B. B. King

 Riley B. King  (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known by his stage name  B.B. King, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

Rolling Stone ranked King No. 6 on its 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.[ 2 ] King introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that influenced many later electric blues guitarists.[ 3 ] King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Famein 1987 and is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of the Blues", and one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" along with Albert and Freddie.[ 4 ][ 5 ][ 6 ] King was known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at more than 200 concerts per year on average into his 70s.[ 7 ] In 1956, he reportedly appeared at 342 shows.[ 8 ]

King died at the age of 89 in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 14, 2015 from complications of Alzheimer's disease along with congestive heart failure and diabetic complications.[ 9 ]

Early life
Riley B. King was born on September 16, 1925,[ 10 ] on a cotton plantation called Berclair, near the town ofItta Bena, Mississippi,[ 11 ][ 12 ] the son of sharecroppers Albert and Nora Ella King.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-jazz_12-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ] He considered the nearby city of Indianola, Mississippi to be his home.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Danchin_13-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 13 ] When Riley was 4 years old, his mother left his father for another man, so the boy was raised by his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael, Mississippi.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-jazz_12-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">While young, King sang in the gospel choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael. King was attracted to the Pentecostal Church of God in Christ because of its music. The local minister lead worship with a Sears Roebuck Silvertone guitar. The minister taught King his first three chords. <span class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 14 ] It seems that at the age of 12 he purchased his first guitar for $15.00,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-jazz_12-3" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ] although another source indicates he was given his first guitar by Bukka White, his mother's first cousin (King's grandmother and White's mother were sisters).<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 15 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In November 1941 "King Biscuit Time" first aired, broadcasting on KFFA in Helena, Arkansas. It was a radio show featuring the Mississippi Delta blues. King listened to it while on break at a plantation. A self-taught guitarist, he then wanted to become a radio musician.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Defining_16-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 16 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 1943, King left Kilmichael to work as a tractor driver and play guitar with the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi, performing at area churches and on WGRM in Greenwood, Mississippi.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-nvlp3_17-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 17 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-ppg070125_18-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 18 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 1946, King followed Bukka White to Memphis, Tennessee. White took him in for the next ten months.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-jazz_12-4" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ] However, King returned to Mississippi shortly afterward, where he decided to prepare himself better for the next visit, and returned to West Memphis, Arkansas, two years later in 1948. He performed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM in West Memphis, where he began to develop an audience. King's appearances led to steady engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis and later to a ten-minute spot on the Memphis radio station WDIA.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-19" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 19 ] The radio spot became so popular that it was expanded and became the Sepia Swing Club.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 20 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Initially he worked at WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, gaining the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", which was later shortened to "Blues Boy" and finally to B.B.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-NBC_Holt_21-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 21 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-22" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 22 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-23" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 23 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-pc4_24-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 24 ] It was there that he first met T-Bone Walker. King said, "Once I'd heard him for the first time, I knew I'd have to have [an electric guitar] myself. 'Had' to have one, short of stealing!"<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-25" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 25 ]

1949–2005
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records. Many of King's early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records. Before his RPM contract, King had debuted on Bullet Records by issuing the single "Miss Martha King" (1949), which did not chart well. "My very first recordings [in 1949] were for a company out of Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalled. "I had horns that very first session. I had Phineas Newborn on piano; his father played drums, and his brother, Calvin, played guitar with me. I had Tuff Green on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player. The Newborn family were the house band at the famous Plantation Inn in West Memphis."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-26" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 26 ]

