'Live at the Regal'

Artists and musicians very quickly find themselves cornered. Maybe it's partly due to their own doing, maybe for the sake of making money or whatever.

B.B. King probably became a bit of a cartoon character in the 1980s when he was on The Cosby Show, soap operas and commercials. You know you'd get a wide smile from that wide man and series of bluesy guitar riffs.

That's how King's music became sort of a punchline -- driving rhythm section accented by King's signature guitar from that noted Gibson ES-335, "Lucille."

And, honestly, he might have just gotten lazy, because his live album from 1965, Live at the Regal, is a jaunty and fun rhythm and blues record that goes beyond King's guitar playing. His showmanship and his group's overall repertoire and ability.