Welcome again bluescluster fans, and as usual every Friday we prepare blues menu for a famous blues artist and today we dedicate it to one of the blues legends, the one, and the only BB KING or Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer, electric guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. King introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that influenced many later electric blues guitarists.
King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of the Blues", and one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" along with Albert King and Freddie King. King was known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at more than 200 concerts per year on average into his 70s.  In 1956 alone, he reportedly appeared at 342 shows.
King was born on a cotton plantation in Berclair, Mississippi, and later worked at a cotton gin in Indianola, Mississippi. He was attracted to music and the guitar in church, and began his performance career in juke joints and local radio. He later lived in Memphis, Tennessee, and Chicago, and toured the world extensively. 






Awards and nominations




Years reflect the year in which the Grammy was awarded, for music released in the previous year.
Grammy Awards
YearCategoryWorkResult
1971Best Male R&B Vocal Performance"The Thrill Is Gone"Won
1981Best R&B Instrumental Performance"When I'm Wrong"Nominated
1982Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording"There Must Be a Better World Somewhere"Won
1983Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals"Street Life"Nominated
1984Best Traditional Blues RecordingBlues 'n JazzWon
1986My Guitar Sings the BluesWon
1991Live at San QuentinWon
1991Best Country Collaboration with Vocals"Waiting on the Light to Change"Nominated
1992Best Traditional Blues AlbumLive at the ApolloWon
1994Blues SummitWon
1995Best Country Collaboration with Vocals"Patches"Nominated
1997Best Rock Instrumental Performance"SRV Shuffle"Won
1999Best Contemporary Blues AlbumDeuces WildNominated
2000Best Traditional Blues AlbumBlues on the BayouWon
2001Best Traditional Blues AlbumRiding with the KingWon
2001Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals"Is You or Is You Ain't (Baby)"Won
2003Best Traditional Blues AlbumA Christmas Celebration of HopeWon
2003Best Pop Instrumental Performance"Auld Lang Syne"Won
2005Best Traditional R&B Performance"Sinner's Prayer" (with Ray Charles)Nominated
2006Best Traditional Blues AlbumB. B. King & Friends: 80Won
2009Best Traditional Blues AlbumOne Kind FavorWon

Other awards

YearAssociationCategoryWorkResult
1995Country Music AssociationAlbum of the YearRhythm, Country and Blues ("Patches" with George Jones)Nominated
2002NAACP Image AwardsOutstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series or SpecialSesame StreetNominated

B.B. King receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush, December 2006

Other honors

  • 1977: Honorary Doctor of Music by Yale University
  • 1980: Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame
  • 1987: Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
  • 1987: Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
  • 1990: The National Medal of Arts
  • 1991: The National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA 
  • 1995: The Kennedy Center Honors; given to recognize "the lifelong accomplishments and extraordinary talents of our nation's most prestigious artists"
  • 1998: Grammy Hall of Fame Award for "The Thrill is Gone"; the award is given to recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"
  • 2004: The Royal Swedish Academy of Music awarded him the Polar Music Prize for his "significant contributions to the blues"
  • 2006: The Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by President George W. Bush on December 152007: An honorary doctorate in music by Brown University (May 27)
  • 2008: The keys to the city of Portland, Maine (May 14)
  • 2009: Time named King No. 3 on its list of the 10 best electric guitarists
  • 2010: Sabrosa Park (in the small town of Sabrosa, north of Portugal) was renamed B.B. King Park in honor of King and the free concert he played before 20,000 people on May 29
  • Each year during the first week in June, a King Homecoming Festival is held in Indianola, Mississippi
  • A Mississippi Blues Trail marker was added for King, commemorating his birthplace

Illness and death

After the cancellation of the remaining eight shows of his 2014 tour because of health problems, King announced on October 8, 2014, he was back at home to recuperate. On May 1, 2015, after two hospitalizations caused by complications from high blood pressure and diabetes, King announced on his website that he was in hospice care at his home in Las VegasNevada. He died in his sleep on May 14, 2015, at the age of 89.
King's cause of death was determined to be multi-infarct dementia, brought on by a series of small strokes caused by atherosclerotic vascular disease as a consequence of type 2 diabetes. However, two of his daughters alleged that King was deliberately poisoned by two associates trying to induce diabetic shock. The Clark County coroner's office confirmed on May 25, 2015, that it was performing an autopsy on King's body and conducting a homicide investigation with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, although CNN reported that initial indications did not support the notion of foul play. The autopsy revealed King's death was of complications of Alzheimer's disease and congestive heart failure, with no evidence of poisoning.

BB KING BEST BLUES VIDEOS 






BLUESCLUSTER BBKING T-SHIRT




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