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B.B. King



Riley B. King (born September 16, 1925), known by the stage name B.B. King, is an
American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list oI the 100 greatest guitarists oI all time.
According to Edward M. Komara, King "introduced a sophisticated style oI soloing based on Iluid
string bending and shimmering vibrato that would inIluence virtually every electric blues guitarist
that Iollowed."

King has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall oI Fame.
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Biography
King was born in a small cabin on a cotton plantation outside oI Berclair, near Indianola,
Mississippi, to Albert King and Nora Ella Farr on September 16, 1925.
In 1930, when King was Iour years old, his Iather abandoned the Iamily, and his mother
married another man. Because Nora Ella was too poor to raise her son, King was raised by his
maternal grandmother Elnora Farr in Kilmichael, Mississippi.


King grew up singing in the gospel choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael. At age 12,
he purchased his Iirst guitar Ior $15.00

although another reIerence indicates he was given his Iirst
guitar by his cousin, Bukka White. In 1943, King leIt Kilmichael to work as a tractor driver and play
guitar with the Famous St. John's Quartet oI Inverness, Mississippi, perIorming at area churches and
on WGRM in Greenwood, Mississippi.


In 1946, King Iollowed his cousin Bukka White to Memphis, Tennessee. White took him in Ior
the next ten months.

However, King shortly returned to Mississippi, where he decided to prepare
himselI better Ior the next visit, and returned to West Memphis, Arkansas, two years later in 1948.
He perIormed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM in West Memphis, Arkansas
where he began to develop a local audience Ior his sound. King's appearances led to steady
engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis and later to a ten-minute spot on the
legendary Memphis radio station WDIA. "King's Spot," became so popular, it was expanded and
became the "Sepia Swing Club."
Initially he worked at the local R&B radio station WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, where he
gained the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", later shortened to "B.B."

It was there that he Iirst met
T-Bone Walker. nce Id heard him for the first time, I knew Id have to have [an electric guitar]
myself. Had to have one, short of stealing', he said.
areer
1949-2005
In 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records.
Many oI King's early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later Iounded Sun Records.
BeIore his RPM contract, King had debuted on Bullet Records by issuing the single "Miss Martha
King" (1949), which did not chart well. "My very Iirst recordings |in 1949| were Ior a company out
oI Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalls. "I had horns that
very Iirst session. I had Phineas Newborn on piano; his Iather played drums, and his brother, Calvin,
played guitar with me. I had TuII Green on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas
Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player. The Newborn Iamily were the house band at the
Iamous Plantation Inn in West Memphis."
Performing with his famous guitar, Lucille
King assembled his own band; the B.B. King Review, under the leadership oI Millard Lee. The
band initially consisted oI Calvin Owens and Kenneth Sands (trumpet), Lawrence Burdin (alto
saxophone), George Coleman (tenor saxophone),

Floyd Newman (baritone saxophone), Millard Lee
(piano), George Joyner (bass) and Earl Forest and Ted Curry (drums). Onzie Horne was a trained
musician elicited as an arranger to assist King with his compositions. By his own admission, he
cannot play chords well

and always relies on improvisation. This was Iollowed by tours across the
USA with perIormances in major theaters in cities such as Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles,
Detroit and St. Louis, as well as numerous gigs in small clubs and juke joints oI the southern US
states.
In the winter oI 1949, King played at a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas. In order to heat the hall,
a barrel halI-Iilled with kerosene was lit, a Iairly common practice at the time. During a perIormance,
two men began to Iight, knocking over the burning barrel and sending burning Iuel across the Iloor.
The hall burst into Ilames, which triggered an evacuation. Once outside, King realized that he had leIt
his guitar inside the burning building. He entered the blaze to retrieve his beloved $30 guitar, a
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Gibson semi-hollow electric. Two people died in the Iire. The next day, King learned that the two
men were Iighting over a woman named Lucille. King named that Iirst guitar Lucille, as well as
every one he owned since that near-Iatal experience, as a reminder never again to do something as
stupid as run into a burning building or Iight over women.
King meanwhile toured the entire "Chitlin' circuit" and 1956 became a record-breaking year,
with 342 concerts booked. The same year he Iounded his own record label, Blues Boys Kingdom,
with headquarters at Beale Street in Memphis. There, among other projects, he produced artists such
as Millard Lee and Levi Seabury.
In the 1950s, B.B. King became one oI the most important names in R&B music, amassing an
impressive list oI hits including "3 O'Clock Blues", "You Know I Love You," "Woke Up This
Morning," "Please Love Me," "When My Heart Beats like a Hammer," "Whole Lotta Love," "You
Upset Me Baby," "Every Day I Have the Blues", "Sneakin' Around," "Ten Long Years," "Bad Luck,"
"Sweet Little Angel", "On My Word oI Honor," and "Please Accept My Love." In 1962, King signed
to ABC-Paramount Records, which was later absorbed into MCA Records, and then his current label,
GeIIen Records. In November 1964, King recorded the ive at the Regal album at the Regal Theater
in Chicago, Illinois.
King won a Grammy Award Ior a tune called "The Thrill Is Gone";

