A look at B.B. King's Mississippi museum

 The B.B. King Museum has opened in his hometown of Indianola, Miss., and there are high hopes there that the $15 million project will be a big draw for tourists and blues fans, and that the museum will serve as a  reminder of the culture that created the music.

Here's a very nice piece about the museum from the Associated Press, with some photos, such as the one at right.

Here's a quote from the article about the importance of the museum to music fans:

The significance of the museum in the blues world cannot be overstated, says Mark Camarigg, publications manager of Living Blues Magazine, believed to be one of the oldest blues magazines in the United States.

"You can't overestimate his impact and what he represents. He's virtually transcended blues music in a lot of people's minds. He's on the level of a Sinatra or Willie Nelson," Camarigg says. "Because of his age, it's a great way for people to get a connection to him. Other than Robert Johnson, he's probably the most important person in blues music."

That all rings true to me. King has almost gone beyond musical categories, yet he's never forgotten or ignored his roots. His last album, "One Kind Favor," was good evidence of that, as he paid tribute to the fine old blues that got him started.

I looked around YouTube for something that might give you a look at the early King, and found this video from a 1968 TV show called Ralph J. Gleason's Jazz Casual. It was the first television series featuring jazz and blues. Looking a little further, I found that you can now buy some of this programming on DVD, with the King show among the upcoming releases.

Gleason, by the way, was an interesting and influential music critic and a founding editor of Rolling Stone. Jazz Casual was a show he produced in the early days of public television.

Here's Part 1 of that show's '68 King material. Listen to the smooth vocals and the guitar work -- vintage B.B. Enjoy.