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B. B. King

File:Bbking.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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B. B. King

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American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter (1925–2015)

OverviewAI-generated

B.B. King, born Riley Ben King on September 16, 1925, in Berclair, Itta Bena, was an American guitarist, singer, singer-songwriter, and composer. He performed in the blues and rhythm and blues genres, utilizing the guitar, voice, and electric guitar, including his instrument named Lucille. King was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was recognized in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Hollywood Walk of Fame collections.

He received the Blues Hall of Fame, National Medal of Arts, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. King died of natural causes on May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas, with diabetes and stroke listed as the causes of death.

Synthesized by Vinony from 35 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, MusicBrainz, Firecrawl, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film & TV

Itta Bena, Mississippi, USA

Riley B. King, known as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter acclaimed for his expressive singing and fluid, complex guitar playing. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at #3 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Known for

  • B.B. King: The King of the blues Stuttgart - 1997 — vocals guitar2022
  • Nueva York: A Musical History of Latin New York — Self (archive footage)2021
  • Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) — Self (archive footage)2021
  • Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars — Self (archive footage)2018
  • B.B. King: On the Road — Himself2018
  • Monochrome: Black, White & Blue2017
  • Monochrome: Black, White & Blue — Self2017
  • Soundbreaking — Self2016
  • John Mayer: Someday I'll Fly — Self2014
  • In Performance BB King & The Guitar Legends2014

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Gender
Male
Country
United States
Active from
1925
Active to
2015

Discography

Member of

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Official website

bbking.com →

Link to the official site · not written by Vinony

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Family name
King
Gender
male
Citizenship
United States
Place of birth
Berclair
Place of death
Las Vegas
Occupation
pianist
Languages spoken
English language
Participant in
Live Aid
Field of work
blues
Genre
rhythm and blues
Instrument
Lucille
Discography
B.B. King discography
Official website
bbking.com
Image
Publicity photo of B.B. King. - j9602118s files 7f3e5875-55ee-4389-8eb0-53e6b59f1df3 (cropped).jpg
Voice type
tenor
Show 16 more facts
Commons category
B.B. King
date of birth
1925-09-16
topic's main category
Category:B. B. King
member of
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
date of death
2015-05-14
cause of death
stroke
manner of death
natural causes
Commons gallery
B. B. King
ethnic group
African Americans
start of work period
1949-00-00
birth name
Riley Ben King
name in native language
B. B. King
time period
20th century
end of work period
2014-00-00
on focus list of Wikimedia project
Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
medical condition
stuttering
Sources (10)

via Wikidata · CC0

~26 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B. B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato, and staccato picking that influenced many later electric guitar blues players. AllMusic recognized King as "the single most important electric guitarist of the last half of the 20th century".

King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and is one of the most influential blues musicians in history, earning the nickname "The King of the Blues", and is referred to as one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and Freddie King, none of whom are related). King performed tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing on average at more than 200 concerts a year into his 70s. In 1956 alone, he appeared at 342 shows.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “B. B. King” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (13)

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