Artist
B.B. King
About B.B. King
"We all have idols. Play like anyone you care about but try to be yourself while you're doing so."
- Born Riley Ben King on Sept. 16, 1925, in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Died May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada
- B.B. King issued his debut album, Singin' The Blues, in 1956. His first album to break the Top 40 on the Billboard 200 was 1969's Completely Well. The album featured the highest charting hit of his career, a reworking of "The Thrill Is Gone," which reached No. 15.
- King won his first career GRAMMY for 1971 for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male for "The Thrill Is Gone." He performed five times on the GRAMMY telecast, including his GRAMMY performance debut at the 28th GRAMMY Awards in 1986 and taking part in a tribute to Bo Diddley at the 51st GRAMMY Awards in 2009.
- King earned his nickname through work as a disc jockey for the Memphis radio station WDIA-AM, where his on-air nickname was "Beale Street Blues Boy." The tag was shortened to "Blues Boy," then ultimately "B.B."
- King's classic 1965 album, Live At The Regal, was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 2006. He received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987.
- King was on the board of directors for Little Kids Rock, a charity organization that provides musical instruments and instruction to disadvantaged public school students throughout the United States.
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