Personnel: Koko Taylor (vocals) B.B. King (vocals, guitar) Keb' Mo' (vocals, National steel guitar, harmonica) Criss Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd (guitar) Matthew Skoller (harmonica) Mark Colby (tenor saxophone) Johnnie Johnson, Ken Saydak (piano) Dolpha Fowler Jr. (organ) Kenny Hampton (bass) Kriss T. Johnson (drums) ROYAL BLUE was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Principally recorded at Chicago Recording Co. and Streeterville Studios, Chicago, Illinois. Rolling Stone (9/14/00, p.180) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...ROYAL shows that this blues lioness still has her bite, and plenty of roar." CMJ (5/29/00, p.26) - "...The pipes may be all of 65 years old, but the Queen of Chicago Blues can still rip it up like nobody else." Down Beat (9/00, p.64) - 4.5 stars out of 5 - "...A major production number, complete with guest stars and contemporary material....The interaction of B.B. King and Koko is classic stuff..." JazzTimes (11/00, p.68) - "... roars with a gale force....Taylor is in classic earth-shakin' form....A lot of versatility." For her first album in seven years, Koko Taylor returns with a flurry of gritty material and a roster of guest royalty befitting the Queen of the Blues. Kicking things off with the fiery "Save Your Breath," Taylor keeps the temperature high with swaggering originals like the stop-start "Don't Let Me Catch You (With Your Drawers Down)" and the gutbucket blues "Ernestine" (featuring Johnnie Johnson's supple pi