Black History Month Music: B.B. King

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The road has called! I’m having lunch before answering the call. That means I get my stuffed potato at Mark’s before I head south. That also means you get another legendary artist to celebrate Black History Month with. B.B. King We’ve had the Father of the Blues and a major pioneer of the Blues, and now it’s time for the King of the Blues. And not just because his name was King. B.B. King is the best-selling blues artist ever, with over 58 million records sold. Do you know how popular B.B. King is? Most people know his guitar’s name: Lucille. (There’s a plaque at the site of the club that burned while King was performing at a club in Twist, Arkansas, explaining the name’s origins: the fire started during a fight between two men over a woman named Lucille.) King won 15 Grammy awards in his career, starting with one of his best-known songs, “The Thrill is Gone.” Everyone and his brother wanted to play with him, including George Jones (they covered the song “Patches” together) and Eric Clapton (they won a Grammy for their cover of John Hiatt’s “Riding With the King”). The new I-55 bridge in Memphis will be known as “Kings’ Crossing,” in honor of Rev. King, Elvis the “King of Rock and Roll,” and B.B. King. There’s a statue of B.B. King in the Memphis welcome center near Mud Island, along with Lucille. There’s also a B.B. King club on Beale Street. The King is gone, but the thrill is still here through his music. B.B. King Born Riley B. King, September 16, 1925, Itta Bena, Mississippi Died May 14, 2015, Las Vegas, Nevada (vascular dementia/diabetes) (age 89) HALLS OF FAME: Rock and Roll, 1987; Blues, 1980; National Rhythm and Blues, 2014 The classic “The Thrill is Gone”: