If you want to be a good blues singer, people are going to be down on you, so dress like you're going to the bank to borrow money.
B. B. KingRead
Playing the guitar is like telling the truth - you never have to worry about repeating the same [lie] if you told the truth. You don't have to pretend, or cover up. If someone asks you again, you don't have to think about it or worry about it because there it is. It's you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Playing the guitar authentically is comparable to being honest; both require no pretense.
This quote by B.B. King emphasizes the importance of authenticity in both music and life. Just as playing the guitar honestly allows the musician to express their true self without the burden of pretense or deceit, living truthfully enables individuals to navigate their lives with clarity and ease, free from the complications of dishonesty or cover-ups.
Themes
GuitarTruthAuthenticityHonestyPretense
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of honesty in art, you might say this quote to illustrate your point.
More from B. B. King
All quotes →The way I feel today, as long as my health is good and I can handle myself well and people still come to my concerts, still buy my CDs, I'll keep playing until I feel like I can't.
B. B. KingRead
Everything I record, I just try to sound like me and come up with songs that suit what I do and then just go for it. I never know what the public's going to like, anyway.
B. B. KingRead
A guitar is like an old friend that is there with me.
B. B. KingRead
I have not been a good father, but no father has loved his children more. Like my father, I decided the best thing I could do for my kids was work and provide. Fortunately, I've been able to do that. Unfortunately, my work was on the road, and that's meant a life of one-nighters.
B. B. KingRead
People all over the world have problems. And as long as people have problems, the blues can never die.
B. B. KingRead
Similar quotes
I consider every drummer that ever played before me an influence, in every way.
Buddy RichRead
The blues is the roots, the rest is the fruits.
Willie DixonRead
I'd bite off the Beatles, or anybody else. It's all one world, one planet and one groove. You're supposed to learn from each other, blend from each other, and it moves around like that.
George ClintonRead
I've been getting interested in reimagining folk songs and writing songs that should have existed but didn't, particularly around the Civil War when black voices were muted and only allowed particular channels.
Rhiannon GiddensRead
If we were all determined to play the first violin we should never have an ensemble. therefore, respect every musician in his proper place.
Robert SchumannRead
In World War II, jazz absolutely was the music of freedom, and then in the Cold War, behind the Iron Curtain, same thing. It was all underground, but they needed the food of freedom that jazz offered.
Herbie HancockRead