Film and music producer Vassal Benford poses for a photo with one of B.B. King’s guitars during an interview Friday, July 28, 2023.
Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Few musicians have had as much of an impact as legendary artist B.B. King, whose prowess on the guitar helped transform an entire genre and ultimately earned him the title, “king of the blues.”
Now, nearly a decade since his death in Las Vegas at age 89, the groundbreaking artist’s legacy lives on, in part through the efforts of Vassal Benford, a Nevada-based music and entertainment producer who is also the chairman of King’s estate.
“Mr. King is such an iconic legend,” Benford said at his home in Henderson, where many of King’s guitars — famously nicknamed “Lucille” — have been placed on display. “I just love his music … I love handling his legacy.”
In this June 26, 2010, photo, B.B. King performs during the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago. King died Thursday, May 14, 2015, peacefully in his sleep at his Las Vegas home at age 89, his lawyer said.
Benford has launched the B.B. King Experience, which includes the “B.B. King’s Blues Club” that is in the works for Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, as well as a line of new music, high-end bourbon and a biopic movie on the way.
It’s not easy stepping into King’s shoes, and Benford said it was important to hold himself to a standard worthy of the lauded guitarist.
“We’re going to ensure that his legacy keeps rising,” Benford said. “But I think the biggest challenge is to always think about what he may have wanted, and to live up to that.”
King influenced so many people around the world, Benford said, and his music is still streamed an average of 90 million times each year.
“That’s a hell of a spirit that’s living on,” Benford said. “And I think that’s really just incredible.”
King’s influence on other musicians is undeniable, and Benford said a concert series featuring notable guitarists such as Eric Clapton and John Mayer may also be on the horizon.
“Every major guitar player on the planet knows B.B. King,” Benford said. “He’s the king of the blues.”
Though he never knew King personally, Benford said he and his brother were executive producers for King’s popular collaboration with U2: “When Love Comes to Town.” To be overseeing King’s estate all these years later feels “full circle,” Benford said, and he’s very grateful.
Additionally, he’s loved working closely with the King family.
“At the end of the day, we all want the same thing,” Benford said. “We all want his legacy to live on. And, I think, on that we all agree. And so, we have a common ground with that.”
Spencer Haywood, an NBA legend and a Hall of Fame member, said at Benford’s house that he and King grew up only about a dozen miles apart in rural Mississippi.
King’s story of how he forever changed the music industry has to be told, Haywood said.
“We both grew up picking cotton,” said Haywood, who is now working with Benford on his own biopic. “Look where we are today.”
For Benford, running King’s estate is just the latest development in a career spanning more than three decades in music, film and more.
The producer came to Las Vegas, where he has a technology, film and music studio, because of its potential on the entertainment front.
Las Vegas’ entertainment scene is on the up and up, Benford said, pointing to an abundance of real estate, no state income tax and Nevada’s unique scenery as incentives for filmmakers and others.
“Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world,” said Benford, who has lived in Southern Nevada for about eight years. “So we might as well make it the entertainment capital of the world.”
Blues has been a particularly underserved area of entertainment, Benford said, yet many people love the classic genre. The B.B. King Experience will hopefully bring the blues back to the forefront, Benford said.
“I think people love it,” he said. “We just need to open the doors for it.”