his version became a hit on
both the pop and R&B charts, which was rare during that time Ior an R&B artist. It also gained the
number 183 spot in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. He gained Iurther
visibility among rock audiences as an opening act on The Rolling Stones' 1969 American Tour.
King's mainstream success continued throughout the 1970s with songs like "To Know You is to Love
You" and "I Like to Live the Love".
King was inducted into the Blues Hall oI Fame in 1980. In 2004 he was awarded the
international Polar Music Prize, given to artists "in recognition oI exceptional achievements in the
creation and advancement oI music.
From the 1980s onward he has continued to maintain a highly visible and active career,
appearing on numerous television shows and perIorming 300 nights a year. In 1988, King reached a
new generation oI Ians with the single "When Love Comes to Town", a collaborative eIIort between
King and the Irish band U2 on their Rattle and Hum album. In 2000, King teamed up with guitarist
Eric Clapton to record Riding With the King. In 1998, King appeared in The Blues Brothers 2000,
playing the part oI the lead singer oI the Louisiana Gator Boys, along with Clapton, Dr. John, Koko
Taylor and Bo Diddley.
2006-present: farewell tour and later activities
Aged 80 at the time, on March 29, 2006, King played at Hallam Arena in SheIIield, England.
This was the Iirst date oI his United Kingdom and European Iarewell tour. He played this tour
supported by Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore, with whom King had previously toured and
recorded, including the song "Since I Met You Baby". The British leg oI the tour ended on April 4
with a concert at Wembley Arena. And on June 28, 2009 King returned to Wembley arena to end a
tour around Great Britain with British blues icon John Mayall. When questioned as to why he was
embarking on another tour aIter already completing his Iarewell stint, King jokingly remarked that he
had never actually said the Iarewell tour would be his last.
In July King went back to Europe, playing twice (July 2 and 3) in the 40th edition oI the
Montreux Jazz Festival and also in Zrich at the Blues at Sunset on July 14. During his show in
Montreux at the Stravinski Hall he jammed with Joe Sample, Randy CrawIord, David Sanborn,
Gladys Knight, Lella James, Earl Thomas, Stanley Clarke, John McLaughlin, Barbara Hendricks and
George Duke. The European leg oI the Farewell Tour ended in Luxembourg on September 19, 2006,
at the D'Coque Arena (support act: Todd Sharpville).
In November and December, King played six times in Brazil. During a press conIerence on
November 29 in So Paulo, a journalist asked King iI that would be the actual Iarewell tour. He
answered: "One oI my Iavorite actors is a man Irom Scotland named Sean Connery. Most oI you
know him as James Bond, 007. He made a movie called ever Say ever Again."
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In June 2006, King was present at a memorial oI his Iirst radio broadcast at the Three Deuces
Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, where an oIIicial marker oI the Mississippi Blues Trail was
erected. The same month, a groundbreaking was held Ior a new museum, dedicated to King. in
Indianola, Mississippi. The museum opened on September 13, 2008.
In late October 2006, he recorded a concert CD and DVD entitled B.B. King. ive at his B.B.
King Blues Clubs in Nashville and Memphis. The Iour night production Ieatured his regular B.B.
King Blues Band and captured his show as he perIorms it nightly around the world. It was his Iirst
live perIormance recording in 14 years.
On July 28, 2007, King played at Eric Clapton's second Crossroads Guitar Festival with 20
other guitarists to raise money Ior the Crossroads Centre Ior addictive disorders. PerIorming in
Chicago, he played "Paying the Cost to Be the Boss", "Rock Me Baby" and "Thrill is Gone"
(although the latter was not published on the DVD release) with Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan and
Hubert Sumlin. In a poignant moment during the live broadcast, he oIIered a toast to the concert's
host, Eric Clapton, and also reIlected upon his own liIe and seniority. Adding to the poignancy, the
Iour-minute speech which had been underlaid with a mellow chord progression by Robert Cray
throughout made a transition to an emotional rendition oI "Thrill is Gone". Parts oI this
perIormance were subsequently aired in a PBS broadcast and released on the Crossroads II DVD.
Also in 2007, King accepted an invitation to contribute to Goin Home. A Tribute to Fats
Domino (Vanguard Records). With Ivan Neville's DumpstaPhunk, King contributed his version oI
the title song, "Goin' Home".
In 2007 King perIormed "One Shoe Blues" on the Sandra Boynton children's album Blue Moo,
accompanied by a pair oI sock puppets in the video.
In June 2008, King played at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee;
he was also the Iinal perIormer at the 25th annual Chicago Blues Festival on June 8, 2008, and at the
Monterey Blues Festival, Iollowing Taj Mahal. Another June 2008 event was King's induction into
the Hollywood Bowl Hall oI Fame alongside Liza Minnelli and Sir James Galway.
In July 2008, Sirius XM Radio's Bluesville channel was re-named B.B. King's Bluesville.
On December 1, 2008, King perIormed at the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown, Maryland. On
December 3, King and John Mayer were the closing act at the 51st Grammy Nomination Concert,
playing "Let the Good Times Roll" by Louis Jordan. On December 30, 2008, King played at The
Kennedy Center Honors Awards Show; his perIormance was in honor oI actor Morgan Freeman.
European Tour 2009, Vienna, July 2009
In Summer 2009 B.B. King started a European Tour with concerts in France, Germany,
Belgium, Finland and Denmark.
In March 2010, King contributed to Cyndi Lauper's album Memphis Blues, which was released
on June 22, 2010.
King perIormed at the Mawazine Iestival in Rabat, Morocco, on May 27, 2010.


