Slash, Joe Bonamassa and Derek Trucks Jam B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone”

(Image credit: Jesse Grant/Getty Images)

Slash, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Trucks and Jimmie Vaughan were among the host of guitar heroes who paid tribute to B.B. King on September 1, 2016, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California.

The performers took to the stage together to jam out a selection of King’s best-known songs, including “The Thrill Is Gone,” shown below, and “When Love Comes to Town.”

The event, titled Icon: The Life and Legacy of B.B. King, was presented by the Grammy Foundation and Grammy Museum to honor the legacy of King, a 15-time Grammy winner.

The guitarists included Susan Tedeschi, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Keb Mo, Joe Louis Walker, Quinn Sullivan and ZZ Ward. Guitarist Jimmy Vivino served as the evening’s musical director, with support provided by the Basic Cable Band.

King, who died May 14, 2015, released more than 50 albums since he began recording in the Forties, creating classics such as “3 O’Clock Blues,” “You Don’t Know Me” and, his signature hit, “The Thrill Is Gone.” In addition to 15 Grammy wins, his recognition from the Recording Academy includes a Lifetime Achievement Award and four recordings inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

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Christopher Scapelliti

Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar WorldGuitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.