Creativity Quote by B. B. King

King is giving you permission to steal - and then daring you to grow up. In blues, imitation isn’t a moral failure; it’s the entry fee. You learn by tracing somebody else’s bends, somebody else’s vibrato, somebody else’s timing until your hands can speak the language. “We all have idols” flattens the ego: even legends come from copying, and pretending otherwise is just mythmaking.

But the second sentence tightens the screw. “Play like anyone you care about” is generous, almost domestic in its phrasing. Caring matters more than “influence.” It suggests that style is an emotional apprenticeship, not a shopping list of licks. Then comes the real instruction: “try to be yourself while you’re doing so.” The word “try” is doing heavy lifting. King isn’t selling an easy authenticity slogan; he’s admitting it’s hard to locate a self when your ear is full of heroes. Individual voice isn’t discovered in isolation; it’s carved out inside the act of imitation, by the small decisions you can’t help making - where you hesitate, how you attack a note, what you leave unsaid.

The context is a tradition built on lineage and live exchange, where songs travel, riffs migrate, and credit is messy. King, whose own sound was instantly recognizable, is quietly demystifying that recognizability. He’s saying: worship your idols with your practice, then honor them by not becoming their tribute band.