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| Birth Name(s) : Riley B. King |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Full B.B. King Biography
B. B. King (born Riley B. King on September 16, 1925) is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, widely considered one of the best and most respected blues musicians of all time. He was also ranked 3rd on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
In 1947, B. B. King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles based RPM Records. Many of King's early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records. King was also a disc jockey in Memphis, where he gained the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", later shortened to B. B.
In November 1964, King recorded the legendary Live at the Regal album at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois.B. B. King in concert in France (1989)
In 2003, King shared the stage with the rock band Phish in New Jersey, performing three of his classics and jamming with the band for over 30 minutes.
In June 2006, King was present at a memorialization of his first radio broadcast at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, where an official marker of the Mississippi Blues Trail was erected.
B. B. King also made an appearance at the Crossroads Guitar Festival put on by Eric Clapton. On the DVD he plays "Rock Me Baby" with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and Jimmie Vaughan.
Over the years more than 100 B. B. King concerts have been broadcast on radio and TV in many countries.
In June 2006, a groundbreaking was held for a new B. B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, Mississippi. The museum is scheduled to open May 1, 2008.
Aged 80 at the time, on March 29 2006, King played at the Sheffield's Hallam Arena. This was the first date of his UK and European farewell tour. He played this tour supported by ex-shredder/rocker turned bluesman Gary Moore, with whom King has previously toured and recorded, including the song "Since I Met You Baby". The British leg of the tour ended on April 4 with a final UK concert at Wembley Arena.
During a press conference on November 29th in São Paulo, a journalist asked King if that would be the actual farewell tour. He answered: "One of my favorite actors is a man from Scotland named Sean Connery. Most of you know him as James Bond, 007. He made a movie called "Never Say Never Again."
On July 28th 2007, B. B. King Played at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival with 20 other guitarists to raise money for the Crossroads Center, Antigua for addictive disorders.
According to a 2003 listing in Rolling Stone magazine, King is the greatest living guitarist, ranked 3rd among the "100 greatest guitarists of all time" (after the late Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman).
He has made guest appearances in numerous popular television shows, including "The Cosby Show," "The Young and the Restless," "General Hospital""," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Sesame Street", "Married With Children" and "Sanford and Son."
B. B. King is a licensed pilot, a known gambler, a vegetarian, non-drinker, and non-smoker. King has lived with diabetes for over ten years and is a visible spokesman in the fight against the disease, appearing in advertisements for diabetes-management products.
On January 26, 2007, while on tour, King was hospitalized in Galveston, Texas due to a low-grade (100.4°F) fever after a recent bout of influenza. He was released on January 27, after an overnight stay. He resumed his tour on January 30 in Texas and gave another 30 performances in the US.
Each year, during the first week in June, a B. B. King homecoming festival is held in Indianola, Mississippi.
It is frankly reported by King himself that he has fathered 15 children by 15 women over the course of his life: "About 15 times, a lady has said: 'It's either me or Lucille.' That's why I've had 15 children by 15 women."
King is a proponent of music education for children. In 2002, he signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock; a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and free lessons to children in public schools throughout the U.S.A. He sits on the organization's board of directors as an honorary member. |
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