The king of the blues: Celebrating B B King at 101

Today marks the 101st birth anniversary of Riley B King, born on 16 September 1925 on a cotton plantation in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Known to the world as B B King—the "Beale Street Blues Boy"—his journey from a sharecropper's son to an international icon redefined the electric guitar and brought the blues from the margins of the Mississippi Delta to the centre of the global stage.
King's career ignited in the late 1940s in Memphis, Tennessee, where he worked as a disc jockey at WDIA. It was here that he developed his sophisticated style of soloing, characterised by fluid string bending and a shimmering vibrato that would influence generations of rockers, from Eric Clapton to Jimi Hendrix. Central to his identity was his guitar, Lucille; famously named after a woman who sparked a fight that nearly burned down a dance hall in 1949, King risked his life to save the instrument from the flames.
His discography remains the definitive textbook of the blues. Throughout his career, he amassed 15 Grammy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award. His greatest hits became cultural touchstones, including:
The Thrill Is Gone (1969) – His signature crossover hit.
3 O'Clock Blues (1951) – His first national R&B number one.
When Love Comes to Town (1988) – A legendary collaboration with U2.
B B King passed away on 14 May 2015 in Las Vegas, aged 89. However, his legacy remains vibrant. He didn't just play the blues; he dignified them, proving that a single, well-placed note could carry more emotion than a thousand chords. Today, as we celebrate his birth, his "Lucille" still echoes in every blues-rock riff heard across the world.