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A Closer Walk with Lucille

Christopher Blank

Who was that stoic figure holding B.B. King's guitar in Wednesday's funeral procession down Beale?

When Rodd Bland was asked to lead B.B. King's funeral procession down Beale Street carrying the guitar known to the world as Lucille, he literally walked away from the opportunity. There were others, he said, more qualified. Maybe someone who had been in King's band, or an old friend.

But Rodd wasn't just qualified. He was also family. As the youngest son of the blues legend Bobby "Blue" Bland, he grew up around world famous musicians. B.B. King was his Godfather. 

Today, Bland is a drummer in the Will Tucker Band. He plays regularly on Beale, the street where he often drops by the brass notes embedded in the sidewalk that bear his father and godfather's names.

In our interview, Bland talks about Wednesday's procession and what it was like to take Lucille for her final stroll down one of America's most famous streets.

Credit Christopher Blank

Reporting from the gates of Graceland to the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, Christopher has covered Memphis news, arts, culture and politics for more than 20 years in print and on the radio. He is currently WKNO's News Director and Senior Producer at the University of Memphis' Institute for Public Service Reporting. Join his conversations about the Memphis arts scene on the WKNO Culture Desk Facebook page.