Riley “B.B.” King has been called the “King of the Blues” and “Ambassador of the Blues.” He is arguably the genre’s most recognizable and influential artist. He has been one of the hardest working musicians of all time and has consistently logged between 200-300 shows a year, even well into his seventies.
Here are some interesting facts about B.B. King:
1. His real name is Riley B. King. (bbking.com)
2. King was born to a family of poor sharecroppers on a plantation near the small town of Itta Bena in the Mississippi Delta. (Academy of Achievement)
3. King is a licensed pilot. (bbking.com)
4. King has earned 15 Grammy awards, has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and has received a lifetime achievement award due to his contributions in music. (CNN)
5. In 1956, King and his band played 342 shows. (bbking.com)
6. After a fire broke out at a dance club in Arkansas, King ran out of the building forgetting his guitar. He went back in to go get it. He later found out that two men fighting over a woman named Lucille had knocked over a kerosene heater that started the fire, he named the guitar Lucille, “to remind myself never to do anything that foolish.” (CNN)
7. He claims to have fathered over 15 children with many different women. (CNN)
8. King served in World War 2. (Bio)
9. King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. (Bio)
10. As a young musician, King studied recordings by both blues and jazz guitarists, including T-Bone Walker, Charlie Christian, and Django Reinhardt. (RollingStone)
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