B.B. King, the King of the Blues, dies at 89

B.B. King, who defined the blues for generations of musicians, has died. He was 89.

His attorney, Brent Bryson, told The Associated Press Friday morning that the King of the Blues died at his Las Vegas home Thursday night at 9:40 p.m. local time. Funeral arrangements are already underway and the Clark County Coroner confirmed King’s death.

Patty King, King’s daughter, also told CNN that her father died.

King, who had Type II Diabetes, had been in declining health since late last year. He was hospitalized last October after collapsing during a Chicago concert. He was hospitalized again in April and had been in hospice care at his Las Vegas home.

King was born Riley B. King on Sept. 16, 1915 in Berclair, Mississippi, reports The New York Times. By age 14, he was living on his own and was sharecropping cotton to earn a living. But in November 1941, he heard King Biscuit Time, the first radio station to air the Mississippi Delta blues and King was hooked.

After serving in the war and getting married, King moved to Memphis, where he was a disc jockey and earned the nickname Blues Boy, shortened to B.B. In December 1951, he released “Three O’Clock Blues,” which became a No. 1 single on the R&B charts.

King and his first wife got divorced after eight years and his second marriage, to Sue Hall, also ended after eight years. His response to that second divorce, “The Thrill Is Gone,” became his biggest commercial success in 1969. Suddenly, the blues was back in, although he would never have another hit that big.

Despite that, his influence was never far from the minds of blues and rock musicians. His guitar playing and vocals made it hard to forget his work. The sound of Lucille isn’t going to fade away any time soon, even if she’s not going to be played by King.

"The world has physically lost not only one of the greatest musical people ever but one of the greatest people ever," Smokey Robinson told the AP. "Enjoy your eternity."

image via INFphoto.com