Biography of B.B. King

WOW! Lucille his guitar and one of his greatest songs, Thrill is Gone. What devastating news that B. B. King had to leave us. B. B. King passing away at the age of 89 years old, on May 15, 2015, was a major blow to the entire music industry, but as a legend, he would be honored by many. Evidently, the vast majority of people were tremendously influenced by his blues music and his guitar Lucille. Ideally, he was one of the most successful artists in the history of blues music, making his ability as a blues guitarist remaining strictly unmatched. His real name was King B. King but was professionally just referred to as the (King and Ritz 15).

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Early years

Various sources reveal that B. B. King was born as King B. King in 1925 between Itta Bena and Indianola, Mississippi. According to McGee, His parents split up when he was a small child and was consequently forced to live for several years with this mother in the regions around Mississippi hills (23-27). However, at the age of 9, his mother passed on and was again forced to spend the remaining time in his life with the father. However, it is not immediately that his father found him after the death of the mother, but later. Later in his early years, King was forced to begin working on a cotton plantation (King and Ritz 51) in Indianola, where he earned $22.50 a week. His assertions that, "I guess the earliest sound of blues that I can remember was in the fields while people would be "picking' cotton or chopping or something, substantially offers a representation of the beginning of his fascination with music. In a Living Blues interview conducted in 1988, King was cited in Contemporary Musicians saying that, When I sing and play now, I can hear those same sounds that I used to hear then as a kid."

A fascinating thing to note is the manner in which King continued to identify his talent. McGee (32), asserts that King sang gospel music in church and even performed professionally with the Famous St. John Gospel Singers. During this period, however, he was not allowed to sing the blues, as the songs under this category were considered "the devil's pieces of music" (King and DeLisa 121). Despite such restrictions, he listened to recordings by early blues masters such as Sonny Boy Williamson. Later in the course of trying to make a breakthrough in his music ambition, his boss lent him money to purchase some musical instruments and then enrolled for music lessons. It is during this period that King quickly developed as a blues player. King began earning money from singing and playing his music instruments on street corners on Saturday than he made all week on the plantation. He eventually left Mississippi for Memphis, which promised the excitement and musical atmosphere he dreamed and finally made a settlement (McGee 90 and King and DeLisa 46).

When King sang at Church, he met a teacher named Luther Henson, who had a significant influence on his young life (King and DeLisa 47). He taught King about Booker T. Washington, who was and educator, author and advisor to the president at the time. Mary McLeod Bethune, an educator, civil right activist and Frederick Douglas, an orator, writer, and a statesman. He knew that hard work and faith were important to have in King's life. King embraced these value. The family went to church every Sunday. His mother sang in the choir. The minister, Archie Fair a guitarist, became an inspiration to King. The reverend used music as a tool in his church to bring congregation together. In reality, this is where King developed his voice and learned to play the guitar from the reverend.

At a young age, King wanted to become a guitar playing preacher, but that was not happening because soon the blues would soon be larger influence over his life. The Blues were exciting to hit through arousing his emotions and feelings when he performed at many places. Thanks to his cousin Bukka White who ensured that his songs played on the radio. Ideally, his cousin taught him a lot when he took him in for ten months, particularly the arts of the Blues. However, they would never play in public always private (King and DeLisa 77).

Since it was emerging to be his lifetime career, he developed a determination to make it in the music business (McGee 56-68). He even divorced in his two marriages because his music kept him consumed and traveling a lot. His divorces inspired him to sing the song "The Thrill is Gone," thereby emerging a huge star in the black music community, despite being unknown in the white community. However, his fame took another transition in 1965 when Mike Bloomfield began copying his links at the time when no one knew whom he was. When asked who Bloomfield was, B.B King replied, "The Real Monster"; a response that significantly soared his popularity.

Notably, King had musical influences by many artists, such as a former guitarist, Carlos Santana, a well-known musician, Jimi Hendrix, a great guitarist, Stevie Ray Vaughan, great musician John Myers, singer-songwriter; and his best friend Buddy Guy, to mention just a few. They were all excited about the manner in which he played King at guitar as he just made it and talked to everyone. His technique of performing at different venues substantially increased his popularity among all the people that he came across with.

In fact, after serving in the Army, he moved with his cousin Booker (Bukka) who was also a blues guitarist, where he attempted to copy the Bukkas musical performances. In other occasions, he booked for Sonny Boy Williamson, who had a radio station in West Memphis, who often helped him play his songs, thereby increasing the popularity within the Music industry. Conceivably, King was able to advertise his upcoming concerts on the radio and became famous along with his trio, which was jointly regarded as the "Beal Street Glues according to (1knowledge/Beal_street_Blues.html).

