The representatives for artist B.B. King has sent a statement to St. Louis’ Post-Dispatch in response to a review written by critic Daniel Durchholz of the singer/guitarist’s recent show.
Durchholz, along with a number of other area critics, wrote about King being unfocused, rambling and only performing portions of songs over a short show.
King’s reps blamed a combination of King’s age, a long bus ride to St. Louis and a missed medication for the erratic behavior.
The statement as received by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
B.B. King and his management have become aware of some criticism expressed following his performance at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, MO on April 4.
This performance was Mr. King’s first after a 4 week off time period — and was also preceded by 24-hour/1,600 mile bus trip to Saint Louis from his home in Las Vegas.
To complicate matters further, Mr. King (who is 88 years old) suffers from diabetes — and he mistakenly missed a dose of his prescribed medication on the show day.
The combination of the rigors of the very long drive and high blood sugar due to his medication error resulted in a performance that did not match Mr. King’s usual standard of excellence.
Simply put, it was a bad night for one of America’s living blues legends – and Mr. King apologizes and humbly asks for the understanding of his fans.
