Blues Boy King

Riley B. King better known as B.B. King was born on September 16th 1925 to a family of sharecropping farmers near a small town named Itta Bena in the Mississippi Delta. King’s parents Albert and Nora Ella King separated when he was five years old and shortly after his mother moved to Kilmicheal Mississippi where Riley spent most of his time living with is grandmother. By age seven King was now working the field like a grown man. A couple of years later at the age of nine his mother died. King continued to live with his grandmother after his mother had past away. His grandmother was very religious and he attended church services with her. It was in the church where King begins to take an interest in music. He had dreams of becoming a gospel singer and learned how to play basic notes on the guitar from his preacher. In 1940 King’s grandmother died and he had trouble making ends meet and eventually went to live with his father. (The King of Blues)

In his teens King moved back to the Delta and one of his employers loaned him money so he can purchase his first guitar. He continued to teach himself by using mail-order instruction books. King was eventually able to land a skilled job at the time as a tractor driver. When he wasn’t working he was a street performer “he sang for small change on street corners in the nearby towns, sometimes visiting as many as four towns in a single evening”. (Academy of Achievement)

King had to register for the draft in 1944 but was deferred because he got married to his first wife later on that year; also his employer had applied to the draft board on his behalf for occupational deferment. (The King of Blues)

After being released from the military King had plans of leaving plantation life for the big city. He tried to convince members of small gospel groups he sung with to join him but realized if he was going to make it big he’d have to do it on his own. He eventually left Mississippi and hitchhiked to Memphis with $2.50 in his pocket. When King arrived in Memphis in 1946 he stayed with his cousin Bukka White who was a well known blues-man. His cousin helped him get started and taught him the ins and outs of the blues.

In 1948 King got his first big break when he got the opportunity to perform on Sonny Boy William’s radio show. This led to him playing regularly at popular night clubs in Memphis and eventually landing his own radio show called the Sepia Swing Club on a black owned radio station. “Now that he was a DJ, Riley needed a catchy name. He started out as the "Beale Street Blues Boy," later he changed it to "Blues Boy King," and finally shortened it to the now famous "B.B. King." (The King of Blues)

In 1949 he recorded his first song and released five singles by the end of the year. He signed a long term recording contract with Modern Records and begin to play in different spots throughout the region.

During the mid 1950’s “He was playing at a dance in Twist, Arkansas when a fight broke out on the dance floor. A kerosene lantern fell over and the wooden building caught on fire. At first, King fled along with the crowd, but he dashed back into the burning building to rescue his cherished guitar and barely escaped alive. When he learned the men were fighting over a woman named Lucille, he gave the name to his guitar to commemorate his close call. Ever since, he has called every one of his trademark Gibson guitars "Lucille." (Academy of Achievement)

Shortly after B.B’s number one hit “Three O’clock blues”, B.B. started touring nationally. He played in some of the biggest black theaters in the country such as New York’s Apollo Theater, and Washington D.C.’s Howard Theater. In1956 he played 342 one night stands.

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