The first was B.B. King. I saw him in concert in Columbia. A Blues legend. A genius guitar player. A very nice man. After the show, he was backstage signing autographs for those lucky enough to have a backstage pass. I waited at the Stage Door for almost 90 minutes for him to come out. He loaded up "Lucille" (his guitar) in the trunk of his limo. The case was specifically molded to the guitar, so there would be no moving about in the trunk. He talked with me and three other fans who had stayed outside. We got pictures and plastic guitar pins as a reward for our perseverance. As his limo was pulling out of the parking lot, I was heading back to my car. The driver honked the horn, and Mr. King waved at me from his window. By the way, The Beatles song that he is mentioned in was "Dig It" off of the "Let It Be" album. John Lennon sang the line.
The second was Denny Laine. I met him at Beatlefest in Chicago in 1995. Beatlefest was a gathering of Beatle fans and collectors, along with some celebrities. Before joining Wings with Paul McCartney, he was in The Moody Blues. He had an autograph table there, and I had brought the Wings album "London Town" for him to sign. He was very gracious. He was very easy to talk to and seemed to enjoy the interaction with the fans. Most people brought "Band on the Run" albums for him to sign, but the cover was just too dark to see the autograph. He made mention to me that he didn't see many "London Town" albums. Most people wanted to talk about Paul, but I spoke for a minute with him about The Moody Blues. He seemed grateful to be recognized by something other than Wings.
Both men were nice in their own way. Both were giants in their respective genres. Both were amazing musicians. Both were unforgettable.
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