Editing B. B. King (section)

=== 1949–2005 ===
[[File:B.B._King_Hamburg_1971.jpg|thumb|upright|King on stage in Hamburg 1971]]
[[File:BBKingNY.jpg|thumb|upright|King playing his favorite guitar, [[Lucille (guitar)|Lucille]], in the 1980s]]

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, King was a part of the blues scene on [[Beale Street]]. "Beale Street was where it all started for me," he said. He performed with [[Bobby Bland]], [[Johnny Ace]] and [[Earl Forest]] in a group known as [[the Beale Streeters]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-16-va-39316-story.html|title=King of the Hill : Up at CityWalk, blues and Delta cuisine spice up B.B. King's new Memphis-style club|last=Wharton|first=David|date=September 16, 1994|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

According to King and Joe Bihari, one of the founders of [[Modern Records]] and its subsidiaries, [[Ike Turner]] introduced King to the [[Bihari brothers]] while he was a talent scout for them.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Soul of the Man: Bobby "Blue" Bland|url=https://archive.org/details/soulmanbobbyblue00farl|url-access=limited|last=Farley|first=Charles|publisher=University Press of Mississippi.|year=2011|isbn=978-1604739190|page=[https://archive.org/details/soulmanbobbyblue00farl/page/n41 31]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The B.B. King Reader: 6 Decades of Commentary|last=Kostelanetz|first=Richard|publisher=Hal Leonard|year=2005|isbn=0-634-09927-2|editor1-last=Kostelanetz|editor1-first=Richard|edition=2nd|location=Milwaukee, WI|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bbkingreader6dec00kost/page/4 4, 7]|editor2-last=Reiswig|editor2-first=Jesse|url=https://archive.org/details/bbkingreader6dec00kost/page/4}}</ref> Before his RPM contract, King had debuted on [[Bullet Records]] by issuing the single "Miss Martha King" (1949), which did not chart well. "My very first recordings [in 1949] were<sup>[sic]</sup> for a company out of Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalled. "I had horns that very first session. I had [[Phineas Newborn]] on piano; his father played drums, and his brother, [[Calvin Newborn|Calvin]], played guitar with me. I had [[Tuff Green]] on bass, [[Ben Branch]] on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player. The Newborn family were the house band at the famous Plantation Inn in West Memphis."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bluesaccess.com/No_37/bb_talk.html| title=''Blues Access'' Interview| access-date=September 12, 2014}}</ref>
In 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based [[RPM Records (United States)|RPM Records]], a subsidiary of Modern. [[Sam Phillips]], who later founded [[Sun Records]], produced many of King's early recordings. 

King assembled his band, the B.B. King Review, under the leadership of Millard Lee. The band initially consisted of Calvin Owens and Kenneth Sands (trumpet), Lawrence Burdin (alto saxophone), [[George Coleman]] (tenor saxophone),<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=1078 |title=George Coleman: This Gentleman can PLAY |magazine=All About Jazz |access-date=February 17, 2010}}</ref> [[Floyd Newman]] (baritone saxophone), Millard Lee (piano), [[George Joyner]] (bass) and Earl Forest and Ted Curry (drums). King hired [[Onzie Horne]], a trained musician, to be an arranger and assist him with his compositions. By his admission, King could not play chords well and always relied on [[improvisation]].<ref>''U2 Rattle and Hum'' DVD, 1988.</ref>

King supported his recordings by touring across the United States with performances in major theaters in cities such as Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, and St. Louis, as well as numerous gigs in small clubs and [[juke joint]]s in the southern United States. During one show in [[Twist, Arkansas]], a brawl broke out between two men and caused a fire. He left the building with the rest of the crowd but ran back in to get his guitar. He said he later learned that the two men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. He named the guitar [[Lucille (guitar)|Lucille]] as a reminder not to fight over women, or run into any more burning buildings.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.worldblues.com/bbking/prairie/lucille.html |title=B.B. King: Lucille Speaks |last1=Kerekes |first1=Jim |last2=O'Neill |first2=Dennis |date=January 3, 1997 |archive-date=November 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116041531/http://www.worldblues.com/bbking/prairie/lucille.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Twist AR BB king Marker 1.jpg|thumb|upright|The story of a guitar named [[Lucille (guitar)|Lucille]] ]]

