Blues legend, BB King, has died in Las Vegas at the age of 89, his lawyer confirmed.
Brent Bryson told the Associated Press King died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday at his home in Las Vegas. The Clark County coroner, John Fudenberg, confirmed the death.
The one-time farmhand brought new fans to the blues and influenced a generation of musicians with his heartfelt vocals and soaring guitar on songs such as “The Thrill is Gone” (The Guardian.)
Nicknamed the King of the Blues, he sold millions of records worldwide and was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was awarded his 15th Grammy in 2009 in the traditional blues album category for One Kind Favor.
King’s eldest surviving daughter, Shirley, said she was upset she didn’t have a chance to see her father before he died.
Although he had continued to perform well into his 80s, King suffered from diabetes and had been in declining health during the past year. He collapsed during a concert in Chicago last October, later blaming dehydration and exhaustion. He had been in hospice care at his Las Vegas home.
For most of a career spanning nearly 70 years, Riley B King was a mentor to scores of guitarists, including Eric Clapton, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, John Mayall and Keith Richards. He recorded more than 50 albums and toured the world well into his 80s, often performing 250 or more concerts a year.
King played a Gibson guitar he affectionately called Lucille with a style that included beautifully crafted single-string runs punctuated by loud chords, subtle vibratos and bent notes. He didn’t like to sing and play at the same time, so he developed a call-and-response between himself and Lucille.
A preacher uncle taught King to play, and he honed his technique while living in abject poverty in the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of the blues.
King was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1984, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Songwriters Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W Bush, gave a guitar to Pope John Paul II and had President Barack Obama sing along to his Sweet Home Chicago.
King had 15 biological and adopted children. Family members say 11 survive. More Entertainment Stories
