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Friday September 15th, 2000
Happy Birthday B.B. King!
Happy birthday Riley "B. B." King, the undisputed and still reigning King of the Blues born September 16, 1925 in tiny Itta Bena, MS, just outside Indianola. "The legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century. A contemporary blues guitar solo without at least a couple of recognizable King-inspired bent notes is all but unimaginable, and he remains a supremely confident singer capable of wringing every nuance from any lyric," writes critic Bill Dahl in the All Music Guide. Raised on Country and gospel music while toiling as a sharecropper in the blues-rich Mississippi Delta, King now performs for millions of fans each year yet today remains "an intrinsically humble superstar, an utterly accessible icon who welcomes visitors into his dressing room with self-effacing graciousness," Dahl says.
King has been a Gibson guitarist since the 1940s. His Gibson, affectionately named Lucille, is almost as well known as King himself. B.B.'s personal touches on his signature model include the fine-tuner tailpiece, the semi-hollow body with no soundholes, 490R and 490T Alnico magnet humbucker pickups, and, of course, the name that has adorned his Gibsons throughout his career, Lucille. B.B. King also endorses his own signature set of guitar strings manufactured by Gibson Strings and Accessories.
B.B. King and Eric Clapton are celebrating the platinum certification of Riding With The King, their collaborative effort that debuted at Number Three on the Billboard charts when it was released earlier this summer. In fact, it's the first platinum album of King's nearly 50-year career.
King has long wanted to do a recording project with his old friend Clapton, but that it came together only after he saw Clapton on TV. "I was watching Larry King, and I heard Eric say he'd like to do a CD with me, and I'd been wanting to hear that for years," says B.B. "He had did a track, 'Rock With Me Baby,' with me on the CD Deuces Wild, so that's been some time [ago]. From that time on, I've wanted to do a CD with him. He's such a good guy--he's always doing things for people--so being a friend, I didn't want to push it, but I was glad when I heard him say he'd like to do it."
Go here to B.B. King's official home on the internet and then here to meet Lucille. Don't forget to wish B.B. a happy 75th birthday.
Photos by David Schenk/Gibson Guitar Corp.
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