 For forty years there has been only one
“King of the Blues,” and his name is Riley B. King, widely known as B. B.
King. Since B. B. started recording in the late 1940's, he has released over fifty
albums. Many of these albums are considered as blues classics. Among these are
two number one R&B hits in 1951 “Three O’clock Blues,” and in 1952
“You don’t know Me,” four number two R&B hits, and numerous other major
hits. He has been a popular singer for over four decades, yet still he produces more
albums than any other blues singer. Among all his hits “The Thrill Is
Gone” is one of his most popular crossover hits ( This House on Fire; B.B.
King's Worldblues Site). Riley B. King was
born on September 16, 1925 to Albert and Nora Ella King on a cotton plantation in
Indianola, Mississippi. King was musically influenced by a preacher at the Holiness
Church in Carmichael named Archie Fair. He taught King how to play guitar and
sing early in life. In 1947, with his guitar and $2.50, he hitchhiked north to
Memphis, Tennessee, to follow his musical career. Memphis was the city where almost
every important musician of the South gravitated, and it was a large competitive musical
community where almost all black musical styles were heard. There B. B. King stayed
with his cousin Bukka White. White, who taught B. B. further in the art of the
blues, was one of the most renowned rural blues performers of his time (B. B. King's
Worldblues) The first big break came for B. B. in 1948 when he performed on Sonny
Boy Williamson’s radio program on KWEM out of West Memphis. This led to steady
performances for B. B. About the same time he became a full-time disc
jockey. One-day King was playing guitar in a small dance hall in Twist,
Arkansas. In the course of the evening, two men got into a fight over a woman who
today is known only as Lucille. Words and threats soon developed into punches, and
as these two men were fighting, one knocked a kerosene lamp down, and the place
caught on fire. Almost everyone escaped the fire, but when B. B. realized he had
left his guitar inside he went back to get it, and he barely escaped the fire. Later
when he realized the incident was caused by the lady named Lucille, he named his guitar
“Lucille” (The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music).
Not long after this incident, King left radio behind, and
started his own band. He recorded his first number one hit in 1951, “Three
O’clock Blues,” and he began touring nationally. And he has never
stopped-- performing an average of 275 concerts an year. In 1956, B. B. and his band
played an astonishing 342 one nightstands. From the Caitlin’ circuit with its
small town cafes, ghetto theaters, country dance hall, and roadside joints to jazz clubs,
rock palaces, symphony concert halls, collage concerts, resort hotels and prestigious
concert halls nationally and internationally. B. B. has become the most renowned
blues musician of the past 40 years (Contemporary Musicians Profiles of the people
in Music).
B. B. has a mixed style combining blues, jazz, swing, and
mainstream pop, which became a unique sound. B. B. also has developed one of the most
readily- identified guitar styles. He has combined his vocal talent around it to
produce countless magnificent songs (B. B. King Biography).
During the 70's, B. B. toured Ghana, Lagos, Chad, and
Liberia under the United States State Department. He also performed lots of
prestigious jazz festivals, and events. . In 1989, King toured Australia, New
Zealand, Japan, France, West Germany, Holland, and Ireland for three months as a special
guest of U2. King headlined the Blues Music Festival of America Amphitheaters with
three support acts (B.B. King's Worldblues Site).
Over the years, B. B. has become one of the most celebrated
American Musicians in this world. B. B. King’s achievements are enormous, and
to date he has received seven Grammy Awards. He also received numerous awards for
achievements in various part of music. Many different prestigious colleges including
Yale, Berkeley, and Rhodes College of Memphis gave B. B. King an honorary doctorate ( B.
B. King: King of the Blues).
B. B. King is a songwriter, bar owner, performer, legend,
and the undisputed “King of the Blues.” He is a great person by any
standards. He is a living legends in our time. His effect on music will
always be remembered, and everyone will cherish his songs generations to come (The
Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music).
by Aninda
Sarkar
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