BB King Dead At 89
Blues legend B.B. King has died in Las Vegas aged 89, his lawyer confirmed on Thursday.
Attorney Brent Bryson said King died peacefully in his sleep at 9:40 p.m. PDT at his Clark County home in Las Vegas.
King, known as the 'King Of Blues', sold millions of records worldwide, won 15 Grammys and was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
King was born Riley B. King in 1925 in Mississippi, Tennessee, where he was inspired to take up guitar by a pastor in his church.
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.
King played a Gibson guitar (a 1963 Gibson ES-355 Electric Guitar) that he affectionately called Lucille and was recognized as a mentor to scores of guitarists including Eric Clapton.
A self-taught guitarist, King entered the industry as a disc jockey after serving in World War II and released his first single Three O'Clock Blues in 1949.
He was named BB from being nicknamed 'Beale Street Blues Boy' and called each of his guitars 'Lucille' after witnessing two men fight over a woman of the same name.
Guitarist BB was married twice - both of which ended by the mid-1960s - and succeeded 11 living children and 50 grandchildren.
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