Forgot account? [107] Two of his daughters alleged that King was deliberately poisoned by two associates trying to induce diabetic shock,[108] however an autopsy showed no evidence of poisoning. King was poisoned, his daughters claim", "Coroner: No Evidence B.B. A defamation suit filed by Johnson against the accusing family members (including his own sister, Karen Williams) is pending. Create New Account. BB King “The Life Of Riley” is the much-lauded feature documentary film on the extraordinary life of Blues legend B.B. Blues Clubs. Community. [10][44] In 2004, he was awarded the international Polar Music Prize, given to artists "in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music. Log In. About See All. john mayer . This is the second part of Les’ piece on BB King; you can read the first part here. King Hospitalized in Las Vegas", "Boldness, Branding and B.B. The video of the four-night production featured his regular B.B. [65], On February 21, 2012, King was among the performers of "In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues," during which President Barack Obama sang part of "Sweet Home Chicago". He played guitars made by various manufacturers early in his career. Jenny Moody Senior reporter. "I had horns that very first session. [76], In 1991, Beale Street developer John Elkington recruited B.B. [22], He worked at WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, where he was given the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", later shortened to "Blues Boy", and finally to B.B. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato and staccato picking that influenced many later blues electric guitar players. King died at the age of 89 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 14, 2015. Because the night life, It ain't no good life but it's my life Yeah, yeah, yeah listen to the blues, Listen to what they're sayin' Oh, please listen to the blues, Listen to the blues they're playin' Ah, ah, all of the people just like you and me, They're all dreamin' about their old used to … Forgot account? King Together Again...Live, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=B.B._King&oldid=1015282324, Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners, United States National Medal of Arts recipients, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using Template:Infobox musical artist with unknown parameters, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Articles with Encyclopædia Britannica links, Wikipedia articles with CANTIC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 1973: Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from, Each year during the first week in June, a King Homecoming Festival is held in, This page was last edited on 31 March 2021, at 16:29. //, Sorry, we have to make sure you're a human before we can show you this page. King Coroner's Report: No Evidence of Poisoning", "B.B. 1956 became a record-breaking year, with 342 concerts booked and three recording sessions. Entertainment. [71][105][106] King died in his sleep on May 14, 2015, at the age of 89,[18] from vascular dementia caused by a series of small strokes as a consequence of his type 2 diabetes. Night Life Lyrics: When that ev'nin' sun goes down / Yeah, you'll find me hangin' around / Because the night life / It ain't no good life but it's my life / Yeah, yeah, yeah listen to the blues [74] In 1980, Gibson Guitar Corporation launched the B.B. They had a good sound and they were durable; guys would throw them in the truck and they’d hold up. King: Biography and Much More from", "B.B. or. or. BB King and John Mayer at Guitar Center's King of the Blues 2006. video. [58] Also in 2008, he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. Riley B. In 2000, he and Clapton teamed up again to record Riding With the King, which won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. Elsewhere in the United States the crisis in the penal system remained. Several of them also went public with the allegation that King's business manager, LaVerne Toney, and his personal assistant, Myron Johnson, had fatally poisoned him. This led to a significant increase in his weekly earnings, from about $85 to $2,500,[36][37] with appearances at major venues such as the Howard Theater in Washington and the Apollo in New York, as well as touring the "Chitlin' Circuit".