The Thrill Is Gone

B.B. King passed away yesterday, Thursday, May 14, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He was born Riley B. King on September 16, 1925 in Berclair, Mississippi, near the small town of Itta Bena.

In 1950, while working as a DJ for radio station WDIA in Memphis, Tennessee, King was known as the “Beale Street Blues Boy.” That title was shortened first to “Blues Boy,” and then became simply, “B.B.”

B.B. King made his first record, “Miss Martha King,” for Bullet Records in 1949. His first Number 1 hit on the Billboard magazine Rhythm & Blues chart was “3 O’Clock Blues,” released on RPM records in 1951.

B.B. King’s forty-second and last studio album was One Kind Favor. This extraordinary album came out on August 26, 2008 on Geffen Records.

B.B. King was, and forever will be, The King of The Blues.

No question.

Long live The King. Long live the Blues.

About sixstrstories

I am the son and only child of a registered nurse & a self-employed collector of wildflowers. I went on to become: a Beatles’ fan; a record collector; a drummer; a music magazine subscriber; a guitar player; a songwriter; a high school graduate; a college student; a music major; a performing singer/guitarist; a photography student; a yearbook photographer; a student teacher; a boyfriend; a letter writer; a college graduate; an elementary school music teacher; an apartment dweller; a husband; a guitar teacher/independent contractor; a homeowner; an independent music producer; the father of a daughter; the father of a son; a bandmate; a teacher of the history of popular music in America; an instructor of music/adjunct faculty member; a grandfather (x3); a condo dweller; and a blogger.

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