He had further R&B hits with blues numbers including How Blue Can You Get and Paying the Cost to Be the Boss, and, in 1969, he hit the upper reaches of the pop charts  where no blues artist had been for many years  with The Thrill Is Gone.

He had further R&B hits with blues numbers including How Blue Can You Get and Paying the Cost to Be the Boss, and, in 1969, he got near the top of the pop charts  where no blues artist had been for many years  with The Thrill Is Gone.
