Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 24 October 2003 — Page 22

PAGE C4

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2003

By BILLY WATKINS Special to the NNPA From City News Ohio t'l.KVKLXNlXNNPA)- ILIL King lias lu-anl snnu'tliing about some poll in Rolling Stono maga/inr. but In' isn't suit what tinfuss is all about. Soa riporU'ilVoin King’shonu' state of Mississip|>i gives him the news: In a Sept. 18 special colleetors issue. King was named the third-best guitar player in history. behind only .Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman. "Mmmmmph." he says by telephone from his l.as X’egas ofliee. "1 think they made a mistake. 1 mean, I would think maybe I belong in the top f>(). Rut in the top three? I'm grateful to them, but l wouldn't have put me there.’’ Rolling Stone says the7H-year-old King "has Ix'come such a beloved figure in American music, it's easy to forget how revolutionary his guitar work was," it quotes Buddy Guy, who ranked No. .50 on the Top 100 list, as saying: "Before B.B.. everyone played the (electric) guitar like it was an acoustic.’’ It s also a part of his restless soul. "I guess I'm like a lot of musicians. Sometimes when I play, the guitar feels like a nerve in my nervous system, like it's a deepdown part of me." King explains. "Then other times I'll play and 1 finally just set the thing in the corner and swear at it . I don't play nothin’ like I'd like to play. There's a sound I’ve been search-

ingforalltheseyears. I don’t know what it is, but I'll know it when I hear it. I guess what I'm saying is. when l really learn how to play, 1 11 let you know. Says Rolling Stone senior editor David Frieke: "I think he is being unreasonably modest. To me, putting him in the top three was a no-brainer." Riley B. King became interested in the guitar when he w as (i years old while listening to the Rev. Archie Fair pick and sing at the Sanctified Church ol’God and Christ in Indianola. I le was 12 before he got one. “I worked for the Catlege family," King recalls. "Made Sif) a month. I'd found an old red Stella (guitar) that a man would let me have for Sir*. So 1 asked Mr. Catlege if he'd buy it for me, and take out half of it one month, the other half the next. And he did." King bought a book that showed him a few chords and how to tune it. I le loved-and still does - the sound of a steel guitar in a country song.

"Ain't nothin'in the world prettier than that," King says. "It’ll almost make me cry." By the time he was :5(), King was living in Memphis and had built a following of his own with classic hits such as "You Upset Me Baby" and "F.very Day I I lave the Blues." But it wasn't until the early IfMiOs, when British groups such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones listed American blues artists as their greatest influences, that King began to get his due. “Those guys opened a lot of doors for us,” says King, who has performed in 90 countries, including the then-Soviet Union. "And by us' I mean Little Milton. Bobby Bland, people like that. I imagine there were some whito people in Mississippi who knew who we were, but not folks around •he world. But when the British bands talked, white America listened. King has won nine Grammy Aw ards. Two of his tunes, "Sweet Little Angel" and “The Thrill Is Gone," were selected among the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock ‘n’ Roll. King says he’s holding his own in a battle with diabetes. "I’m hanging in pretty good,” he says. "I try to do most of the things my doctor tells me to do. I knew Johnny Cash, and I understand he died of complications of diabetes. "I’m real fortunate. I don’t have to walk on no stick or anything. I sit down to play, but I don't mind that.” And nor does anyone else.

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lights! Camera! Traction!' theme for 2004 Indy 500 events

Special to The Recorder The month-long celebration in May 2004 leading up to the 88th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race will mix the drama of IndyCar Series racing and the glamour of a Hollywood blockbuster with the theme of “Lights! Camera! Traction!’’ The "Lights! Camera! Traction!" theme, announced last week by Indianapolis Motor Speedway and 500 Festival officials, will be prominent in local and national Indianapolis 500 advertising and 500 Festival event materials. It also will be part of the many events that take place in Indianapolis in the month of May leading up to the 2004 Indianapolis 500 on May .‘30, including Community Day on May 26 at IMS and the Flagstar Bank 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indy on May 29. Speedway and 500 Festival officials created the theme bai ■'! on the many parallels that exist between the 500 Festival, Indianapolis 500 and Hollywood: the competition and camaraderie of the Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Mara-

thon, the drama of drivers and dition and drama of the 500 Festeams searching for speed early tival Parade and Race Day. in the month, then vying for the Flagstar Bank 500 Festival coveted Indianapolis500 MBNA tickets are available by calling Pole Award on Pole Day and the (317) 927-3378. Tickets are availexcitement and agony of drivers able for the 2004 Indianapolis that do, and do not, make the 500-Mile Race. For information, field on Bump Day. log on to The week of the Indianapolis wvvw.indiana{X)lisnKJtorspeed\v F ay r x»m, 500 warms up with Community or call the IMS ticket office at Day and Carb Day and comes to a (800) 822-INDY or (317) 492crescendo with the glamour, tra- 6700.

'Christmas Carol' will return to IRT

Special to The Recorder The Indianapolis Repertory Theatre w ill bring back. “A Christmas Carol" for the holiday season. Each year the IRT presents the always-new adaptation of the classic story of love and redemption for Ebenezer Scrooge, brought about by his old partner, Jacob Marley, three ghosts of Christmas, and a little boy called Tiny Tim. The IRT’s adaptation from the Charles Dickens’ story is by

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Tom Haas, former IRT artistic director. Haas’ adaptation was initially produced at the IRT each year from 1980 to 1984. After a 12-year hiatus, it was brought back in 1996 and continued each year since then. Each year the play brings back some of the favorite parts from the year before - the motorized lifts that change scenery before JORDAN ► Continued from Page C3 “To me right now, it’s all about consistency and being able to maintain a career. I’m hoping for longevity and career building." And exactly who is Jordan’s music for? “I feel like I’m making music ALI ► Continued from Page C3 my own words.” Although May May didn’t include AH’s battle with Parkinson’s disease within the story, it was mentioned in the detailed timeline that she included as a source for students who may use the book for potential reports. Many may feel that being the daughter of Muhammad Ali would come with its share of pressures, but for May May, who graduated magnacum laude from the University of Nevada-Las Ve-

the audiences eyes, the beautiful costumes, and especially all the glorious snow. “A Christmas Carol” begins previews Nov. 8, opens officially on Nov. 21 and runs through Dec. 24 on the I RT’s Mainstage. Tickets can be ordered online at www.indianarep.com or by calling the IRT ticket office at (317) 635-5252.

for grown ass men and women. I’m try ing to make the music still relevant.” Currently Jordan is on tour promoting “Life After Def,” which is distributed by KOCH Records.

gas, pressure is one thing that she does not allow in her life. “I do well for myself,” she said confidently. "If I made straight A’s in college, it was because I wanted to excel. I don’t try to do well because of who my dad is... it just doesn't fit into the equation for me." Dedicated to uplifting youth, M ay M ay works as a social worker in a gang prevention program in one of the most violent areas ii\ South Central Los Angeles.

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