Until the early twenties, King had not lived a very privileged life as had a few opportunities to try his hand as a prerecession musician. Fundamentally, his luck was about to changing and becoming a successful musician across the entire United States. Thanks to his cousin Booker T. Washington White, who dedicated a better part of his time to help King nurture his music prowess with the aim of making him emerge one of the few known blues artists in American. Previously, Booker had considerable success in Memphis as a blues musician remembered today for "Fixing to Die Blues" (1960), which considerably achieved mainstream exposure after Bob Dylan converted and played it on his 1961 debut album. With white's intervention, King was able to get a job as a D.J. and part-time musician, going by the handle" Beale Street Blues Boy." (King and DeLisa 67-71)

Global fame

Globally, King had a worldwide audience and recorded over fifty albums; the majority of them being the classics. In his life, King remembers an incident that made him even more dedicated to his music career. Back while performing at a dance in the 50's, King encountered two men fighting over a woman named Lucille. In the process of battling each other, they knocked each other over a kerosene stove; a situation that made the fire spread rapidly across the hallway. In an attempt to save his life, he rushed out of the door for safety, like everyone else. However, he later realized that he left his $30 acoustic guitar inside, and then resorted to rush back into the burning building with the aim of saving it. It is reported that in the process of doing so, King nearly escaped death narrowly as the fire building had already been submerged in a giant ball of flames. He later decided to name his guitar Lucille as an attribute to remind him about the life-threatening incident that he experienced in his life, and thus avoiding all crazy things like a fighting over a woman in his life.

This incident has been a major instrument for development on the part of King, as his trademark Gibson guitars have been named and described as Lucille. Besides, King developed a most identifiable guitar style, through borrowing some techniques and skills from the singers Blind Remon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker, guitarist and many others. Ideally, his precise and vocal like string bends, his left-hand vibrato, both has become indispensable components of rock guitarist vocabulary. In this way, therefore, King was able to influence young and old folks including the rappers and all musicians he had come across with. Has a blues master, he emerged as a role model to other great artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Stevie Ray Vaugh, Albert Collins. He was the Blues Master.

Achievements and awards

According to his website, King was inducted into Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1994 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He received NARAS Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 1987, in addition to other minor awards throughout his entire music career. Furthermore, he received several honorary doctorates from some of the public colleges and Universities, such as Tougaloo (MS) College in 1973, Yale University in 1997, Berkley College of Music in 1982, Rhodes College of Memphis in 1990, Mississippi Valley State University in 2002 (King and DeLisa 222). In 2006, King made a significant debut in his career for receiving an award from President George Walker Bush. As a legendary singer and guitarist, he became the subject of his own Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola. In the recent times, Mississippi has been reported to tremendously to be dedicated to performing King's music, which influenced him, and the history of the entire delta area. His recent award Brown University in 2007 is known by virtually everybody in the music industry, based on his efforts and contributions he made developing the modern blues genre. Few years before his death, King played a special gig at the White House with Buddy Guy and others. They were accompanied by President Barack Obama on the song "Sweet Home Chicago."

Recent years and Death

It is reported that King played more than 250 concerts per years well into his 70s. In his 80s, the number of tour dates the guitarist booked was more limited in numbers as his aged advanced accompanied by a significant deterioration of his health over the past few years. Notably, after a shaky concert in April 2014 at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, fans voiced their concern about King on social media saying he appeared to be suffering from Alzheimer's disease or dementia. This was followed by an issuance of a public apology for his erratic performance by the blues legend. In October 2014, the 89-year-old fell on stage during a performance at Chicago's House of Blues and canceled several upcoming gigs. In a statement issued on his website after the fall, it said the singer had been "diagnosed with dehydration and suffering from exhaustion." But no matter what where he was, King had a signature guitar" Lucille" in his hands. While in hospitalized, King made his last breath and succumbed May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving behind an enduring musical legacy.

As a family man and a man of the people, he leaves behind his two daughters; Karen Williams and Patty King, his manager LaVerne Toney and his personal assistant Myron Johnson. Occasionally, Ms. Toney did everything she could while Mr. King was alive, and continues to carry out Mr. King's wishes after his death. On this fateful day, thousands of fans lined up at Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee to watch a funeral procession in honor of the late blues legend, who was nicknamed the Beale Street Blues Boy. He was laid to rest in Indianola, Mississippi, his hometown, on May 30th.

Works Cited

King, B B, and Jeannette DeLisa. King of the Blues. Miami, FL: CPP/Belwin, 1993. Musical score.

King, B B, and...