The Friday Flashback: B.B. King Live in Cook County Jail

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 10, 2011 8:45PM

As we mentioned this morning in our Blues Fest preview, today marks the 40th anniversary of B.B. King's concert in Cook County Jail. Sun-Times Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Konkol looks back on the day with former warden Richard English and a few of the guards. What they tell Konkol paints a story that, if one thing went out of line, could have led to bedlam.

Almost every prisoner — 2,117 inmates by one count — sat on the jail yard grass where at least a couple times someone trying to make a break for it by climbing the wall took a bullet from a watchtower sniper.

About 200 women inmates sat in the front rows. They were so close King even kissed the hand of one lucky, locked-up lady.

The men — killers, petty thieves and gang kingpins Jeff Fort and Larry Hoover, among them — sat in roped off sections of grass.

Only the guys on Death Row remained locked up, but even they were allowed to listen through slightly opened windows.

About 25 jail guards — a few of them stationed in guard towers toting .50 caliber semi-automatic rifles — on duty to make sure none of the knuckleheads started a riot or tried to escape.

It was (guard Ed) Curtis’ job to make sure the King didn’t get shanked while they walked through the tunnels, iron-barred doors and the electric chair of what Ebony magazine had called the “World’s Worst Jail.” He thought the place might erupt into a fight.

“If the inmates wanted to do something they could have,” Curtis said. “Those rifles were there for show. They weren’t going to shoot into the crowd.”

The concert was recorded. A year later, B.B. King Live in Cook County Jail was released and went on to become the definitive record in King's discography, even landing at 499 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 greatest albums of all time.

Here's one of the best tracks on the album, "How Blues Can You Get?"