My Kind of Blues is the seventh studio album by American bluesmanB.B. King. According to biographer David McGee, the songs were recorded in 1958 at the Chess Records studios in Chicago.[1] However, researcher Colin Escott identifies the recordings as being from a March 3, 1960, session, when King was under contract to the Bihari brothers and recorded in the Los Angeles area.[2]
The Bihari's budget Crown Records issued the album in 1960. The liner notes contained a blurb about King's "particular form of jazz... blues-belter extraordinary" and little else.[3] McGee notes that King is backed by a small combo composed of pianist Lloyd Glenn, bassist Ralph Hamilton, and drummer Jessie Sailes[1] (most of King's recordings at the time included a horn section).[4]
Three singles from the album were released by the Bihari's Kent Records;[5] "Walkin' Mr. Bill" reached number 23 on Billboard's Hot R&B Sides chart in October 1960.[6] In 2003, My Kind of Blues was reissued on CD by Ace Records with eight bonus tracks.[1]
In a review for AllMusic, critic George Bedard called it "a masterpiece: a sparse, uncluttered sound with nothing to mask King's beautiful guitar and voice."[5]The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings deemed it "one of the great B.B. King albums."[7]
Track listing
The original Crown LP and many reissues do not list the songwriters, producers, nor running times.[3] Details are taken from the AllMusic review[5] and may differ from other sources.
