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The Best of B.B. King
Description
**The Best of B.B. King** (1973) stands as a commercial summit of B.B. King's discography-a greatest-hits compilation that, while not a revelation of new artistic territory, delivers exactly what Cashbox promised: a concentrated distillation of the man the world had come to know. Released on MCA Records, the compilation captures King at the height of his crossover appeal, blending his raw Delta roots with the polished, radio-ready blues that dominated the early '70s landscape.
The album opens with "Hummingbird," a haunting cover of Leon Russell's soul-blues ballad that immediately signals King's chameleon-like ability to inhabit styles beyond the rigid blues confines. The tracklist balances his signature slow-jam prowess ("The Thrill Is Gone," "Why I Sing the Blues") with his knack for mid-tempo shufflers ("How Blue Can You Get," "Sweet Sixteen") and occasional vocal showcases ("Nobody Loves Me But My Mother"). A brief spoken-word interlude following "Cook County Jail" nods to his 1971 live album of the same name, adding textural curiosity to an otherwise straightforward compilation.
Critically, the album achieved moderate chart traction, peaking at #101 on the Billboard 200 and #28 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums-an impressive showing for a greatest-hits package that prioritized accessibility over experimentalism. Richard Ginell's review on AllMusic notes how the commercial B.B. King fans had "come to take as the whole of the man is indeed here," underscoring the album's role as a curated introduction for casual listeners encountering the King for the first time.
Ultimately, **The Best of B.B. King** functions less as an artistic statement and more as a business-savvy consolidation of his back catalog-a document of a bluesman who understood the value of his own mythology. For collectors of vinyl from the era, it remains an essential acquisition: unadorned but essential, containing the very songs that cemented King's status as America's undisputed king of the blues.
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[Citations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_of_B.B._King)[^1] Richard Ginell, AllMusic, July 15, 2025[^2] Colin Larkin, *The Encyclopedia of Popular Music*[^3] Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide[^4] J. Swenson, *The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide*[^5] Cashbox, February 3, 1973[^6] Billboard, June 15, 2025[^7] Billboard, June 15, 2025[^8]
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