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B B KING
Name...Riley B King
Born....16/9/1925,Mississippi,USA
Instruments...Guitar, Piano & Vocal
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B B King arrived in Memphis for the first time in 1946 to work as a musician but after finding it hard for several months he left to go back to Mississippi to prepare himself better for his next visit which was two years later.
Initially he worked as an R&B singer on a radio station WDIA. In 1949 he began recording songs under contract to LA based RPM records. King was also a DJ in Memphis where his nickname was "BLUES BOY" later shortened to "B B". |
In the fifties B B became one of the most important names in R&B amassing an impressive list of hits including.
- "You know I love you"
- "Woke up this mornin"
- "Please love me"
- "You upset me baby"
- "Every day I have the blues"
- "Bad luck"
- and "sweet little angel.
In 1962 B B signed up with ABC records which later became MCA and then on to his current label GEFFEN records. In the 80`s 90`s and 2000`s B B has recorded less and less yet throughout this time has remained highly visible with an active career appearing on numerous TV shows and performing 300 nights a year.
In 1988 B B reached a new generation of fans with the single "When love comes to town" which was a collaboration with Bono of the Irish band U2. In 2000 King teamed up with Eric Clapton to record "Riding with the King". At aged 80 B B played his UK farewell tour with Gary Moore.
In the business for over 52 years B B King has performed more than 15,000 times and has surely earned his title of one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
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Why does BB call his guitar Lucille since the fifties? Well it goes like this....in a juke joint one night where BB was playing a fight broke out between two guys over a woman,during the fight a kerosene burner that was in there to heat the place was knocked over,the place burst into flames so everyone ran outside. <br /> <br /> After running outside BB remembered he had left his guitar inside so he ran right back into the flames to retrieve his guitar. He later found out the name of the woman the fight was all over,yeah you guessed it guys, so now you know why BB`s guitar is called LUCILLE
Interesting facts you may not know about B B King.
B B King is a fully licensed pilot
He is known to be a big gambler
He is a vegetarian
He is a non drinker
He is a non smoker
He is a diabetic
His favourite singer is Frank Sinatra
The famous boxer Sonny Liston was B B`s Uncle
B B has fathered 15 children. |
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