On June 25, 2011 BB King played the pyramid stage at The Glastonbury Music Festival. On
the June 28 he opened his new European tour at The Royal Albert Hall, London, supported by Derek
Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Ronnie Wood, Mick Hucknall and Slash.
Over a period oI 62 years, B.B. King has played in excess oI 15,000 perIormances.
B.B. King's Blues lub
In 1991, B.B. King's Blues Club opened on Beale Street in Memphis, and in 1994, a second
club was launched at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles. A third club in New York City's Times
Square opened in June 2000. Two Iurther clubs opened at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in
January 2002

and another in Nashville in 2003.

A club in West Palm Beach opened in the Iall oI
2009

and an additional one, based in the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, is due to open in the winter oI
2009.

In 2007, a B.B. King's Blues Club in Orlando opened on International Drive. The Memphis,
Nashville, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Las Vegas stores are all the same Company.
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Legacy
King is widely regarded as one oI the most inIluential blues guitarists oI all time, inspiring
countless other electric blues and blues-rock guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Buddy
Guy, Robert Cray, Peter Green, and Stevie Ray Vaughan
Philanthropy
In 2001, King signed on as an oIIicial supporter oI Little Kids Rock, a non-proIit organization
that provides Iree musical instruments and instruction to children in underprivileged public schools
throughout the US. He sits on LKR's Honorary Board oI Directors.
TV appearances
B.B. King has made guest appearances in numerous popular television shows, including The
Cosby Show, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital,

The Fresh Prince oI Bel-Air, Sesame
Street,

Married... with Children, SanIord and Son, and Touched by an Angel. He has also made a
cameo in the movie Spies Like Us
Personal life
King has been married twice, to Martha Lee Denton, 1946 to 1952, and to Sue Carol Hall, 1958
to 1966. Both marriages ended because oI the heavy demands made on the marriage by King's 250
perIormances a year. It is reported that he has Iathered 15 children. He has lived with Type II
diabetes Ior over twenty years and is a high-proIile spokesman in the Iight against the disease,
appearing in advertisements Ior diabetes-management products along with American Idol season 9
contestant Crystal Bowersox.
King is an FAA licensed Private Pilot and learned to Ily in 1963 at Chicago Hammond Airport
in Lansing, IL (now Lansing Municipal Airport KIGQ). He Irequently Ilew to gigs, but under the
advice oI his insurance company and manager in 1995, King was asked to Ily only with another
licensed pilot; and as a result, King stopped Ilying around age 70.
His Iavorite singer is Frank Sinatra. In his autobiography King speaks about how he was, and
is, a "Sinatra nut" and how he went to bed every night listening to Sinatra's classic album In the Wee
Small Hours. King has credited Sinatra Ior opening doors to black entertainers who were not given
the chance to play in "white-dominated" venues; Sinatra got B.B. King into the main clubs in Las
Vegas during the 1960s.
iscography
Year
Album
Peak chart positions
ertifications
US
US
R&B
US 1azz
US
Blues
SWI
1956 Singin' the Blues - - - - -

