I was about 8 years old and my cousin had a B.B. King album from the 1950's.
He played it for me, when he left the room, I stole the album.
Classic blues. "The Thrill Is Gone"
This is what I find interesting about "The Thrill Is Gone"
We go to the flat 6 instead of the 5 chord,
and all of a sudden the 5 chord takes the place of the 4 chord,
and then we're back to one.
Chord progression is the 1 4 1.
Bars 1 through 4, there's the 1 chord.
4 chord is 5 and 6,
Back to the 1 chord, bars 7 and 8.
Bar 9 is the flat 6,
Bar 10 is the 5
Back to the 1 chord, bars 11 and 12.
Otis Rush, in "I Can't Quit You"
Let's bring Otis Rush on with a round of applause.
He gives us very basic blues.
Again, this is all basic. Basic stuff.
We have something that's so simple that we can't help but add to it.
Now when he goes back to the 1 chord, he does something really cool...
He goes up the half step.
Again, something very slight, a slight innovation.
But it brings interest to this very beautiful and traditional form.