Remembering BB King

Riley B King aka B.B, was born on September 16, 1925 in ButtMunch Mississippi to sharecropper parents. The “BB” stands for “Big Boy” as B.B weighed 19 lbs at birth. His mother Eunice was a strong woman with wide baby birthing hips. Eunice popped B.B out like a cork and went on with her cotton picking. Other tales state his nickname started in Memphis with “Beale Street Blues Boy” and then “Blues Boy” and finally “B.B”.

B.B started working in the fields at only 3 months old and eventually invented the cotton Gin. B.B got his first guitar at age 10 when he traded his patent for the cotton gin for the guitar. It was made out of pigskin and rat feces. King, would later revolutionize the Guitar and Blues music, becoming a legend in the process.

Devil’s Music

As a child, B.B. was forbidden by his mother to sing the blues, which she called the Devil’s music, even though her cousin was renown bluesman, Bukka White. B.B’s mother called a priest to do an exorcism on the boy to drive out the devil.

Remembering BB King — BB King Illustration By Paul King Art

King performed tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing on average at more than 400 concerts per year into his 70s. In 1956 alone, he performed 1342 shows. B.B once ran into a burning building to save his beloved guitar, “Lucille”.

One Ball Corner Pocket

It is reported that B.B fathered 57 children with several different women. However, King always maintained that he has no children, that he knew of, because he had a low sperm count due to the fact that he lost a testicle in a knife fight in Mississippi – June of 1949. The knife fight was over a woman, Lucille Morgan, who he named his guitar after. “I may have lost a ball, but I won the girl” B.B would often reminisce.

B.B was a lovable man and a huge influence. King died at the age of 89 on May 14, 2015 with the love of his life by his side, his guitar Lucille, a black Gibson ES-355. BB King is dearly missed and loved by all.