Born in 1925 in Itta Bena, Miss., King worked in cotton fields through the Depression, the period when he started learning the guitar. He worked as a disc jockey at the Memphis radio station WDIA in 1949, where he picked up the moniker "The Beale Street Blues Boy," which was shortened to B.B. He was influenced by jazz guitarist Charlie Christian, as well as countless other blues musicians including T-Bone Walker. King's version of Lowell Fulsom's "Three O'Clock Blues" was his first hit. Among the many songs he immortalized, "The Thrill Is Gone" is perhaps his most enduring. His 1965 and 1970 recordings, Live At The Regal and Indianola Mississppi Seeds inspired generations of rock guitarists and his duets with Bobby Blue Bland garnered a huge crossover audience. In 1993 he recorded a duet album, Blues Summit with numerous blues legends including John Lee Hooker Robert Cray.

Still on the road and recording for MCA, with Lucille in tow, B.B. King is still showing the world the blues is here to stay. —Eugene Holley