Blues legend B.B. King has passed away at the age of 89.
King was admitted to hospice care in Las Vegas on May 1 with complications from high blood pressure and diabetes.
The legend born Riley B. King was born in Mississippi on September 25, 1925. King learnt his craft by listening to Blind Lemon Jefferson and T-Bone Walker and in 1949 scored his first record contract with RPM Records.
His debut song was a single ‘Miss Martha King’ in 1949.
B.B. King recorded dozens of blues songs that went on to become classics such as ‘Every Day I Have The Blues;, ‘The Thrill Is Gone’, ‘Every Day I Have The Blues’, ‘Into The Night’,
In 1970 ‘The Thrill Is Gone’ earned him his first Grammy Award.
He went on to have a Top 40 hit in 1985 with his theme song from ‘Into The Night’, the comedy thriller starring Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Then in 1988 the music of B.B. King was introduced to a whole new audience when U2 collaborated with him on ‘When Loves Comes To Town’ from the Rattle and Hum album.
King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2004 he was awarded the Polar Music Prize.
It is estimated that over 64 years of live performance B.B, King played over 15,000 shows.
King will be remembered as one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time.
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