I was lucky enough to see B.B. King perform in Decatur, Georgia about thirty years ago or so. I’m sure a lot of you saw him, too, since the man was about the hardest-touring musician of his or any other era. Please pass along any remembrances of your own in the comment thread.

Here are some other blues-inducing midday news/views item:

* Budget-busting defense authorization bill passes House 269-151 despite presidential veto threat.

* Rick Perry to announce presidential candidacy on June 4 in Dallas.

* Compromise bill on congressional review of Iran nuke deal passes House, heads to Obama’s desk; he’s expected to sign it.

* Greg Sargent reports we could see a very rare bipartisan “talking filibuster” if McConnell tries to push through Patriot Act extension without NSA reforms.

* Judith Miller tweet on plans to “sit down with James O’Keefe to talk about the state of journalism today” creating immense hilarity on Twitter.

And in non-political news:

* Bill Cosby sorta kinda addresses latest questions about sexual assault allegations on Good Morning America.

As we break for lunch, here’s B.B. King performing “Why I Sing the Blues” in 1974.

YouTube video

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Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.