Please go to www.theotherpaper.com and read the article "Is B.B. King bad for the Blues?" Please comment!

Answer 1

Wow! Just Wow! I read the entire article, which was obviously written by a racist idiot. The quote from the article, "But hey, at least whitey ate it up", tells me that the writer, Mr. John Petric, feels like BB should only be playing to black audiences, and only then playing to "comfort black folks". "Follow the money" indeed. What artist in his or her right mind would continue to play small town clubs, when there is $$$ to be made. That's NOT selling your soul or making a pact with the devil. It's good business sense.

I think the entire article is a piece of garbage, just like the writer. THE THRILL IS NOT GONE.

Thank you for posting this. I'm a long time BB fan.

Edit: BTW, you can submit a letter, or email a staffer at that site, which I did take the time to do. You need to submit a name and email address if you would like a reply, which I did. It also asks for a phone number which I did NOT provide, but my letter was submitted anyway. Mr. Petric's name is not on the list of staffers, so I wrote my complaint directly to Danny Russell, Editor. Here's the link:

http://www.theotherpaper.com/topwriter_submit.html

And here's what I wrote:

Dear Sir: I am appalled at the article written by Mr. Petric regarding the performance by B.B. King. Mr. Petric is obviously a racist, as he made a direct quote "But hey at least whitey ate it up." Mr. Petric should be ashamed of himself for belittling one of the best blues legends of all time. I found the entire article appalling. I'm even more appalled that you allowed this piece of dreck to be published at all. Mr. Petric seems to be of the opinion that Mr. King should have kept his act in small black nightclubs, rather than "following the money" as do most talented musicians with good business sense. In my opinion, Mr. Petric needs to write his racist opinions in a private journal instead of your publication.

Answer 2

I've been a big B.B. King fan since I first hear "The Thrill Is Gone" In reading the article, it seemed like the author wanted BB.'s concert to be more of a "We hate whitey" Black Panthers' rally than a 82 year old legend playing the blues.

It should be expected that Mr. King, because of his age, can no longer musically perform at his peak. We have to credit him with making a effort to continue doing what he loves.