A Music Legend is gone

A music Legend, B.B. King is dead. He died at the age of 89 in Las Vegas.

B.B. King died peacefully in his sleep at 9:40 p.m. Thursday at his home.

King got his start in radio with a gospel quartet in Mississippi, but soon moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where a job as a disc jockey at WDIA gave him access to a wide range of recordings. He studied the great blues and jazz guitarists, including Django Reinhardt and T-Bone Walker, and played live music a few minutes each day as the "Beale Street Blues Boy," later shortened to B.B.

He brought new fans to the blues and influenced a generation of musicians with his heartfelt vocals and soaring guitar on songs such as "The Thrill Is Gone."


B.B. King sold millions of records worldwide. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1984, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Songwriters Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush, gave a guitar to Pope John Paul II and had President Barack Obama sing along to his "Sweet Home Chicago."
         Other Grammy awards included best male rhythm 'n' blues performance in 1971 for "The Thrill Is Gone," best ethnic or traditional recording in 1982 for "There Must Be a Better World Somewhere" and best traditional blues recording or album several times. His final Grammy came in 2009 for best blues album for "One Kind Favor."

Through it all, King modestly insisted he was simply maintaining a tradition.