Eric Clapton and Chaka Khan cover B.B. King classic

At the emotional center of B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100 is a long-awaited collaboration between Eric Clapton and Chaka Khan, who unite to reinterpret B.B. King’s timeless classic, “The Thrill Is Gone.” Their performance stands as one of the most anticipated moments on the album, serving as both a tribute and a statement of reverence for one of the most influential blues recordings in history.

Curated and produced by Joe Bonamassa, B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100 was created to honor the 100th birthday of the late blues legend. Featuring more than 40 guest artists across 32 tracks, the project celebrates King’s enduring influence across blues, rock, and soul. But among its many highlights, Clapton and Khan’s interpretation of “The Thrill Is Gone” has emerged as its defining moment.

From the outset, Bonamassa knew that the song demanded special care.

“You can’t do a B.B. King tribute record and not do ‘The Thrill Is Gone,'” Bonamassa said. “It’s such an iconic song, and it’s a big ask.” When it came time to record it, there was no room for compromise. “For Eric Clapton and Chaka Khan doing ‘The Thrill Is Gone,’ we used real strings, real horns. The budget was whatever it cost, because you only get one chance to do this correctly. And I think we nailed it.”

That commitment is evident in the final result. Clapton’s restrained, soulful guitar work channels the spirit of King’s original phrasing while maintaining his own unmistakable voice. Khan brings depth and emotional gravity to the vocal performance, blending blues authenticity with her signature soul-inflected power. Together, they strike a balance between honoring the original and creating something entirely new.

The idea for the album emerged when Bonamassa realized that no major tribute was forming around King’s centennial.

“What we figured out was that nobody was really doing a tribute record to him,” he says. “It wasn’t really on anyone’s radar. So in January of 2025, we decided to start the album.”

From that early stage, “The Thrill Is Gone” was envisioned as a centerpiece.

Bonamassa and co-producer Josh Smith built the project carefully, recording core tracks first before inviting artists to contribute to songs that held personal meaning.

“We weren’t making sound-alikes,” Bonamassa notes. “We played it in the spirit of B.B. King, but we did our own versions.”

That philosophy is especially evident in Clapton and Khan’s recording, which respects the emotional weight of the original while expanding its sonic scope.

Managing a project of this scale could easily have become overwhelming, but Bonamassa says the process was unusually smooth.

“Everybody showed up and brought their A-game,” he recalls. “Dealing with 32 songs and all those artists, to have little to no resistance on anything, you go, ‘Okay, we’re doing this right.’”

Produced with the full support of the Estate of B.B. King and The B.B. King Music Company, B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100 brings together artists from multiple generations, including Buddy Guy, Gary Clark Jr., Keb’ Mo’, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, George Benson, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Marcus King, Warren Haynes, Larkin Poe, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Slash, and many more. Still, the pairing of Clapton and Khan stands out as one of the album’s most meaningful collaborations.

For Bonamassa, the project is deeply personal. King first invited him on tour at age 12, shaping his musical development and sense of responsibility within the blues community. Those lessons inform every aspect of the album, from its artist selection to the meticulous production of its signature tracks.

Available now on all major digital platforms, as well as on double CD and 180-gram triple LP vinyl, B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100 also supports the Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, extending King’s legacy through education and preservation.

Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images, Nick Nelson