King, B. B. (1925-2015), was an American blues singer and guitarist. With his electric guitar named “Lucille,” he developed the urban blues sound. This style of playing features wide vibrato (wavering sound), loud and ringing notes, and solos filled with piercing feedback. King was a great showman, popular with both audiences and musicians. He was a major influence on rock music, especially on British musicians who emerged in the 1960’s, such as Eric Clapton, John Mayall, and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.
Riley B. King was born on Sept. 16, 1925, near Itta Bena, Mississippi, in a cabin on a plantation. He bought a cheap guitar at the age of 12 and taught himself to play. He heard and played the local variety of blues before moving to Memphis, Tennessee, a blues center, when he was 23. In Memphis, King sang on a local radio station and on Beale Street, the site of many blues clubs. He became known as the “Beale Street Blues Boy” and then “Blues Boy King,” which was shortened to “B. B. King.” He made his first commercial recording in 1949.
King’s hits include “Three O’Clock Blues” (1951), “Everyday I Have the Blues” (1955), “Sweet Little Angel” (1956), “Rock Me Baby” (1964), and “The Thrill Is Gone” (1969). King won 15 Grammy Awards for his music. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1980 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Blues All Around Me (1996) is King’s autobiography. King died on May 14, 2015.
