I grew up in Northeast GA. "Another Mother Further", Mother's Finest' release in 1977, was well known in our little town. The band came to play at our high school that year. I was 15 and it changed my life. "B.B." was a force.
My family moved to Nashville in '78, and I've now been in the music business for almost 30 years. I can tell you that virtually EVERY drummer in the Nashville music scene has known about B.B. for years. They might refer to him as "B.B.", or "that monster from Mother's Finest", but he's a favorite of so many here.
In the early 90s, my band was signed to a label in L.A. I remember we were in the studio one day in West Hollywood, and thinking Mother's Finest was my own little North GA secret, I took out an old tape of "Truth'll Set You Free" to let everyone hear B.B. play. All of them -- engineers, staff, and musicians -- already knew the record. Talk about a "cult" following! We put it up on the big speakers, and marveled at his great playing.
A few years later, back in Nashville, I worked on a few projects with Henry Paul (The Outlaws) and asked him if he ever met B.B. His face lit up, and he told me how truly great the guy is, and what an innovator he was in the 70s.
For different reasons, my favorite drummers over the years have ranged from John Bonham to Steve Jordan, and Steve Gadd to Stuart Copeland. B.B. belongs on the list of these greats. And I'll guarantee you, they are all aware of the work he did on those great MF records.
Thanks, B.B.!