me if I had a rupee for every time I've played the same BB King song over and over again, I'd be a very wealthy man.
Nevertheless not a lot of people know that BB King idolized the late great Frank Sinatra himself; (who shares his birthday with a certain Rajnikant) and BB King has carried on Mr Sinatra's legacy in the Jazz/Blues field. An absolute no brainer this, I strongly urge every music lover to get hold of a copy of BB King's Definitive Greatest Hits. Its arguably the best 35 songs you will ever hear when it comes to Blues music. Try listening to "The Thrill is Gone" only once, I dare you. This is without a doubt BB King's greatest ever song, yes this is the same song that has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. I'd hate to actually pick favorites among these 35 because they are all timeless classics, two and a half hours of musical majesty this from BB King. But if I were to pick a top five per say I'd go with "The Thrill Is Gone", "There Must be a Better World Somewhere", "My Guitar Sings The Blues", "Darlin' You Know I Love You" and "Why I Sing The Blues". There are very few artists who are blessed enough to make musical symphony and Riley B King (Blues Boy) is definitely one of them.
Alright I have tried really really hard to find some sort of link between the Artist and the restaurant that I write about, but alas that day has finally come when I find myself trumped. I mean I could say I was listening to some BB King when I was eating the delicious Shawarma but I'd be lying. Alright enough of the mind games, its Shawarma, there are very few good places serving this utterly delicious Lebanese delicacy. One such place is Kareem's. Rather famous chain they are all across India I'm told but I had the fortune of eating at their Powai outlet recently and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised with their food. Look lets be realistic here, at some point we've all walked by a restaurant craving some of their food, but we have simply walked on by because they are too pricey. Come on, we've all done it. Hell I still do it. But that being said its smarter to have Shawarma cravings because its dirt cheap, hell even at Kareem's its only about 140 bucks and its not the worlds greatest Shawarma or anything, but its good, I'd definitely eat it every once in a while. Now obviously the beauty of the Shawarma apart from the fact that it is cheap is that it comes as a nice wrap so its rather easy to eat, and from personal experience do not make the mistake of ordering only one with the hope that everyone can share it as a starter. 2 Shawarma's is a proper meal, with some of Kareem's nice pudina chatni and a Thumbs up, you've got yourself a good meal in a little under 300 bucks. I wouldn't recommend the rest of the Kareem's menu because it is indeed a tad over priced. Like make no mistake I don't mind eating at the occasional 500 per head place every once in a while, but for that kind of money I would atleast expect better food and more importantly more quantity. But then again, I often make the mistake of going on these random dinner plans with my good friend Kalluri, adorable as he is, he's quite the man mountain and no amount of food is ever enough for this BWOUY. Quality wise their Butter Chicken is nice, their Tandoori dishes are good but like I said ridiculously small portions. Go to Kareem's for the Shawarma, I'm told they deliver also so you won't have to listen to the god awful music they play in their restaurant.
That's all for now folks, the next update will wind up some rather unorthodox Blues artists but in case anyone is really interested in an actual Blues Encyclopedia then be sure to tune into the Blues Show every Sunday from 10pm to 1 am on Radio One 94.3 FM. In case you haven't heard they are a full on International station now and trust me the Sunday night Blues show is one that you don't wanna miss. Adios Amigos!!
Follow @SwamiG13
Most people still don't know what Blues really are? They might actually like it without even knowing that such a genre does exist, LOL simpletons. A perfect example of Blues music is at every Poker table or a Casino based movie, you know that awesome music playing in the background - the one with the piano, guitar and the super seductive helping of jazz; well that ladies and gentlemen is the BLUES. Lil' kids nowadays raving on about Adele and her awesome tally in the grammy's, I'll have you know that Mr Riley King has only 15 Grammy's to his name, an induction in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, a special homecoming festival named after him in tribute to his music in his hometown of Mississippi, a Grammy Hall of Fame award and countless other honors. This guy is a true Legend in every sense of the word. Some mind boggling stats here, BB King is now 86 years old and he has officially retired. Yes officially, he just completed a farewell tour and all in 2009, and in these 86 years he has sung a staggering 43 studio albums, that's like an album every TWO years. So there's really no way you can actually get hold of his entire discography because a large chunk of it was much before our parents were even born. Still like I said before, Blues is one such genre where you don't need to care how many songs you have, hell they all are equally good, they all sound just as soothing and trust me if I had a rupee for every time I've played the same BB King song over and over again, I'd be a very wealthy man.
Nevertheless not a lot of people know that BB King idolized the late great Frank Sinatra himself; (who shares his birthday with a certain Rajnikant) and BB King has carried on Mr Sinatra's legacy in the Jazz/Blues field. An absolute no brainer this, I strongly urge every music lover to get hold of a copy of BB King's Definitive Greatest Hits. Its arguably the best 35 songs you will ever hear when it comes to Blues music. Try listening to "The Thrill is Gone" only once, I dare you. This is without a doubt BB King's greatest ever song, yes this is the same song that has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. I'd hate to actually pick favorites among these 35 because they are all timeless classics, two and a half hours of musical majesty this from BB King. But if I were to pick a top five per say I'd go with "The Thrill Is Gone", "There Must be a Better World Somewhere", "My Guitar Sings The Blues", "Darlin' You Know I Love You" and "Why I Sing The Blues". There are very few artists who are blessed enough to make musical symphony and Riley B King (Blues Boy) is definitely one of them.
Alright I have tried really really hard to find some sort of link between the Artist and the restaurant that I write about, but alas that day has finally come when I find myself trumped. I mean I could say I was listening to some BB King when I was eating the delicious Shawarma but I'd be lying. Alright enough of the mind games, its Shawarma, there are very few good places serving this utterly delicious Lebanese delicacy. One such place is Kareem's. Rather famous chain they are all across India I'm told but I had the fortune of eating at their Powai outlet recently and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised with their food. Look lets be realistic here, at some point we've all walked by a restaurant craving some of their food, but we have simply walked on by because they are too pricey. Come on, we've all done it. Hell I still do it. But that being said its smarter to have Shawarma cravings because its dirt cheap, hell even at Kareem's its only about 140 bucks and its not the worlds greatest Shawarma or anything, but its good, I'd definitely eat it every once in a while. Now obviously the beauty of the Shawarma apart from the fact that it is cheap is that it comes as a nice wrap so its rather easy to eat, and from personal experience do not make the mistake of ordering only one with the hope that everyone can share it as a starter. 2 Shawarma's is a proper meal, with some of Kareem's nice pudina chatni and a Thumbs up, you've got yourself a good meal in a little under 300 bucks. I wouldn't recommend the rest of the Kareem's menu because it is indeed a tad over priced. Like make no mistake I don't mind eating at the occasional 500 per head place every once in a while, but for that kind of money I would atleast expect better food and more importantly more quantity. But then again, I often make the mistake of going on these random dinner plans with my good friend Kalluri, adorable as he is, he's quite the man mountain and no amount of food is ever enough for this BWOUY. Quality wise their Butter Chicken is nice, their Tandoori dishes are good but like I said ridiculously small portions. Go to Kareem's for the Shawarma, I'm told they deliver also so you won't have to listen to the god awful music they play in their restaurant.
That's all for now folks, the next update will wind up some rather unorthodox Blues artists but in case anyone is really interested in an actual Blues Encyclopedia then be sure to tune into the Blues Show every Sunday from 10pm to 1 am on Radio One 94.3 FM. In case you haven't heard they are a full on International station now and trust me the Sunday night Blues show is one that you don't wanna miss. Adios Amigos!!
No comments:
Post a Comment