Joanne Shaw Taylor - The day I met BB King:
He was one of the first live shows I ever saw,
when I was 14. At the end he threw plectrums to the crowd.
My dad and I didn't have the best seats,
so I ran to the front of the stage. By the time I got there,
BB's minders were putting his coat on him. He saw me,
came over, bent down and shook my hand. I told him
I wanted to be a blues guitarist. He had a necklace on
a BB King necklace - and he took it off and handed it to me.
He told me I was going to do really well. I walked on air
for about the next ten years. Artists aren't as classy now as he was,
but he was everything you wanted him to be.
I still have the necklace and I take it with me
to every show.