Let The Good Times Roll

by B.B. King

Product Description:

Personnel: B.B. King (vocals, guitar); Dr. John (vocals, piano); Russell Malone (guitar); Hank Crawford (alto saxophone); David "Fathead" Newman (tenor saxophone); Marcus Belgrave (trumpet); Neil Larsen (piano, Hammond organ); John Heard (bass); Earl Palmer (drums); Lenny Castro (percussion).

Recorded at Cello Recording Studios, Hollywood, California. Includes liner notes by B.B. King.

"Is You Is, Or Is You Ain't (My Baby)" won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

Though a wry humor permeates many of B.B. King's classic performances, "funny" is not necessarily the first word that comes to mind, making this 1999 collection of rollicking tunes written or popularized by jump-blues vocalist Louis Jordan seem an odd project at first.

However, any doubts are vanquished within the first minute of the opening "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens." Wisely avoiding straight imitation of Jordan's unique style, King adapts the songs to suit himself. This means that "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" gains a sly swagger and a slightly risque undertone, as if the question is purely rhetorical. King was nearly the only member of his blues generation to still be touring and recording actively by the late '90s, and LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL shows this blues master at the top of his game.