Performing with his famous guitar, Lucille<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King assembled his own band; the B.B. King Review, under the leadership of Millard Lee. The band initially consisted of Calvin Owens and Kenneth Sands (trumpet), Lawrence Burdin (alto saxophone), George Coleman (tenor saxophone),<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-27" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 27 ] 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, King could not play chords well and always relied on improvisation.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-28" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 28 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King's recording contract was followed by tours across the United States, with performances 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 of the southern United States. During one show in Twist, Arkansas, a brawl broke out between two men and caused a fire. He evacuated along with the rest of the crowd but went back to retrieve his guitar. He said he later found out that the two men, who died in the blaze, were fighting over a woman named Lucille. He named the guitar Lucilleas a reminder not to fight over women or run into any more burning buildings.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-29" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 29 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-30" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 30 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-31" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 31 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Following his first Billboard Rhythm and Blues chart number one, "3 O'Clock Blues" (February 1952),<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-sawyer_32-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 32 ] B.B. King became one of the most important names in R&B music in the 1950s, amassing an impressive list of hits<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-pc4_24-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 24 ] including "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 of Honor", and "Please Accept My Love". This led to a significant increase in his weekly earnings, from about $85 to $2,500,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-33" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 33 ] with appearances at major venues such as the Howard Theater in Washington and the Apollo in New York, as well as touring the entire "Chitlin' circuit". 1956 became a record-breaking year, with 342 concerts booked and three recording sessions.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-34" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 34 ] That same year he founded 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.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Danchin_13-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 13 ] In 1962, King signed to ABC-Paramount Records, which was later absorbed into MCA Records, and which itself was later absorbed into Geffen Records. In November 1964, King recorded theLive at the Regal album at the Regal Theater.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-sawyer_32-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 32 ] King later said that Regal Live "is considered by some the best recording I've ever had . . . that particular day in Chicago everything came together . . ."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Kot_35-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 35 ]

B.B. King performs in Germany in 1971 <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">From the late 1960s, new manager Sid Seidenberg pushed King into a different type of venue as blues-rock performers like Clapton and Paul Butterfield were popularizing an appreciation of blues music among white audiences.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-36" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 36 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King gained further visibility among rock audiences as an opening act on the Rolling Stones' 1969 American Tour.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-37" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 37 ] He won a 1970 Grammy Award for the song "The Thrill Is Gone";<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-38" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 38 ] his version became a hit on both the pop and R&B charts. It also gained the number 183 spot in Rolling Stonemagazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-39" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 39 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2014.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-halloffame_7-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 7 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-40" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 40 ] In 2004, he was awarded the international Polar Music Prize, given to artists "in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Polar_Music_Prize_41-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 41 ]

King performing in New York in the late 1980s <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">From the 1980s to his death in 2015, he maintained a highly visible and active career, appearing on numerous television shows and performing 300 nights a year. In 1988, King reached a new generation of fans with the single "When Love Comes to Town", a collaborative effort between King and the Irish band U2 on their Rattle and Hum album.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-sawyer_32-2" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 32 ] In December 1997, he performed in the Vatican's fifth annual Christmas concert and presented his trademark guitar "Lucille" to Pope John Paul II.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-42" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 42 ] In 1998, he appeared in The Blues Brothers 2000, playing the part of the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys, along with Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Koko Taylor and Bo Diddley. In 2000, he and Clapton teamed up again to record Riding With the King, which won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-43" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 43 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Discussing where he took the Blues, from "dirt floor, smoke in the air" joints to grand concert halls, King said the Blues belonged everywhere beautiful music belonged. He successfully worked both sides of the commercial divide, with sophisticated recordings and "raw, raucous" live performance.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Kot_35-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 35 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="2006.E2.80.932015:_farewell_tour_and_later_activities" style="box-sizing:border-box;">2006–2015: farewell tour and later activities
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 2006, King went on a "farewell" world tour, although he remained active afterward during the last years of his life.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-44" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 44 ] The tour was partly supported by Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore, with whom King had previously toured and recorded, including the song "Since I Met You Baby". It started in the United Kingdom, and continued with performances in the Montreux Jazz Festival and in Zürich at the Blues at Sunset. During his show in Montreux at the Stravinski Hall he jammed with Joe Sample, Randy Crawford, David Sanborn,Gladys Knight, Leela James, Andre Beeka, Earl Thomas, Stanley Clarke, John McLaughlin, Barbara Hendricks and George Duke.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-farewells_45-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 45 ]

