Here’s one we heard covered recently on the latest project from the reunited UK blues-rock outfit The Hoax, a tribute album to the great B.B. King called Recession Blues.
Also recorded by Texas bluesman W.C. Clark on his 1994 album Heart of Gold, this may not exactly be King’s most-covered song through the years but it sure is a good one, complete with its lyrics about rejected advances and failed relationships.
And if you get a chance, be sure to check out this recent edition of British blues harmonica player Paul Jones‘ Rhythm & Blues show on BBC Radio 2 highlighting some of the various performances from Bluesfest 2014, featuring a few songs from The Hoax that include a downright killer cover of King’s “How Blue Can You Get”.
“I want to get married,
but no woman will hear my plea.
Yes, I want to get married,
but no woman will hear my plea.
Yes, it does seem somehow
I can’t get one to walk down the aisle with me.
Well, I’ve only been in love
but three times in my life.
Yeah, the first, I couldn’t satisfy,
but I’ve only been in love three times in my life.
Yes, the second one was a juice-head
and the third was another man’s wife.”
– “I Want to Get Married”, Riley B. King and Joe Josea (Joe Bihari)