B.B. King may be gone, but on The Right Man, D.K. Harrell picks up the baton and carries that legendary sound into the future. A native of Rustin, Louisiana, Harrell nails many of King’s nuances, along with mixing in his own, creating a formidable package of electric blues. As a bonus, B.B.’s “The Thrill is Gone” bassist, the great Jerry Jemmott, holds down the low-end throughout. Even better, D.K. is on the road throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Talk about B.B. King.
Oh man, B.B. King is the king, and his Blues Is King is the record I owe the most to. It shows both his connection with the audience and how raw he can get on the guitar. I met him on January 19, 2013 at the Baton Rouge River Center Theater. B.B. had to be 87 at the time, but this was a good night for him and the show was almost sold out. At the end of the performance, I forced my way to the front and shouted, “Mr. King, Mr. King!” He looked at me and shook my hand; B.B. looked at my conked hair and said, “I used to look like that,” and started laughing. When I hit the doors to go out, I burst out in tears of joy.
Which other guitarists have inspired you?
Well, my first influence for guitar was John Lee Hooker, but I knew nothing about different tunings, so I stopped learning his style. In my opinion, Freddie King was like the wild version of B.B., with his fast licks, thunder-like voice, and aggression like a World War II tank. Freddie could play powerful bends in every song and make it sound brand new.
When I was 17 or 18, I visited the Stax Museum, in Memphis, and heard Albert King playing on their speakers; it was the instrumental “Cold Feet” and it was killing. I fell in love with Albert’s style just like that.
What’s the secret of a good wrist vibrato?
Shake it, don’t break it! I’m kidding, but use more wrist; don’t shake your arm or hand. Let the finger rest on the string with the right tension, then let the wrist do the work with ease. It takes time and patience to get it. I spent seven or eight years trying to get it right, even took a year break; I’d cringe ’cause I knew it wasn’t right. Some players shake the neck hard or stiffly shake their finger, when it’s all in the wrist.
Your tone is B.B. King-approved. Which guitars and amps did you use on the album?
I used my 1976 Gibson ES-355 TDSV Stereo “Christal,” named after my mother, and also [producer] Kid Andersen’s 1968 or ’69 Gibson ES-355 on “Leave It at the Door.” I don’t care for pedals; I like getting all the amp’s power and tone. Kid had me playing out of a silverface Fender Twin, I think from 1973. As for tone, I always experiment as I go along. Sometimes, music is like food: you may not like this or that, so you keep tweaking ’til something tastes good.
On “Not Here for a Long Time,” there’s more overdrive on your 355.
There really weren’t any effects or pedals except for slight reverb. All I did was crank the Volume of the Twin up a bit, and played a little harder and added a little more mids than treble. I wanted it bright, but warm and more-aggressive rather than light or flowing. Again, I was adjusting the amp throughout the session.
On “Hello Trouble,” you really nail that Memphis swing-blues sound. Are there any particular blues records that you strongly recommend?
When it comes to a bluesy Memphis sound, I’d say mostly everything that Albert King did at Stax Records, and Little Milton, as well. Albert has a song called “I Won’t Be Hanging Around” and I really wanted “Hello Trouble” to have that feel. Some blues tells a story, and the horns are the binding of that book the story comes in. The horns hold it together.
As a young bluesman, does your music connect with listeners your age?
I think I’m crossing over more to the younger generation because I’ve had some fans as young as seven come up to me after shows and hug me, out the blue. I hand them a “Blues Is Life” guitar pick and their faces light up. When there are young people at my shows, like in their 20s, I’m happy because that means that their parents, grandparents, or friends hipped them to good music. What matters is that they’re listening to the records that paved the way for today’s blues.
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