B.B. King at Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, Ontario, May 2007<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In June 2006, King was present at a memorial of his first radio broadcast at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, where an official marker of the Mississippi Blues Trail was erected. The same month, a groundbreaking was held for a new museum, dedicated to King,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-King_museum_46-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 46 ] inIndianola, Mississippi.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Ross_47-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 47 ] The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened on September 13, 2008.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-48" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 48 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In late October 2006, King recorded a concert album and video entitled B.B. King: Live at his B.B. King Blues Clubs in Nashville and Memphis. The four-night production featured his regular B.B. King Blues Band and captured his show as he performed it nightly around the world. Released in 2008, it was his first live performance recording in over a decade.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-49" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 49 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 2007, King played at Eric Clapton's second Crossroads Guitar Festival<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-50" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 50 ] and contributed the songs "Goin' Home", to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (with Ivan Neville's DumpstaPhunk)<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-51" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 51 ]and "One Shoe Blues" to Sandra Boynton's children's album Blue Moo, accompanied by a pair of sock puppets in a music video for the song.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-52" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 52 ]

European Tour 2009, Vienna, July 2009 <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In the summer of 2008, King played at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, where he was given a key to the city.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-53" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 53 ] Also in 2008, he was inducted into theHollywood Bowl Hall of Fame.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-54" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 54 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King performed at the Mawazine festival in Rabat, Morocco, on May 27, 2010.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-55" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 55 ] In June 2010, King performed at the Crossroads Guitar Festival with Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan, and Eric Clapton.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-56" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 56 ]He also contributed to Cyndi Lauper's album Memphis Blues, which was released on June 22, 2010.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-57" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 57 ]

President Barack Obama and B.B. King singing " Sweet Home Chicago" on February 21, 2012<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 2011, King played at the Glastonbury Music Festival,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-58" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 58 ] and in the Royal Albert Hall in London, where he recorded a concert video.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-59" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 59 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">On February 21, 2012, King was among the performers of "In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues", during which President Barack Obama sang part of "Sweet Home Chicago".<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-barack_60-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 60 ]King recorded for the debut album of rapper and producer Big K.R.I.T., who also hails from Mississippi.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-61" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 61 ] On July 5, 2012, King performed a concert at the Byblos International Festival in Lebanon.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-62" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 62 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">On May 26, 2013, King appeared at the New Orleans Jazz Festival.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-nola_63-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 63 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">On October 3, 2014, not feeling well enough, King had to stop his live performance at the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois. A doctor diagnosed King with dehydration and exhaustion, and the eight remaining shows of his ongoing tour had to be cancelled. King didn't schedule any additional shows for the remainder of the year.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-64" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 64 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-bbking.com_tour-update_2014-10-08_65-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 65 ]

Equipment
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;">"When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille."<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-66" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 66 ] <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">B.B. King used simple equipment. He played guitars made by various manufacturers early in his career: he played a Fender Telecaster on most of his recordings with RPM Records (USA).<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-67" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 67 ] However, he was best known for playing variants of the Gibson ES-355. In 1980, Gibson Guitar Corporationlaunched the B.B. King Lucille model. In 2005, Gibson made a special run of 80 Gibson Lucilles, referred to as the "80th Birthday Lucille", the first prototype of which was given as a birthday gift to King, and which he used thereafter.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-68" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 68 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King used a Lab Series L5 2×12" combo amplifier and had been using this amplifier for a long time. It was made by Norlin Industries for Gibson in the 1970s and 1980s. Other popular L5 users are Allan Holdsworth and Ty Tabor of King's X. The L5 has an onboard compressor, parametric equalization, and four inputs. King also used a Fender Twin Reverb.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-guitargear_69-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 69 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">He used his signature model strings "Gibson SEG-BBS B.B. King Signature Electric Guitar Strings" with gauges: 10–13–17p–32w–45w–54w and D'Andrea 351 MD SHL CX (Medium 0.71mm, Tortoise Shell, Celluloid) Picks.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-guitargear_69-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 69 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="B.B._King.27s_Blues_Club" style="box-sizing:border-box;">B.B. King's Blues Club
Sign outside B.B. King's Blues Club on Beale Street, Memphis<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">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 Squareopened in June 2000. Two further clubs opened at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in January 2002<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-70" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 70 ] and another in Nashville in 2003.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-71" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 71 ] Another club opened in Orlando in 2007.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-72" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 72 ] A club inWest Palm Beach opened in the fall of 2009<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-73" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 73 ] and an additional one, based in the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, opened in the winter of 2009.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-74" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 74 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="Television_and_other_appearances" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Television and other appearances
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King made guest appearances in numerous popular television shows, including The Cosby Show,The Young and the Restless, General Hospital,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-BBKingGeneralHospital_75-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 75 ] The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sesame Street,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-SesameWorkshopNewsletter_76-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 76 ]Married... with Children, Sanford and Son, and Touched by an Angel. He also had a cameo in the movies Spies Like Us,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-IMDBBBKing_77-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 77 ] Heart and Souls and Blues Brothers 2000. He voiced a character in the last episode of Cow and Chicken.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-imdb_78-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 78 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 2000, the children's show Between The Lions featured a singing character named "B.B. the King Of Beasts", modeled on the real King.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-79" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 79 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">A feature documentary about King narrated by Morgan Freeman and directed by Jon Brewer was released on October 15, 2012.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-80" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 80 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King appeared twice on the PBS television series Austin City Limits, in 1983 and 1996.

