"And now that it's all over, all I can do is wish you well," sang B.B. King in his 1969 hit "The Thrill is Gone." Last night, the truest thrill of all, King himself, died in Las Vegas after two weeks in hospice care. He was 89 years old.
Born Riley B. King on a cotton plantation in Mississippi, the future "King of the Blues" learned to sing gospel as a young man and found his way to the guitar at age 12. Migrating around the Deep South, King finally landed in Memphis and earned himself the nickname "B.B." – which stood for "Blues Boy" – after he debuted his own unique blend of Delta blues and accessible, modern musical themes, exposing the genre to thousands who'd never heard it. "The blues was bleeding the same blood as me," he said.
Throughout the 1950s, King's star continued to rise in clubs throughout the US, one year playing more than 300 shows (a trend that would continue into his 70s). Along the way, he started his own record label and landed a handful of singles, including "3 O'Clock Blues," "You Know I Love You," and "Please Love Me," at number one on the Billboard R&B charts. Of course, by his side through it all was his famous black Gibson ES-355, "Lucille," named after a woman who sparked a fight between two men who knocked over a kerosene lantern and set a club in which King was performing ablaze. King ran back inside for his instrument, but gave it its infamous moniker to remind himself "not to fight over women and not to run into any more burning buildings."
King's unique brand of blues was a driving influence on bands like the Rolling Stones, who brought him along on their 1969 tour; Stevie Ray Vaughn; U2; and Eric Clapton, who recorded an album, Riding With the King, with him in 2000. In 1970, he won his first-ever Grammy for "The Thrill..." and added to his collection throughout the '80s, '90s, and into the new millennium. In 1987, he was part of the second class of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was honored with a Grammy lifetime achievement award the same year.
Retirement, King said, was never in his vocabulary. He kept up with his rigorous touring schedule until he unexpectedly fell ill at a concert in Chicago last fall, prompting his team to cancel the rest of his appearances. A well-known spokesperson for Type II diabetes, King was hospitalized for dehydration and never reemerged.
An influence across many generations, King always insisted he wasn't a "blues guitar man," but a "blues singer," when in fact, he was much more, including a philanthropist, veteran, and certified pilot. His dynamic presence both on and off the stage will be missed, but his ubiquitous musical influence bleeds into seemingly every note on the radio. Maybe the thrill is never really gone after all.
Rest in peace, B.B. King. Your legacy will live on forever. pic.twitter.com/rBktkP9jCN
— Gibson Guitar (@gibsonguitar) May 15, 2015