Blues on the Bayou

Blues on the Bayou is the thirty sixth studio album by B.B. King, released in 1998. In the CD liner notes, B.B. King writes: "Of the many records Lucille and I have had the pleasure of recording over the years, this one is especially close to my heart. It's also one of the most relaxed and, for me, satisfying [...] No one was telling us what to do. No one needed to tell us what to do." He adds that he considers the band playing on this album as his best ever and that he got to the studio with the idea of keeping the music simple ("I've felt the urge to go back to basics."). With this state of mind, the record was cut in four days: "Found some old B. B. King songs. Wrote some new ones. [...] All live, all real. No overdubs, no high-tech tricks. Just basic blues." The album won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.