1958 1he Blues - - - - -

1959
B. B. King Wails - - - - -

Sings Spirituals - - - - -

1960
1he Creat B. B. King - - - - -

My Kind of Blues - - - - -

1961 Blues For Me - - - - -

1962
Blues in My Heart - - - - -

Easy Listening Blues - - - - -

1963
B. B. King - - - - -

Mr. Blues - - - - -

1966 Confessin' the Blues - - - - -

1968
Blues on 1op of Blues - 46 - - -

Lucille 192 - - - -

1969
Live & Well 56 11 17 - -

Completely Well 38 5 - - -

1970 Indianola Mississippi Seeds 26 8 7 - -

1971 B. B. King in London 57 15 - - -

1972
L.A. Midnight 53 21 - - -

Cuess Who 65 14 - - -

1973 1o Know You Is 1o Love You 71 13 - - -

1974 Friends 153 27 - - -

1977 King Size 154 34 - - -

1978 Midnight Believer 124 27 - - -

1979 1ake It Home 112 22 - - -

1981
1here Must Be a Better World
Somewhere
131 26 - - -

1982 Love Me 1ender 179 45 - - -

1983 Blues 'A' 1azz 172 38 21 - -

1985 Six Silver Strings - 31 23 - -

1989 King of Blues - - - - -

1991 1here is Always One More 1ime - 76 - - -

1993 Blues Summit 182 64 - - 93

1995 Lucille & Friends - - - - -

1997 Deuces Wild 73 - - 1 33 AN: Platinum/US: Gold
1998 Blues on the Bayou 186 - - 2 -

1999 Let the Cood 1imes Roll - - - 2 -

2000
Riding with the King 3 - - - 3 AUS: Gold/AN: Platinum/US: 2x Platinum
Makin' Love Is Cood for You - - - 2 -

2001
A Christmas Celebration Of
Hope
151 - - 1 -

2003 Reflections 165 - - 2 -

2005 B. B. King & Friends: 8 45 - - 1 78

2008 One Kind Favor 37 - - 1 78

onors and awards

O In 1980, he was inducted into the Blues Hall oI Fame.
O In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall oI Fame.
O In 1990, he was awarded the National Medal oI Arts.
O In 1991, he was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship Irom the NEA.
O King was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995. This is given to recognize "the
liIelong accomplishments and extraordinary talents oI our nation's most prestigious artists."
O In 2004, the Royal Swedish Academy oI Music awarded him the Polar Music Prize Ior his
"signiIicant contributions to the blues".
O On December 15, 2006, President George W. Bush awarded King the Presidential Medal oI
Freedom.
O On May 27, 2007, King was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by Brown University.
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O On May 14, 2008, King was presented with the keys to the city oI Utica, New York; and on
May 18, 2008, the mayor oI Portland, Maine, Edward Suslovic, declared the day "B.B. King Day" in
the city. Prior to King's perIormance at the Merrill Auditorium, Suslovic presented King with the
keys to the city.
O In 2009, TIME named B.B. King No.3 on its list oI the 10 best electric guitarists oI all time.
O Each year during the Iirst week in June, a B.B. King Homecoming Festival is held in
Indianola, Mississippi.
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O A Mississippi Blues Trail marker was added Ior B.B. King, commemorating his birthplace.
O On May 29, 2010, Sabrosa Park (at the small town oI Sabrosa, north oI Portugal) was
renamed B.B. King Park in honor oI King and the Iree concert he played beIore 20,000 people.
Grammy Awards
Years reIlect the year in which the Grammy was awarded, Ior music released in the previous year.
1971: Best Male R&B Vocal PerIormance Ior "The Thrill Is Gone".
1982: Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording Ior "There Must Be a Better World Somewhere".
1984: Best Traditional Blues Recording Ior "Blues 'n Jazz".
1986: Best Traditional Blues Recording Ior "My Guitar Sings the Blues".
1991: Best Traditional Blues Recording Ior "Live at San Quentin".
1992: Best Traditional Blues Album Ior "Live at the Apollo".
1994: Best Traditional Blues Album Ior "Blues Summit".
1997: Best Rock Instrumental PerIormance Ior "SRV ShuIIle".
2000: Best Traditional Blues Album Ior "Blues on the Bayou".
2001: Best Traditional Blues Album Ior "Riding with the King".
2001: Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals Ior "Is You or Is You Ain't (Baby)".
2003: Best Traditional Blues Album Ior "A Christmas Celebration oI Hope".
2003: Best Pop Instrumental PerIormance Ior "Auld Lang Syne".
2006: Best Traditional Blues Album Ior "80".
2009: Best Traditional Blues Album Ior "One Kind Favor".
King was given a Grammy LiIetime Achievement Award in 1987.
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A Grammy Hall oI Fame Award was given to "The Thrill is Gone" in 1998, an award given to
recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical signiIicance."