"The Thrill Is Gone" is a blues song written by Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins in 1951 and popularized by B. B. King in 1970. The song was first recorded by Hawkins and became a minor hit for the musician. King recorded his version of the song in June 1969 for his album Completely Well, released the same year. The song's polished production and use of strings marked a departure from both the original song and King's previous material. When released as a single in 1970, the song became the biggest hit of King's career (#3 R&B / #15 Pop) and his signature song. B. B. King's recording earned him a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and a Grammy Hall of Fame award in 1998. Memorable live versions of the song were included on King's albums Live in the Cook County Jail (1971) and Live at San Quentin (1991). The blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on a pentatonic scale and a characteristic twelve-bar chord progression. ... See also: 1950 in music, other events of 1951, 1952 in music, 1950s in music and the list of years in music // Events Johnnie Ray has his first hit record with Cry. ... Riley B. King aka B. B. King (born September 16, 1925) is an extremely well known American blues guitarist and songwriter. ... See also: 1969 in music, other events of 1970, 1971 in music, 1970s in music and the list of years in music // Events Charles Wuorinen, aged 32, becomes the youngest composer ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. ... See also: 1968 in music, other events of 1969, 1970 in music, 1960s in music and the list of years in music if (window. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... See also: 1969 in music, other events of 1970, 1971 in music, 1970s in music and the list of years in music // Events Charles Wuorinen, aged 32, becomes the youngest composer ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. ... A signature song is the one song (or in some cases, one of a few songs) that a popular and well-established singer, or band, is most closely identified with, even though they have had success with a variety of songs. ... Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards), presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music... The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance has been awarded since 1968. ... The Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have qualitative or historical significance. Alphabetical listing by title: List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients A-D List of Grammy Hall...

The song has been covered by numerous artists since B. B. King's hit version, including Luther Allison (1979), Dishwalla (1995), Aretha Franklin (1970), Little Milton (1973), Willie Nelson (2000), and Stan Webb (1973). Luther Allison (August 17, 1939–August 12, 1997) was an American blues guitarist. ... Dishwalla is an alternative rock band from Santa Barbara, California. ... Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an iconic American gospel, soul and R&B singer born in Memphis, Tennessee, but raised in Detroit, Michigan. ... Little Milton (September 17, 1934—August 4, 2005) is the stage name for Milton Campbell, Jr. ... Willie Nelson William Hugh Willie Nelson (born April 30, 1933) is an American entertainer and songwriter, and originally from Abbott, Texas. ... Stan Webb is the lead guitarist with the British blues band Chicken Shack. ...

Chart performance

Roy Hawkins version

The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, formerly known as Top Soul Singles, Top Black Singles, and Top R&B Singles (before the hip-hop term was added in the late 1990s), is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. ...

B. B. King version