Blues legend B.B. King earns a significant milestone by securing his first No.1 spot in over a decade.
After more than a decade, B.B. King is still making waves on the Billboard charts with a new album title. This week, his album "In France: Live At The 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival" debuts on the Blues Albums chart, but it's not just a new entry. King returns to the top spot on a chart he's previously dominated, and in doing so, achieves a remarkable feat.
The Blues Albums chart ranks the top-performing and most-consumed full-lengths and EPs in the blues genre across the U.S., and King was no stranger to this list during his lifetime. Posthumously, he continues to conquer this chart.
King's new album, "In France", claims the No. 1 spot on the Blues Albums chart this week. This is King's tenth time topping the genre-specific list, making him a ten-time champion.
This latest win sees King reclaiming his throne on the Blues Albums chart for the first time in over a decade. Since 2012, when "Live At The Royal Albert Hall 2011" debuted at number one, this is the first time King has scored a new winner.
With the release of "In France", King now has a total of 19 top 10s on the blues-only chart. Of his 26 releases, 10 have managed to make it onto this exclusive list, which only features 10 spots these days.
Three new releases feature on the Blues Albums chart this week, making it a busy week on the ranking. King's "In France" tops the chart, with Charley Patton's "Father Of Delta Blues: Selections From Paramount Recordings" and the Eric Clapton-led "Crossroads Guitar Festival 2023" compilation taking the second and third spots respectively.
Clapton, by the way, shares one of the most successful releases of all time on the Blues Albums chart with King. Their joint project "Riding with the King" has spent 104 weeks on the chart to date, equaling King's longest-running set. Of those 104 weeks, 48 have been spent at the top spot.
B.B. King's new album, "In France: Live At The 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival," broke records by reclaiming the number one spot on the Billboard Blues Albums chart, making it his tenth time as a number one artist in this genre. This feat is even more remarkable given that it's his first return to the top spot in over a decade. As of 2024, B.B. King continues to make waves on the Billboard charts with posthumous releases, demonstrating his undeniable influence and enduring popularity in the blues genre. Among B.B. King's 26 albums, "In France" is one of ten that have made it to the number one spot on the Blues Albums chart, contributing to his impressive total of 19 top 10s on this chart.
