Completely Well
| Completely Well | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 5, 1969[1] | |||
| Recorded | June 24–25, 1969 | |||
| Studio | Hit Factory, New York City | |||
| Genre | Blues, R&B, soul | |||
| Length | 49:57 | |||
| Label | BluesWay | |||
| Producer | Bill Szymczyk | |||
| B.B. King chronology | ||||
| ||||
Completely Well, released in 1969, is a studio album by the blues guitarist B. B. King. It is notable for the inclusion of "The Thrill Is Gone", which became a hit on both the R&B/soul and pop charts and which earned him a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1970.[1]
The album was released in the US as an LP record in 1969 and as a CD in 1987; in the UK only as an LP. San Francisco critic Ralph J. Gleason's liner notes are mostly a profile of King, with only a passing reference to the actual music contained in King`s commercial breakthrough album.
Background
[edit]"The Thrill Is Gone" is a cover of a song originally released by Roy Hawkins in the early 1950s, and for the version on this album, strings were added at the suggestion of producer Bill Szymczyk.[2][3] King later revisited the song as a duet with Tracy Chapman on his 1997 album Deuces Wild.[2]
Reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings |  [5] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [4] |
On the Billboard 200 chart, the album reached a peak position of number 38 on April 4, 1970, becoming King's first Top 40 album in the United States.[6] It also climbed to number 5 on Billboard's R&B albums chart, marking his first Top 10 entry on that chart in about five years since Live at the Regal (1965).[7]
The single "The Thrill Is Gone" from the album became his highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 15,[8] and it rose to number 3 on Billboard's R&B singles chart.[9] The follow-up single "So Excited" reached number 54 on the Hot 100[8] and number 14 on the R&B chart.[10]
Track listing
[edit]- "So Excited" (B.B. King, Gerald Jemmott) -- 5:34
- "No Good" (Ferdinand Washington, B.B. King) -- 4:35
- "You're Losin' Me" (Ferdinand Washington, B.B. King) -- 4:54
- "What Happened" (B.B. King) -- 4:41
- "Confessin' the Blues" (Jay McShann, Walter Brown) -- 4:56
- "Key to My Kingdom" (Maxwell Davis, Joe Josea, Claude Baum) -- 3:18
- "Cryin' Won't Help You Now" (Sam Ling, Jules Taub; LP has only B.B.) -- 6:30
- "You're Mean" (B.B. King, Gerald Jemmott, Hugh McCracken, Paul Harris, Herbie Lovelle) -- 9:39
- "The Thrill Is Gone" (Rick Darnell, Roy Hawkins; LP has Arthur H [Art] Benson, Dale Pettite) -- 5:30[1]
Personnel
[edit]- B.B. King: Vocals, lead guitar
- Hugh McCracken: Rhythm guitar
- Paul Harris: organ, acoustic and Fender Rhodes electric piano
- Jerry Jemmott: Bass
- Herbie Lovelle: Drums
- Bert "Super Charts" DeCoteaux: string and horn arrangements
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Completely Well - B.B. King | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ a b "The Thrill is Gone by B.B. King". Songfacts. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
- ^ "50 Greatest Guitar Solos". Guitar World. Future plc. January 29, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
- ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. US: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 118. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-140-51384-4.
- ^ "B.B. King Chart History - Billboard 200". Retrieved November 23, 2018.
- ^ "B.B. King Chart History - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
- ^ a b "B.B. King Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
- ^ "B.B. King The Thrill Is Gone Chart History - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
- ^ "B.B. King So Excited Chart History - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
External links
[edit]- Completely Well at Discogs (list of releases)
