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The Best of B.B. King

The Best of B.B. King
Greatest hits album by
B. B. King
Released1973
GenreBlues
Length40:17
LabelMCA
B. B. King chronology
To Know You Is to Love You
(1973) 		The Best of B.B. King
(1973) 		Friends
(1974)

The Best of B.B. King is a 1973 compilation album by the American blues guitarist B. B. King.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Christgau's Record GuideA-[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Album Guide[4]
Tom Hull – On the WebB+ (***)[5]

Cash Box stated in their review of the album that "The title is a hard promise for deliverance's sake. But the commercial B. B. most of his current fans have come to take as the whole of the man is indeed here" and noted that "The album does address itself to his earlier blues by including live versions of B. B. staples like 'Sweet Sixteen,' but in general, it concentrates on more recent material. Lots of heavy guests, but the real King of the blues knows who he is. And so do we".[6]

Track listing

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Side one

  1. Hummingbird (Leon Russell) – 4:33
  2. Cook County Jail Introduction – 0:37[a]
  3. How Blue Can You Get? (Leonard Feather) – 5:08
  4. Caldonia (Fleecie Moore) – 3:18
  5. Sweet Sixteen (Joe Josea and B. B. King) – 7:01

Side two

  1. Ain't Nobody Home (Jerry Ragovoy) – 3:37
  2. Why I Sing the Blues (Dave Clark) – 8:37
  3. The Thrill Is Gone (Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins) – 5:25
  4. Nobody Loves Me But My Mother – 2:01

Charts

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Chart (1973) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[7] 101
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[8] 28

Notes

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  1. ^ Spoken word.

References

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  1. ^ S. Ginell, Richard. "The Best of B.B. King [1973 MCA]: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 763. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: K". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 28, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 118. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  5. ^ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Grade List: B.B. King". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  6. ^ Cashbox Album Reviews: Pop Picks (PDF). United States. February 3, 1973. p. 39.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ "B.B. King Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  8. ^ "B.B. King Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2025.