The Thrill Is Gone, As BB King Dies At 89

BB King passed away quietly in his sleep on May 14th 2015. He was 89 years old. Mr King had been suffering from acute symptoms of type 2 diabetes that led to several strokes. Mr king had continued to perform despite being in hospice care for his failing health. He stopped touring in October 2014 after suffering from dehydration and exhaustion.

He was born Riley B King on September 16th 1925, in Itta Bena, Mississippi. As the son of a sharecropper, he picked cotton in his youth. Growing up, his dream was to become a Gospel singer and learned guitar from his pastor. As a teen, he made the decision to hitchhike to Memphis where he played music on the street.

After playing for a year, he was asked to play on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program. After playing at local night spots, Mr King became a DJ at the black owned radio station in Memphis, WDIA. It was there that he earned the nickname, Beale Street Blues Boy, which was later shortened to Blues Boy.

He made his first recording in 1949 and went on to have a string of Blues hits while signed to a long term contract with Kent/RPM/Modern, including, "Three O'Clock Blues." That song reached number one on the R&B charts and became his first national hit. In 1951, on the strength of that number one hit, Mr King went on his first national tour. It was while he was in New York that he shortened his name to BB.

While he remained popular with black audiences in the 50's, it wasn't until the mid sixties, that things began to change. A new group of young rock artists, which included George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix, began to attribute their playing styles to Mr King's influence. In fact, Mr King once noted that it was his performance at the Filmore West in San Fransisco, that opened the doors to his commercial success.

In 1969, he released what became his biggest hit, "The Thrill Is Gone." From there he went on to tour around the world, doing 300 or more shows a year. Over the course of his career he won 18 Grammy Awards, the Presidential Medal of the Arts, and the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2000, he released the double platinum, "Riding With The King," recorded with Eric Clapton.

Mr King is survived by 11 children. After a memorial service in Las Vegas on May 23rd, Mr King's body will be taken to Memphis on May 27th, for a procession down Beale St to Handy Park. Public viewing will take place on May 29th at the BB King Museum in Indianola, Mississippi. His funeral will take place on May 30th at the Bell Grove M.B. Church, also in Indianola.