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 King,
B. B. (1925-�), American blues guitarist and singer, one of the greatest
blues artists of all time and a leader of an urban blues revival in
the United States during the late 1960s. King was born Riley King
in Itta Bena, Mississippi, a small town on the Mississippi Delta�a
region known as the home of the blues. King's parents, who were tenant
farmers, separated when he was very young; after his mother's death
in 1934, King lived mainly on his own. After singing in a gospel choir
during his childhood, King became fascinated with blues music and
guitar, thanks in part to an aunt who collected blues and jazz records.
Among his earliest influences were blues musicians Lonnie Johnson,
Sonny Boy Williamson, T-Bone Walker, and Bukka White, King's cousin.
King was also strongly affected by Charlie Christian, a soloist with
the Benny Goodman band, and by numerous country music guitarists.
After teaching himself to play the guitar, King hitchhiked to Memphis,
Tennessee, in 1946. Within three years he had developed a career playing
in clubs, making records, and broadcasting on the radio. He identified
himself on the radio as "the Beale Street Blues Boy," a name that
was shortened to Blues Boy and finally to B. B. His song "Three O'Clock
Blues" (1952) made the top of Billboard magazine's rhythm-and-blues
(R&B) charts, and launched his national fame. Subsequently King formed
his own band to back him on tour, an unusual step for a blues musician,
and began spending most of his time touring. In 1962 King moved from
local record companies in Memphis to nationally prominent label, ABC
Records. By 1968 he had connected with a growing revival of blues
music in the United States and he also began to reach popular, rock,
and soul music audiences, finding a large white following for the
first time. Rock musicians including Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger
credit King as a major influence on their musical styles. The song
"The Thrill Is Gone" gave King his biggest hit on the mainstream popular
music charts and in 1970 won him his first Grammy Award. The following
year Live at Cook County Jail became his best-selling album and identified
him with the cause of prisoners' rights. King's singing is powerful
and his instrumental style is a conscious blend of traditional blues
and the wailing sound of country music slide guitar. He affectionately
names his guitars Lucille, a habit that began early in his career
when his guitar was almost destroyed in a fire started in a fight
over a woman named Lucille. King received an honorary Doctor of Music
degree from Yale University in 1977, was elected to the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 1987, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
in 1988. His autobiography, Blues All Around Me, was published in
1996.
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