B.B. King

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B. B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato, and staccato picking that influenced many later electric guitar blues players. AllMusic recognized King as "the single most important electric guitarist of the last half of the 20th century".

King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and is one of the most influential blues musicians in history, earning the nickname "The King of the Blues", and is referred to as one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and Freddie King, none of whom are related). King performed tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing on average at more than 200 concerts a year into his 70s. In 1956 alone, he appeared at 342 shows.

Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta, King was attracted to music and taught himself to play guitar, beginning his career in juke joints and on local radio. King later lived and performed in Memphis and Chicago. As his fame grew, he toured the world extensively.

Riley B. King was born on September 16, 1925, on a cotton plantation in Berclair named Bear Creek in Leflore County near the city of Itta Bena, Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers Albert and Nora Ella King. When he was four years old, his mother left his father for another man, so he was raised by his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael, Mississippi, then in Lexington. As a teen, he moved to Indianola which he referred to as his hometown, later working at a cotton gin.

While young, King sang in the gospel choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael. He was attracted to the Pentecostal Church of God in Christ because of its music. The local minister performed with a Sears Roebuck Silvertone guitar during services and taught King his first three chords. Flake Cartledge, his employer in Kilmichael, bought him his first guitar for 15 dollars. Cartledge withheld money from King's salary for the next two months until he repaid the debt.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.