BB King // The Thrill Is Gone // Album: Completely Well (1969)
Riley B. King (BB King) was born in 1925 and was an American blues singer, electric guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. BB King was the pioneer of electric blues guitar and one of the largest influencers in music history, earning the title of ‘The King of Blues’. He won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, was nominated for 30 Grammies and won 15 of them. BB King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1984. BB King died in May 2015.
‘The Thrill Is Gone’ was originally written in 1951 by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell. The song gained its popularity when BB King recorded and released the song cover on his 1969 album ‘Completely Well’. The song reached number 3 the R&B charts and number 15 on Billboard top 100 songs. The song has been ranked number 185 on the Rolling stones list of 500 greatest songs of all time.
The Thrill is Gone has a homophonic texture as BB King sings in a bluesy style baritone with a raspy, rich timbre that is replaced by the lead guitar throughout the song.
In the key of B minor, time signature of 4/4, and a medium to slow tempo of 91, the 12- bar slow song elicits the feelings of a sad yet groovy blues ballad, something The king of Blues is obviously known for.
https://bennyesmonde.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/b-b-king-the-thrill-is-gone-1969/
Michael Tilly's Blog 
This song threw me for a loop. The “Thrill Is Gone” that I know is the one from Chet Baker. So when I saw BB King was doing it, I was excited for a more lively version of the song. Well, turns out it is not the same song. Haha. Regardless, It was a nice song. It felt very ‘groovy’ and easy to lose yourself in the song. I enjoyed the timbre of the song. Thanks for sharing.
P.S. If you get a chance, I do recommend The Thrill Is Gone by Chet Baker. That has some strong emotion in it.
Cheers.
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This is an interesting analysis that delves into the background of BB King as well as his song, ‘The Thrill is gone’. Judging from what you have described about him, Mr. King appears to have been a well-accomplished musician. I didn’t even know he collaborated with Eric Clapton on this song. I agree this is a groovy song, and it certainly feels quite slow and steady, compared to music that I’m familiar with. I would like to know more about the articulation and dynamics of the song, although there doesn’t seem to be much to say;it’s just that I have interest in these elements. I certainly felt as the song is a blues type, but with grooves, making it stand-out from a lot of music.
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