[jpmc]

Last year I saw him perform on stage. Halfway through the show a child walked up to the edge of the stage. B.B King stopped in the middle of his riff said hello to the child, smiled big and handed him his pick. The band played on during this exchange and he quickly pulled out another pick and started in again, never losing a beat. Several more kids flocked to the stage and B.B King stopped for each and every one of them and did the same thing. He probably went through 50 picks that night. Although a bit disruptive to a great performance it was touching to see his engagement with kids.

[Linell]

My wife and I saw him play in New Orleans. Half way through the show his guitar strings broke and he stopped to fix it. The band kept playing, though.

A man in the audience stood up and started singing, and doing a very good job at it. The band picked up and followed the man singing, going right on through the song. Once his guitar was fixed, BB King came back in and sang backup for the man in the audience. His interaction with the audience for the entire show, and particularly this case, was amazing.