Commercials
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King, who was diabetic, appeared in several television commercials for OneTouch Ultra in the 2000s and early 2010s.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-81" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 81 ] He appeared in a 2014 commercial for the Toyota Camry with his guitar Lucille.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-toyota_press_82-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 82 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="Personal_life" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Personal life
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King was married twice, to Martha Lee Denton, 1946 to 1952, and to Sue Carol Hall, 1958 to 1966. The failure of both marriages has been attributed to the heavy demands made on the marriage by King's 250 performances a year.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-jazz_12-5" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ] It is reported that he fathered 15 children with several different women.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-jazz_12-6" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ] He lived with diabetes for over 20 years and was a high-profile spokesman in the fight against the disease, appearing in advertisements for diabetes-management products along with American Idol season nine contestant Crystal Bowersox.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-farewells_45-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 45 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-83" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 83 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King was an FAA certificated private pilot and learned to fly in 1963 at what was then Chicago Hammond Airport in Lansing, Illinois.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-84" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 84 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-85" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 85 ] He frequently flew to gigs but in 1995 his insurance company and manager asked him to fly only with another certified pilot. As a result, he stopped flying around the age of 70.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Reuters.2FBillboard_2007-06-29_86-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 86 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King was a Christian.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-87" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 87 ] <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King's favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. In his autobiography he spoke about how he was a "Sinatra nut" and how he went to bed every night listening to Sinatra's classic album In the Wee Small Hours. During the 1960s Sinatra had arranged for King to play at the main clubs in Las Vegas. He credited Sinatra for opening doors to black entertainers who were not given the chance to play in "white-dominated" venues.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-88" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 88 ]

Philanthropy
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 2002, King signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underprivileged public schools throughout the United States. He sat on the organization's Honorary Board of Directors.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-89" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 89 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="Illness_and_death" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Illness and death
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">After the cancellation of the remaining eight shows of his 2014 tour because of health problems, King announced on October 8, 2014, he was back at home to recuperate.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-bbking.com_tour-update_2014-10-08_65-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 65 ] On May 1, 2015, after two hospitalizations caused by complications from high blood pressure and diabetes, King announced on his website that he was in hospice care at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-cnn._B.B._90-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 90 ] He died in his sleep on May 14, 2015 at age 89.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Defining_16-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 16 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">King's cause of death was determined to be multi-infarct dementia, brought on by a series of small strokes caused by type 2 diabetes.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-91" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 91 ] However, two of his daughters alleged that King was deliberately poisoned by two associates trying to induce diabetic shock.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Poison_92-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 92 ] The Clark County coroner's office confirmed on May 25, 2015, that it was performing an autopsy on King's body and conducting a homicide investigation with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, although CNN reported that initial indications did not support the notion of foul play.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-93" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 93 ] The autopsy revealed King's death was of complications of Alzheimer's disease and congestive heart failure, with no evidence of poisoning.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-94" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 94 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-OfficialCOD_9-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 9 ]

<span class="mw-headline" id="Funeral_and_burial" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Funeral and burial
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">On May 27, 2015, King's body was flown to Memphis. The funeral procession led down Beale Street, with a brass band marching in front of the hearse, playing "When the Saints Go Marching In", as mourners called out "BB". Rodd Bland, son of the late blues singer Bobby "Blue" Bland, carried the latest iteration of King's famous guitar "Lucille." Thousands lined the streets toPAY their last respects. His body was then driven down Route 61 to his hometown of Indianola, Mississippi.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-95" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 95 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">On May 29, 2015, King's body was laid out, in a purple satin shirt and a floral tuxedo jacket, flanked by two black Gibson guitars, at the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, in Indianola. Fans lined up to view his open casket.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-96" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 96 ] <span class="reference" id="cite_ref-news5_97-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 97 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">On May 30, 2015, King's funeral was held at the Bell Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Indianola, Mississippi.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-98" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 98 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-99" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 99 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-100" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 100 ] He was buried at the museum.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-news5_97-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 97 ]

