B.B. King, Lawrenceville School, November 20, 1970

B.B. King
The Lawrenceville School
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
November 20, 1970 (Friday)
Early and Late Shows

--Early Show (14 tracks, 59:19)--

-Sonny Freeman and the Unusuals-
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t01. //Title? (instrumental) {4:02}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t02. Title? (instrumental) {3:42}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t03. Title? {6:48}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t04. band thanks and B.B. King introduction {2:37}

-B.B. King and Band-
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t05. Every Day I Have The Blues {1:41}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t06. Downhearted {5:24}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t07. Just A Little Love {4:43}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t08. Title? (instrumental) {3:05}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t09. So Excited {5:13}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t10. Chains And Things {5:25}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t11. Humming Bird {4:17}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t12. The Thrill Is Gone {6:13}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t13. band introductions (1) {2:11}
king-bb-1970-11-20-early-t14. Why I Sing The Blues {3:58}


--Late Show (16 tracks, 90:49)--

-Sonny Freeman and the Unusuals-
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t01. Title? (instrumental, Latin feel) (2) {4:42}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t02. Title? (lyrics: "I refuse to let you worry me") {3:47}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t03. Title? (instrumental) {5:09}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t04. talk (3), B.B. King introduction and plaque presentation {4:45}

-B.B. King and Band-
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t05. Every Day I Have The Blues {1:51}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t06. Downhearted {5:18}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t07. Just A Little Love {5:06}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t08. Title? (instrumental) {1:16}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t09. Title? (instrumental) {2:23}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t10. So Excited {5:27}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t11. Worry Worry {11:01}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t12. Humming Bird {5:29}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t13. Sweet Sixteen {4:32}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t14. The Thrill Is Gone {6:43}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t15. band introductions (4) {2:29}
king-bb-1970-11-20-late-t16. Why I Sing The Blues ... {4:01}


Band:
B.B. King, guitar, vocals;
Ron Levy, piano;
Weber Freeman, bass;
John Browning, trumpet;
Joseph Burton, trombone;
Earl Turbinton, alto saxophone;
Louis Hubert, tenor saxophone;
Sonny Freeman, drums.

Notes:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! R: Master soundboard reels > 7" first gen reels > Revox B77 playback > Alesis Masterlink CD/0 > EAC (extraction) > CD Wave (tracking) > Trader's Little Helper (flac encoding).

! R: early-t01 cuts in

! early-t13 (1) BB: "How 'bout a light over to the piano, there." ... piano ... bass ... trumpet ... trombone ("Lil' Joe from Chicago") ... alto saxophone ... tenor sax ... drums: "Young man who's been with me, this month it'll be thirteen years. And, you know, usually I say it's hard for a man and a woman to stay married that long. So a lot of you might wonder how two men manage to work that long together. Well, don't look at us funny. It's because the guy's a good drummer, he's a good friend, a great guy, ladies and gentlmen, Sonny Freeman."

! late-t01: (2) "We thank ya. The name of that little tune is called [inaudible -- oogla boogla?]."

! P: late-t03 nice instrumental work all around. Nice jump.

! R: late-t03 R channel back in @ 3:42

! late-t04: (3) [applause] Unidentified School Headmaster: "Thank you. Have I got a mic? Well that's a great beginning for a wonderful concert. And I have to match in words the tone and quality of those initial numbers. First of all, I welcome all our campus guests to this first concert of the Robert Thiele Center. A Center for American popular music, established with a goal of filling a vital need for comprehensive library resources and research archives for all forms of popular American music and the data relating to it. When equipped as envisioned by its founders, the collection will consist of ..." Etc. Invites Directors of the Center to the stage. Introduces B.B. King. Presentation of plaque to B.B. commemorating inauguration of the Robert Thiele Center for American Popular Music at the Lawrenceville School, November 20, 1970." Great provenance for the tape.

! Historical: Robert Thiele Center for American Popular Music: http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg16.php: "Bob Thiele, one of the more reliable good guys in the record industry (he was head of Impulse, ABC's excellent jazz division, before starting his own Flying Dutchman group) has started something called the Robert Thiele Center for American Popular Music at his old prep school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, by donating his own collection of records and books. Anyone who's into that sort of thing should understand that gifts are tax-deductible. Write checks to the Lawrenceville School with a notation about where you want the money to go." --Village Voice, Mar. 11, 1971.

! Historical: From the supplier of the recording: "The shows were at the Lawrenceville School theater in what is called the [700-seat] Kirby Arts Center. As you can hear from the headmaster's comments, these shows were to be the inaugural shows for what was to be the Robert Thiele Center. Thiele was a famous jazz producer, having produced John Coltrane and Gato Barbieri, amongst others. [He was head of Impulse, ABC's excellent jazz division, before starting his own Flying Dutchman group.] At the time [of the shows] he headed up Flying Dutchman Records and his son attended the school. The Thiele Center never came to fruition and these were the only shows."

! late-t15 (4) BB: "Thank you so much. How 'bout a light at the piano over there? How 'bout a hand for Ron Levy at the piano. Ron Levy. Thank you. On bass: Weber Freeman. How 'bout it for Weber Freeman. Thank you. Thank you very much. To my far right, on trumpet, John Browning, John Browning. Thank you. On the trombone, Lil' Joe from Chicago, Joseph Burton. Thank you. Alto saxophone, Earl Turbinton. Earl Turbinton. Thank you. Thank you so much. Tenor saxophone: Louis Hubert. Louis Hubert. Thank you so much. And on the drums, ladies and gentlemen, a young man that's been with me ... this month makes thirteen years. Sometimes I say it's hard for a man and a woman to stay together that long. Some of you might wonder how two men manage it. Well, don't look at us funny. It's because the guy is a good drummer, he's a good friend, a great guy, ladies and gentlemen, Sonny Freeman on the drums. Sonny Freeman. Sonny Freeman! Thank you. Thank you so much. And, of course ladies and gentlemen, this is Lucille."

! R: late-t15 fades out near end.

! preview: Billboard, October 17, 1970, p. 6 [available via Google Books];
! review: Ian Dove, Billboard, December 5, 1970, p. 28 [available via Google Books];
! expost: Cordell S. Thompson, "New York Beat," Jet, December 10, 1970, p. 63 [available via Google Books].

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