Juno-winning blues guitarist Steve Hill was fascinated by King at an early age.
The Montreal native recalls appreciating King even before he started to learn guitar — and then snatching up his records with enthusiastic abandon once he did, at age 14.
It must have felt like a dream, then, when Hill actually got to open for his hero in his hometown at the then-Molson Centre in 2001.
“He was the nicest guy you could think of,” said Hill, who won four awards at this year’s Maple Blues Awards.
“I’ve done shows with a lot of … big names, and B.B. King was the nicest guy.”
Hill recalls chatting with King about music, but also receiving some level-headed personal advice.