Discography

 * Singin' the Blues (1956)<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-101" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 101 ]
 * The Blues (1958)
 * B.B. King Wails (1959)
 * King of the Blues (1960)
 * Sings Spirituals (1960)
 * The Great B.B. King (1960)
 * My Kind of Blues (1961)
 * Blues For Me (1961)
 * Blues in My Heart (1962)
 * Easy Listening Blues (1962)
 * B.B. King (1963)
 * Mr. Blues (1963)
 * Confessin' the Blues (1966)
 * Blues on Top of Blues (1968)
 * Lucille (1968)
 * Live & Well (1969)
 * Completely Well (1969)
 * Indianola Mississippi Seeds (1970)
 * B.B. King in London (1971)
 * L.A. Midnight (1972)
 * Guess Who (1972)
 * To Know You Is to Love You (1973)
 * Friends (1974)
 * King Size (1977)
 * Midnight Believer (1978)
 * Take It Home (1979)
 * There Must Be a Better World Somewhere(1981)
 * Love Me Tender (1982)
 * Blues 'N' Jazz (1983)
 * Six Silver Strings (1985)
 * King of the Blues: 1989 (1988)
 * There Is Always One More Time (1991)
 * Blues Summit (1993)
 * Lucille & Friends (1995)
 * Deuces Wild (1997)
 * Blues on the Bayou (1998)
 * Let the Good Times Roll (1999)
 * Makin' Love Is Good for You (2000)
 * Riding with the King (2000, with Eric Clapton)
 * A Christmas Celebration of Hope (2001)
 * Reflections (2003)
 * B.B. King & Friends: 80 (2005)
 * One Kind Favor (2008)

<span class="mw-headline" id="Awards_and_nominations" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Awards and nominations
<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">Years reflect the year in which the Grammy was awarded, for music released in the previous year. B.B. King receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedomfrom George W. Bush, December 2006===<span class="mw-headline" id="Other_honors" style="box-sizing:border-box;">Other honors === A commemorative guitar pick honoring "B.B. King Day" in Portland, Maine*1995: The Kennedy Center Honors; given to recognize "the lifelong accomplishments and extraordinary talents of our nation's most prestigious artists"<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-108" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 108 ]
 * 1977: Honorary Doctor of Music by Yale University<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-102" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 102 ]
 * 1980: Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-103" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 103 ]
 * 1987: Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-104" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 104 ]
 * 1987: Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-105" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 105 ]
 * 1990: The National Medal of Arts<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-106" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 106 ]
 * 1991: The National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-107" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 107 ]
 * 1998: Grammy Hall of Fame Award for "The Thrill is Gone"; the award is given to recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-109" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 109 ]
 * 2004: The Royal Swedish Academy of Music awarded him the Polar Music Prize for his "significant contributions to the blues"<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Polar_Music_Prize_41-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 41 ]
 * 2006: The Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by President George W. Bush on December 15<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-110" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 110 ]
 * 2007: An honorary doctorate in music by Brown University (May 27)<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-111" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 111 ]
 * 2008: The keys to the city of Portland, Maine (May 14)<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-112" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 112 ]
 * 2009: Time named King No. 3 on its list of the 10 best electric guitarists<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-113" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 113 ]
 * 2010: Sabrosa Park (in the small town of Sabrosa, north of Portugal) was renamed B.B. King Park in honor of King and the free concert he played before 20,000 people on May 29<span class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;white-space:nowrap;">[<span data-title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2015)" style="box-sizing:border-box;">citation needed]
 * Each year during the first week in June, a King Homecoming Festival is held in Indianola, Mississippi<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-114" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 114 ]
 * A Mississippi Blues Trail marker was added for King, commemorating his birthplace<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-115" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.6em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 115 ]