\n<\/p>\n
\n\tFor most of the past 30-plus years, guitarist Joe Bonamassa<\/a> has been a standard-bearer in the blues world. But without B.B. King<\/a>, the 49-year-old\u2019s career may not have received the boost it needed to take off. At 12, Bonamassa opened for King in Rochester, New York, and went on to play with the blues legend twice that year. The two kept in touch, with King evolving into a trusted mentor for Bonamassa.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tBonamassa carried their relationship in the years following King\u2019s death in 2015<\/a>, and in October 2024, he started making preparations for what would have been King\u2019s 100th birthday, then just 11 months away.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIn January 2025, Bonamassa joined forces with Josh Smith and a group of musicians, mostly from his touring band, and went into Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. There, they cut nearly two dozen King songs, and they made a wish list of guest artists they\u2019d recruit for the album. The final tally, which ballooned to 50 contributors, included Eric Clapton, Chaka Khan, Michael McDonald, Gary Clark Jr., Marcus King, Buddy Guy, Christone \u201cKingfish\u201d Ingram<\/a>, Susan Tedeschi<\/a>, Derek Trucks, and Slash<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tBonamassa intended to release the first batch of songs on Sept. 16, 2025, on King\u2019s 100th birthday; KTBA Records released the full collection, titled B.B. King\u2019s Blues Summit 100,<\/em> on Feb. 6, 2026. He made several appearances in support of the compilation, including last August at a sold-out Grammy Museum event in L.A., where he was joined by Shemekia Copeland and \u201cKingfish\u201d Ingram, with Jeff Garlin moderating.<\/p>\n \n\tThe album landed at No. 1 on Billboard<\/em>\u2019s Blues Albums chart, Bonamassa\u2019s 31st overall. This one, he says, was special for him.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cTo me, it was a selfish mission,\u201d Bonamassa tells Rolling Stone<\/em>. \u201cNow, if somebody called me in November or December 2024 and said, \u2018Hey, you want to do a track? I\u2019m doing a B.B. King tribute track,\u2019 I would have been absolutely happy to participate in a project like this, rather than being the ringleader, and it\u2019s absolutely a career highlight.\u201d<\/p>\n