Bawdy BB The Back Door Santa

Surely the most recognizable blues musician alive in the world today has to be B.B. King. The man from Itta Bena, Mississippi has said that as a young man he would sing gospel songs on the street corner in Indianola and the passersby would applaud or shake his hand and tell him how wonderful it was to hear such songs. But they didn't drop any coins into his hat.

When he went across the street to sing blues songs, that's when he made his money. Playing the blues paid better than gospel. And it sure paid better than sharecropping.

The blues are what took Riley King out of Indianola to Memphis. And the blues are what made B.B. King an international star. Along with his obvious talent as a blues singer and guitarist is B.B.'s image as one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet. Regal, just like his name, but folksy at the same time.

But don't be fooled. B.B. knows how to get down and dirty with the blues. Even at Christmastime.

Take for example, "Back Door Santa," a song written in 1968 by Clarence Carter, which obviously is molded after Vicksburg native Willie Dixon's classic "Back Door Man" from a decade earlier.

Back Door Santa Lyrics:

They call me back door Santa,
I make my runs about the break of day,
They call me back door Santa,
I make my runs about the break of day.
I make all the ladies happy,
while the men are out to play.
Well I ain't like old Saint Nick,
he don't come but once a year
Well I ain't like old Saint Nick,
he don't come but once a year.
But I'll come runnin' with my presents,
every time you call me dear.

B.B. King recorded "Back Door Santa" in 2001 for an album called "Christmas Celebration of Hope." All the money went to the charity "City of Hope," a world-renowned biomedical research and treatment center for people with HIV/AIDS and cancer.

Sure, he could have recorded a nice gospel album for the charity. But you know what? The blues pay better.

To enjoy B.B. King's "Back Door Santa", click here.

BB King International Blues Workshop

Greenwood Commonwealth: King will hold blues workshop June 6

The King of the Blues will return to Mississippi Valley State University June 6 for the eighth annual B.B. King International Blues Workshop. Itta Bena native B.B. King will hold his workshop at the H.G. Carpenter Auditorium on the Itta Bena campus. Events get under way with the Musicians Workshop – Part I from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

King, 82, will take to the stage from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. He’ll talk about his guitar style, described as “one of the world’s most identifiable guitar styles . . . integrating his precise and complex vocal-like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarist’s vocabulary.”

Part II of the workshop will begin at 1 p.m. with a musical performance featuring King's daughter, Shirley. Other performers scheduled to attend are MVSU alumni Pat Brown, vocalist; Vickie Baker, vocalist; Rickey Burkhead, drum gear/performer; as well as guests Eden Brent, vocalist and pianist; Nellie McInnis, bass guitarist; Idalee Feaster, drummer; Jessie Robinson, guitar gear/performer; and MVSU student Levan Lortki-panize featured on the harmonica and guitar.

For more details on the workshop, contact the Delta Research & Cultural Institute at 662-254-3001.