B. B. King - 1982 - Love Me Tender

LOVE ME TENDER is an unusual B.B. King album, a notable departure from the urban blues he typically records. For the 1982 disc, B.B. selected songs more closely associated with country and western music. As he explains in the liner notes, the album "puts together all my roots and influences from blues to country and everywhere else." To achieve his goal, King assembled a band of Nashville studio greats, including pedal steel guitarist Sonny Garrish and guitarist Reggie Young. Also among the players are R&B/jazz saxophone great David "Fathead" Newman (whose contributions are sadly limited to a few tracks), the Muscle Shoals Horns, a large string section, and a trio of backing vocalists. Highlights include the opener "One Of Those Nights," a soulful adaptation of a Conway Twitty Song; the funky "Don't Change on Me"; "You've Always Got the Blues," one of several sweet ballads on the disc; and a medley of Willie Nelson's "Nightlife" and Percy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone to Love." While the ever-present electric piano and lush orchestration on LOVE ME TENDER may not be to everyone's taste, anyone interested in hearing B.B. stretch beyond the confines of traditional blues should find plenty to enjoy on this album. Recorded at Music City Hall, Nashville, Tennessee; Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Alabama; The Hit Factory, New York, New York. Personnel: B.B. King (vocals, guitar); Reggie Young, Dale Sellers (guitar); Sonny Garrish (steel guitar); Gene Orloff, Alfred Brown, Sanford Allen, Marvin Norgenstern, Lewis Eley, Paul Gershman, Guy Lumia, Elena Barbere, Max Ellen, Winterton Garvey, Richard Sortomme, Kenneth Gordon, Marilyn Wright, Emanuel Vardi, Julian Barber, Sue Pray, Frederick Zlotkin, Kermit Moore (strings); Walter King (alto saxophone); Harvey Thompson (tenor saxophone); Ronald Eades (baritone saxophone); David "Fathead" Newman (saxophone); Harrison Callaway, Ben Cauley (trumpet); Charles Rose (trombone); David Briggs (keyboards); Bob Wray (bass); Larrie London (drums); Patti Austin, Vivian Cherry, Casey Cisyk (background vocals). Engineers: Bill Harris, Gregg Hamm, Joe Ferla.

Track list:
1. One of Those Nights
2. Love Me Tender
3. Don’t Change on Me
4. (I’d Be) A Legend in My Time
5. You’ve Always Got the Blues
6. Night Life/Please Send Me Someone to Love
7. You and Me, Me and You
8. Since I Met You Baby
9. Time Is a Thief
10. World I Never Made

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