“I thought he’d look at me like, ‘Who the hell are you?’”: Why Warren Haynes “froze” and missed out on performing with BB King
Would you have the guts to jam with the one and only BB King? If you find the concept intimidating, you’re not alone; despite being an accomplished guitarist, Warren Haynes once “froze” when the blues legend invited him up on stage.
While Haynes has since worked up the nerves to perform alongside BB King, he was first presented with an opportunity to join King on stage back in the early ‘90s. After joining The Allman Brothers Band in 1989 for their reunion, the band would support King on tour in 1993. “We played with him in Texas,” Haynes tells Guitarist. “During the show, BB invited Gregg [Allman] to sit in [on organ].”
That’s when King shared an open invite to the rest of his musical peers backstage. “He asked, ‘Anyone else want to join me?’” Haynes recalls.
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Considering Haynes hadn’t been properly introduced to the headline star, he felt like it wasn’t his place to waltz out on stage. “More than anything, I wanted to go… but I’d never met BB,” he continues. “I thought he’d look at me like, ‘Who the hell are you?’ So I just froze.”
Since he’d not been able to officially break the ice and chat to BB casually, Haynes still felt like a bit of a fanboy. The idea of going up on stage and performing with his icon was overwhelming. “I saw BB for the first time aged 19,” Haynes explains. “He gave me a guitar pick that I carried in my pants pocket for years until it eventually got lost.”
It’s not the first time Haynes has recounted the tale of his fanboy fears. In a 2012 interview with Classic Rock, the guitarist explained how the experience taught him a valuable lesson. “It taught to not be so shy and take advantage of opportunities when they come,” he said. “I had the opportunity several times to meet Stevie Ray Vaughan, but I didn’t want to bother him. I always thought I would meet him the next time. And, of course, there was no next time.”
That’s why, years later, Haynes took full advantage of the opportunity to perform with King. “It was years later that I finally got another opportunity to play with BB,” he tells Guitarist. “And I have to say that was an extremely proud moment.”
Haynes has recently worked alongside Joe Bonamassa on his BB King’s Blues Summit 100 tribute album, featuring on the track How Blue Can You Get. The record was released to mark what would have been King’s 100th year of life, as well as celebrating his musical legacy.
The post “I thought he’d look at me like, ‘Who the hell are you?’”: Why Warren Haynes “froze” and missed out on performing with BB King appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
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