B.B. King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Count Basie 1963 Chicago Jumbo Concert Poster....

Description

B.B. King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Count Basie 1963 Chicago Jumbo Concert Poster. A large, original cardboard window card advertising the "Battle for the King of the Blues" at the Regal Theatre in Chicago, IL with five shows over the weekend of Aug. 3-4, 1963. B.B. King vs. Bobby "Blue" Bland would be a tough one to call indeed, but then you had the added talents of Little Milton, Junior Parker, Albert King and Fenton Robinson. Then the promoters made things interesting by adding the legendary Count Basie and his orchestra to the Saturday night proceedings. Fascinating red and plum ink-coloring on this board. The photo of Count Basie is very sharp and high-quality, a hallmark of this printer. Measures 22" x 28" and grades to Very Good Plus condition. COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: Comparing B.B. and Bobby is a little like comparing apples and oranges, because King was a blues guitarist and touring machine who wasn't focused on hits, and Bland was a singer who'd had seven Top 10 R&B hits in the last two years. His first 45 of 1963, "That's the Way Love Is," even reached #1. Still, it's a marvelous pairing, and we're wondering if they shared the stage for a few songs, which would have been something to see.

As for the undercard, Little Milton had recorded with Ike Turner for Sun Records a decade earlier; Junior Parker had played with Howlin' Wolf and Johnny Ace; Albert King was an extraordinary blues guitarist and singer; and Fenton Robinson would become best-known for his composition "Somebody Loan Me a Dime" later in the decade, which became a blues standard partly thanks to Boz Scaggs. And Count Basie needs no introduction!

Condition details: The board has a 17-inch crease which begins on the edge to the left of "Milton," intersects "MILT" and the "E" of "Little," has a prong branch off and go through the red "JR.," and then travels in the white under the "BLA" of "Bland" and then runs out. A small bit of purple in "MILT" is broken as a result, but that's it. The crease, which is also visible on the verso, did crack the white paper in places, which you can feel with your fingertips, most visible under, and to the right of, "Little." But the board still has its full strength and rigidity. Upper left and lower left corners were lightly dinged in a couple of places.


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