B.B. King & Bobby Blue Bland - The Thrill Is Gone

In 1969, blues guitarist B.B. King released The Thrill Is Gone on his Completely Wild album - his first million-selling record. The song was originally written and recorded by west cost blues musician Roy Hawkins in 1951. In the 1950's King would play the Hawkins song on the radio when he was a DJ at a Memphis radio station. King had tried numerous times to record the song, but he had never been happy with it. King finally got it right when working with producer Bill Szymczyk - who had suggested the addition of strings. The Thrill Is Gone peaked at number three on the Billboard pop charts, and earned King a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.