Blues Legend B.B. King Is Dead at Age 89

Sad news, Blues legend B.B. King has died at age  89. King, rose from poverty on a Mississippi Delta cotton plantation to become one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century and an ambassador for American blues music.

He died in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas late Thursday, the Associated Press said, citing his attorney, Brent Bryson.


The death was confirmed by the Clark County coroner, the report said. King said on his website on May 1 that he was in hospice care at home.

With an electric guitar he named Lucille, King developed a signature style -- single-note solos, left-hand vibrato and bent strings simulating a human cry -- that beginning in the 1960s inspired a younger generation of blues and rock guitarists from Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck in the U.K. to Jimi Hendrix, Michael Bloomfield and Stevie Ray Vaughan in the U.S.

“Every guitar player in the world should stand up when B.B.’s name is mentioned,” Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy said in 1997, when King was presented with the Blues Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award.



Goodbye Legend.