Like many rock guitar greats, former Bon Jovi electric guitar player Richie Sambora grew up listening to the blues, and as such cites Eric Clapton and B.B. King as two of his biggest heroes.
However, those heroes would eventually become close colleagues for the passionate bluesman, as evidenced by the fact he was once invited by Slowhand to participate in a spontaneous star-studded jam session.
Sambora recalled the experience in the latest issue of Guitar Player, and reflected how the invitation unofficially marked the moment he was fully accepted by the blues community, and was viewed as an equal among his peers.
“In 1991, when I was finishing up Stranger in This Town, I wrote a song, Mr. Bluesman, about a young man like me following blues guys around,” Sambora says. “I asked Eric if he would play on it, and he obliged.
“One day he called and said, “Richard, this is Eric…” I’m like [drops his mouth in amazement] because I’m still crazy and starstruck. He says, ‘Buddy, George [Harrison] and I are playing the Roxy tonight. You’re going to come and jam.’”
Naturally, Sambora accepted the invitation without hesitation: “I’m like, ‘I will be there, I promise you!’ Meanwhile, I’m shitting my pants. So Harrison didn’t show up, but it was Eric, Buddy, John Lee Hooker... and me.”
It was, unsurprisingly, a surreal experience for Sambora, who, having endeavored to hold his own against his heroes, ended up making quite the impression on both Clapton and Guy.
“I played every lick I knew about three times faster – whatever I had to do to get through the whole thing,” he continues. “Buddy’s like, ‘Come on, come on!’ and Eric’s just laughing.
“We blew the roof off the place, and we were backstage at the end. Hooker looked at me and said, ‘Hey boy, was that you playing them strings up there?’ And I went, “Yes, sir.”
“He said, ‘You keep playing. You’re good.’ I got on my knees and kissed his hand.”
That was just one of many encounters Sambora would go on to have with the upper echelons of the blues world. As he goes on to explain, he also developed a close bond with B.B. King.
“Every time Buddy was around or I was anywhere in the vicinity, we’d just call each other. B.B. was the same way. I was accepted by the blues community. But I did the work, man. I did the stuff. I played the blues clubs for a reason, and I loved every second of it.”
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