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B.B. King / BB King / Blues Boy King

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Riley B. "B.B." King

(Born September 16, 1925)

Of all the Blues men and women to have lived, none have been quite so successful or so internationally well known and respected as Mr. Riley King; better known as B.B. King. He is an amazingly accomplished musician with an extremely impressive discography collection and a nearly seventy year love for his guitar. He's known as the "Ambassador of the Blues", for bringing Blues to audiences of all types worldwide. Both he and his beloved guitar, Lucille, are well deserved household names and he has enjoyed an extremely long and distinguished career with hardly a lull or break since his early teens!

B.B. was born on a farm outside of a small town in Mississippi to Albert and Nora King. (This Albert King was not the famous Bluesman of the same name). His mother left his father when he was a young boy, and he moved between his mother and grandmother several times. Both women were devoutly religious, and B.B. was given a healthy dose of church. It was in the church that he was exposed to his first musical influences. The guitar playing preacher showed King how to play a few simple chords and the church hymnals helped BB develop his vocal style.

Early on in his life he was met with his share of troubles. When he was only 9 years old; his mother died and he went to live with his grandmother in the nearby small town of Kimicheal, Mississippi. Sadly, after a short time, she passed away as well. Young Riley was forced to live alone in his grandmother's sharecropper shack, where he enrolled himself in school and farmed a small portion of the sharecropper land. After feeling financial strain and other pressures; he eventually ended up in Indianola, Mississippi, where he worked as a tractor driver and sharecropper, calling Indianola his hometown even to this day.

At nights, he would play street corners on the bustling Indianola Church Street for money. Here, B.B. quickly figured out that Blues made more money than gospel when he sang it, and as a result, he's played the Blues ever since.

Soon Riley was married to his first wife, nearly drafted, (but was spared active duty thanks to his kind landlord, which he had a good relationship with), and had formed his own gospel group, the St. John's Gospel Singers, who were broadcast on a local radio station. But it was his tractor driving that prompted King to finally jump into music as a full time living. While putting the tractor in a shed, it lurched and broke the exhaust stack. Fearing his landlord would never forgive him, he wrote a note of apology and silently took off to Memphis.

There, he sought out his uncle, notable Bluesman Bukka White, who mentored him in the Blues, and King began playing on the famous Beale Street in Memphis. In true B.B. King form though, the tractor damage weighed on his conscience, and he returned to pay for the damage. After returning to Memphis, he found Sonny Boy Williamson (II), who had hosted the King Biscuit Radio Time. He quickly became a sensation, and from his popularity playing; he was booked several shows and found himself as a guitarist, jinglewriter, promoter, and DJ on the first all-black radio station, WIDA. He aquired the name "Beale Street Blues Boy" and soon shortened it to simply "Blues Boy King", which was abbreviated into his now famous handle, B.B. King.

He gained the attention of record companies and began recording. Interestingly, while recording his early hits for RPM Records, the Memphis manager and producer of B.B.'s records was Sam Philips, who would soon found Sun Records. His first widespread hit was Three O'Clock Blues, which led to a national touring contract. While on the road, his marriage became strained and he soon found himself divorced. Riley spent years on the Chitlin Circuit, playing various venues and clubs with his band. King remarried, his second marriage lasted for several years, however, the strain of his career led to divorce in 1969. That same year marked the pinnacle of a string of hits released through ABC Records in the 1960s, culminating into a Grammy win, the first of many, for his song "The Thrill Is Gone". It was also in 1969 that King began opening shows for the American leg of a Rolling Stones tour. With the exposure from touring and recording, his popularity and fame was cemented, and he never slowed down his career.

Throughout the 70's, 80's, and 90's; he continued touring and releasing albums nearly nonstop. During the 90's, he continued his extremely prominent career with many collaborations with other extremely popular artists such as U2 with their song "When Love Comes To Town", and with a collaborative Eric Clapton record, "Riding With the King". These were hardly the last though. His 1997 album "Deuces Wild" marked collaborations with Dr. John, Willie Nelson, The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison, among many others, who sang covers of B.B.'s songs as duets. He's been on various television shows, making cameo appearances in sitcoms such as The Cosby Show and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. His touring schedule has hardly seen a decline, even after his farewell tour to wind down live performances. He still tours some 200+ venues every year, even into his mid-eighties. His most recent critically acclaimed 2008 album, "One Kind Favor", won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Recording in the Blues category.

His career has spanned decades, and his international popularity has only pushed his stardom higher. To date; King has won 15 Grammys, including a 1987 Lifetime Achievement Grammy. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He's played for the Pope and for Presidents and has been awarded several honorary doctorates. In addition to his massive musical accomplishments; he's the owner of no less than six clubs bearing his namesake, as well as the small, but famous Club Ebony in his hometown of Indianola, Mississippi. He's played over 15,000 concerts in no less than 90 countries and has put out, and continues to record, well over 50 records. Gibson, in 1980, began selling a custom Gibson ES-355 to BB's specifications, aptly called Lucille. In 2008, Indianola, a community of a mere twelve thousand, managed to raise millions to open the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, an incredibly impressive, informative museum centering around rural life, race relations, the progression of the Blues, popular music, and recent American history, with B.B. King's life as the focal point and guidance. Even through his incredible rise to international super-stardom and accolades, he's never forgotten his roots as a humble Sharecropper. His humbleness for his trade is almost as well known as his music, always quick to pass praise to other members of his band or colleagues, always happy to greet a fan. It is his good nature, unique guitar style and booming vocals that have made him a household name across the globe.

Notable songs by B.B. King
Three O'Clock Blues
The Thrill Is Gone
Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out

Notable albums by B.B. King
One Kind Favor      (buy album)      (download album)
Deuces Wild      (buy album)      (download album)
One Kind Favor      (buy album)      (download album)

Notable Websites on B.B. King
B.B. King's Official Website
B.B. King's Blues Clubs Official Website
The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center Official Website
Gibson Official Website - Lucille Guitar

Notable Videos of B.B. King
[ALBUM NAME]      (buy album)      (download album)