B.B. King The main bluesman on the planet Date of Birth: 16.09.1925 Country: USA

Biography of B.B. King

Riley B. King, known as B.B. King, was born on September 16, 1925, on a cotton plantation near Itta Bena, Mississippi. His father, Albert, was a sharecropper, and his mother's name was Nora Ella King. When B.B. was four years old, his mother left his father and him for another man. He was raised by his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael.

In his youth, B.B. sang gospel in a church choir and purchased his first guitar, reportedly from his mother's cousin, blues musician Bukka White, for $15 when he was twelve years old. In 1943, he quit his job as a tractor driver in Kilmichael and became a guitarist. He followed White to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1946, but returned after a few months. Later, he performed on a radio station in West Memphis, where his talent was recognized. Working at WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, B.B. earned the nickname "Blues Boy," which was eventually shortened to B.B.

In 1949, B.B. began recording songs under a contract with RPM Records. He formed his own band, the B.B. King Review, led by Millard Lee, and received help with arrangements from experienced musician Onzie Horne. B.B. admitted to having difficulties with chords, which led to relying on improvisation. According to the contract, he toured the United States extensively. During one concert in Twist, Arkansas, a fight between two men escalated into a fire. B.B. was evacuated with the crowd, but he returned to retrieve his beloved guitar from the burning building. He later learned that the men who died in the fire were fighting over a woman named Lucille. He named his guitar Lucille as a reminder not to fight over women or go back into burning buildings.

In the 1950s, B.B. gained recognition as one of the most influential musicians in rhythm and blues. His hit songs included "You Know I Love You," "Whole Lotta Love," "Sneakin' Around," "Bad Luck," "Ten Long Years," "Sweet Little Angel," "On My Word of Honor," and "Please Accept My Love." His weekly earnings increased from $85 to $2500. In 1956, B.B. founded his own label, Blues Boys Kingdom, in Memphis.

In the late 1960s, B.B.'s new manager, Sid Seidenberg, worked to expand his popularity among white audiences. He won a Grammy in 1970 for his song "The Thrill Is Gone," which ranked 183rd on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." B.B. was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2004, he received the international music award, Polar Music Prize, for his exceptional achievements in creating and promoting music.

B.B. collaborated with the Irish band U2 on the single "When Love Comes to Town" in 1988. In December 1997, he performed at a Christmas concert in the Vatican, where he presented his guitar Lucille to Pope John Paul II. The original Lucille was stolen from his car's trunk, and B.B. offered a reward of $20,000 for its return. The reward reportedly increased to $900,000, but the original Lucille, which cost only $30, never returned to him.

In 2000, B.B. joined forces with Eric Clapton to record the blues album "Riding With the King," which won a Grammy. In 2006, he embarked on his "Farewell" world tour but continued his musical career until his death. On May 14, 2015, B.B. King passed away in his sleep due to a series of micro-strokes caused by complications from type 2 diabetes.

Throughout his life, B.B. was married twice, first to Martha Lee Denton from 1946 to 1951, and then to Sue Carol Hall from 1958 to 1966. He had 15 children from different women and around 50 grandchildren.

B.B. held a pilot's license since 1963 and often flew himself to his performances. In the 1990s and 2010s, he endorsed the OneTouch Ultra glucose monitoring device and appeared in a Toyota Camry commercial with his guitar Lucille.

Known for his gallantry and good humor, B.B. King proposed forming a musicians' alliance that would refrain from using obscene language towards women in their lyrics. He admired Frank Sinatra and would often listen to Sinatra's album "In the Wee Small Hours" before bed.

B.B. King was a vegetarian and a staunch opponent of alcohol and smoking. He lived with type 2 diabetes for over 20 years and promoted diabetes management devices in the 2000s and 2010s.