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| B.B. ("Blues Boy")
King has reigned supreme over the blues world for more than forty years.
His longevity continues to astound both his fans and critics, who cannot
deny his tremendous impact on both the blues genre, and modern music in
general. With his trademark Gibson ES-355 guitar (better known as "Lucille"),
King continues to travel his dominion with undiminished prowess. On September
16, 1925, in Mississippi's "Delta" area, Riley B. King was born. He first
saw light in the town of Itta Bena, surrounded by his parents Albert and
Nora Ella King. (Note: B.B.'s father was NOT the great bluesman Albert
King, though he too grew up in the same region.) The Kings were hardworking
sharecroppers. Riley's mother left Albert for another man when the boy
was only four. She then sent her son to live with his grandmother in the
nearby town of Kilmicheal. As a result, young B.B.'s father grew alienated
from his child and the two lost touch. King's family was devoutly religious,
and it was at the Holiness Church in Kilmicheal that Riley met his first
musical influence. Archie Fair, the preacher, employed music to bring his
congregation together. Riley saw the power in his methods, and soon studied
guitar with him. B.B.'s first chords were E, A, and B. By 1940 however,
both his mother and grandmother had passed away, and Riley was forced to
leave the singing group he had established at the church and move in with
his estranged father (who had tracked him down after receiving news of
the two deaths) in Lexington, Mississippi. King grew homesick, and in 1942
returned to Kilmicheal. Living mainly off of the generosity of friends
(who financed his first guitar, a Stella acoustic, for $2.50), Riley became
desperate to make a fortune for himself. He toured around Mississippi churches
as a member of a gospel group, and additionally played the blues (a style
he had long been familiar with) on street corners. In 1944, King became
eligible for military service. His employer at the time (who had been using
the young man as a tractor driver and did not want to lose skilled labor)
asked the draft board to give King an occupational deferment. He also suggested
that Riley get married, as that too would help his chances of staying out
of the war. On November 11, 1944, King married Martha Denton and subsequently
received his deferment. When B.B. carelessly damaged his tractor, he decided
that he had been heading nowhere all along. With his guitar in hand and
very little money, he alone (though his young wife would later join him)
fled to Memphis, Tennessee, to connect with a cousin, Bukka White. A well
known bluesman in the area, Bukka helped to hone B.B.'s craft. Riley soon
met Sonny Boy Williamson, star of a blues radio program on station KWEM.
He implored Williamson to allow him to play a song on the show. Generously,
he permitted King to perform and even touted the young bluesman on the
air as a rising talent before the music started. The radio gig was an enormous
success, and Sonny Boy immediately booked Riley King to play before a large
crowd (live!) at Miss Annie's Saloon in West Memphis. From there, King's
notoriety continued to increase until a radio DJ advised him to create
a catchy name for himself that would help promote interest in his work.
The "Beale Street Blues Boy" became his first pseudonym, which was later
shortened to simply "Blues Boy". Yet another change left the name abbreviated
to the now world-famous "B.B. King". In 1949, King signed a recording contract
with the Bullet Recording and Transcription Company. Within the last six
months of that year, B.B. recorded six singles (among these was the "B.B.
Boogie", a good example of one of the guitarist's earliest recordings).
Though none of the tracks were hits, they did launch King to the status
of a local celebrity, and led to the hiring of his first manager, Robert
Henry. King played in Twist, Arkansas, one night in late 1949. Because
the evenings were cool, it was not uncommon for kerosene to be used to
heat the dance hall after dark. A large barrel sat in the center of the
room that the audience collected around during the performance. After the
show, two men began a brawl that knocked the barrel over, causing a lethal
inferno to develop. The building's occupants, including King, scrambled
out the door, though it was not long before B.B. realized that he had left
his guitar behind. Out of devotion to the instrument (in addition to lacking
the funds to buy another guitar of the same quality), King charged back
into the collapsing structure to retrieve his property. That fire went
on to claim two lives. The following day, King learned that the fight had
begun over a woman by the name of Lucille. Intrigued by the drama of the
event, King named that guitar, and each he has owned since, after that
mysterious woman. He claims that by keeping the name alive, it will remind
him "never to do a thing like that again." B.B. King enjoyed his first
smash in 1952 with his recording of "Three O'clock Blues". The song reached
#1 on the R&B charts and dominated the slot for fifteen weeks! He was
now a nationally recognized blues musician preparing for a major U.S. tour.
Just as his professional career was skyrocketing, his personal life had
crashed and burned. His wife of eight years, Martha, knew of B.B.'s weakness
for adoring female fans, and her husband's tour allowed little time for
them to be together. She filed for divorce, inspiring B.B. to write another
hit "Woke Up This Morning". His concerts on tour were exceptional. Audiences
stared as King grimaced with every note of his solo, his face contorting
with each chord change. Blues Boy played his sets long and hard, sweating
profusely and jerking out tears due to the material's emotional content.
After the tour, he returned to Memphis as a bona fide star, attracting
the attention of another young lady. He married Sue Hall on June 4, 1958.
However, as in the case of his first marriage, the tensions of a musician's
life shook their life together apart. Divorced in 1966, B.B. answered with
another successful single (his biggest hit yet) "The Thrill Is Gone". Nevertheless,
while King was a phenomenon among black audiences, he had failed to break
the barrier between his blues and white America's musical interests. However,
in the mid-60's, when rock bands were in full swing, few could honestly
claim that the licks of B.B. King were not among their biggest influences.
Once white audiences were aware of his name, B.B.'s appearances on The
Ed Sullivan Show and other television broadcasts only increased his
visibility. Once white Middle America accepted B.B., his pathway to immortality
was secure. He has since become a member of the Blues Hall of Fame - 1984,
as well as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - 1987. King received a lifetime
achievement award at the Grammy's also in 1987, and can be found in the
Songwriter's Hall of Fame since 1990 as well. He earned a Presidential
Medal of the Arts in 1990, and an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Yale
University in 1995. |
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