The Life of B.B. King plus Memphis rock and roll and Seratones lead singer, AJ Haynes!

A new biography of the King of the Blues plus John Paul Keith and special guest, Seratones lead singer, AJ Haynes!

On air and online: Thursday, June 8 – Sunday, June 11 

Author: Daniel de Visé – King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King

Music: Memphis rocker John Paul Keith and Seratones front woman AJ Haynes

Hosts: Jim Dees and our house band, the Yalobushwhackers

(From Oct. 2021)

Air times:

Thursday, June 8 – 6 pm (CT) WUMS – University of Mississippi

Friday, June 9 – 6 am (CT) WYXR Memphis Community Radio

Saturday, June 10 – 3 pm (ET) WUTC  University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

7pm (CT) Mississippi Public Broadcasting

9pm (CT) Alabama Public Radio

Sunday, June 11 at 3 pm (ET) – WUOT | 91.9 FM, Knoxville

2 pm (MT) KNCE 93.5 | Taos, New Mexico

Featuring

Author

Daniel de Visé

King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King (Grove/Atlantic) by Daniel de Vise presents the vibrant life and times of a trailblazing giant. Witness to dark prejudice and lynching in his youth, B.B. performed incessantly (some 15,000 concerts in 90 countries over nearly 60 years)–in some real way his means of escaping his past. At the same time, his story reveals the many ways record companies took advantage of artists, especially those of color.

Daniel de Visé is a writer and journalist. A graduate of Wesleyan and Northwestern universities, he worked at The Washington Post, the Miami Herald and three other newspapers in a 23-year career. He shared a 2001 team Pulitzer Prize and garnered more than two dozen other national and regional journalism awards. He interviewed dozens of King’s family and inner circle for this book.

His second book, Andy & Don (Simon & Schuster, 2015), began as a journalistic exploration into the storied career of his late brother-in-law, Don Knotts. Andy & Don is now in its eleventh paperback printing.

Music

John Paul Keith

John Paul Keith’s fifth studio album, The Rhythm Of The City, is currently available on Wild Honey Records. Conjuring up his own unique musical mélange –a sweet spot where the sound of Sun blues, Stax soul, and Hi R&B all meet – the record is steeped in the geography and culture of Memphis, which Keith has called home for the last 15 years.

Keith’s critically acclaimed solo albums, include his previous release, Heart Shaped Shadow, produced by Austin, Texas guitar legend Will Sexton for Last Chance Records.

Keith was the leader of our house band, the Yalobushwhackers, from Jan 2015-July 2016.

AJ Haynes

“We went through a pretty dramatic shift with this record,” says Seratones frontwoman AJ Haynes. “The band lineup, the creative process, the sound: all of it changed in ways that really reflected our growth and evolution.”

One listen to Power, Seratones’ spectacular sophomore album, and it’s clear just how much of an evolution has taken place. Produced by Cage The Elephant guitarist Brad Shultz, the record finds the Shreveport five-piece trading in the brash proto-punk of their critically acclaimed debut for a timeless brand of gritty soul, one that takes its cues from vintage Motown and Stax even as it flirts with modern synthesizers and experimental arrangements.