Following his first ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|Rhythm and Blues charted]] number one, "[[3 O'Clock Blues]]" (February 1952),<ref name="sawyer">{{cite web|url=http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=bbking&pageid=icb.page319115|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710183752/http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=bbking&pageid=icb.page319115|work=[[President and Fellows of Harvard College]]|title=B.B's Life {{!}} The Life of Riley|first=Charles|last=Sawyer|archive-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref> King became one of the most important names in [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] music in the 1950s, amassing an impressive list of hits<ref name=pc4>{{Pop Chronicles|4|4}}</ref> including "[[You Know I Love You (B.B. King song)|You Know I Love You]]", "Woke Up This Morning", "Please Love Me", "When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer", "Whole Lotta' Love", "You Upset Me Baby", "[[Every Day I Have the Blues]]", "Sneakin' Around", "Ten Long Years", "Bad Luck", "[[Sweet Little Angel]]", "On My Word of Honor", and "Please Accept My Love". This led to a significant increase in his weekly earnings, from about $85 to $2,500,<ref>Kostelanetz 1997, p. 146.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lime |first=Harry |date=May 27, 2019 |title=B.B. King : King of the Blues! |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzWfDwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Lulu.com]] |page=5 |isbn=9780244487645}}</ref> with appearances at major venues such as the [[Howard Theater]] in Washington and the [[Apollo Theater|Apollo]] in New York, as well as touring the "[[Chitlin' Circuit]]". 1956 became a record-breaking year, with 342 concerts booked and three recording sessions.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.bbking.com/bio/| publisher=BBKing.com| access-date=May 15, 2015| title=B.B. King Biography| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828034010/http://www.bbking.com/bio/| archive-date=August 28, 2008| url-status=dead}}</ref> That same year he founded his own record label, Blues Boys Kingdom, with headquarters at Beale Street in Memphis. There, among other projects, he was a producer for artists such as Millard Lee and Levi Seabury.<ref name = "Danchin"/> In 1962, King signed to [[ABC-Paramount Records]], which was later absorbed into [[MCA Records]] (which itself was later absorbed into [[Geffen Records]]). In November 1964, King recorded the ''[[Live at the Regal]]'' album at the [[Regal Theater, South Side (Chicago)|Regal Theater]].<ref name="sawyer"/> King later said that ''Regal Live'' "is considered by some the best recording I've ever had&nbsp;... that particular day in Chicago everything came together."<ref name=Kot>{{cite news | first=Greg| last=Kot| work=[[Chicago Tribune]]| title=King of the Blues| pages = 1, 5| date = May 16, 2015}}</ref>

From the late 1960s, his new manager, Sid Seidenberg, pushed him into a different type of venue as blues-rock performers like [[Eric Clapton]] (once a member of [[the Yardbirds]] and [[Cream (band)|Cream]]) and Paul Butterfield were bringing blues music to appreciative white audiences.<ref>{{cite news | last=McArdle |first=Terence |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/bb-king-mississippi-master-of-the-blues-dies-at-89/2015/05/15/36e7529a-c5da-11df-94e1-c5afa35a9e59_story.html |title=B.B. King, Mississippi-born master of the blues, dies at 89 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date= May 15, 2015|access-date=May 30, 2015}}</ref> King gained further visibility among rock audiences as an opening act on [[the Rolling Stones]]' [[The Rolling Stones American Tour 1969|1969 American Tour]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/b-b-king-dead-89-article-1.2223075| work=Daily News|location=New York| title=B.B. King Dead at 89: Blues guitarist whose sound defined music for generations passes away in sleep| first=Larry| last=McShane| date=May 15, 2015| access-date=May 15, 2015}}</ref> He won a [[Grammy Award]] in  1970 for his version of the song "[[The Thrill Is Gone]]" <ref>Rees, Dafydd & Crampton, Luke (1991). ''Rock Movers & Shakers'', ABC-CLIO, p. 287. {{ISBN|0-87436-661-5}}.</ref> which was a hit on both the Pop and R&B [[record chart|charts]]. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine listed it in the number 183 spot in their [[500 Greatest Songs of All Time]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.sunrecords.com/news/rolling-stone-magazine-lists-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time| agency=Sun Records| title=Rolling Stone Magazine Lists 500 Greatest Songs of All Time| date=July 15, 2010| access-date=May 15, 2015}}</ref>

King was inducted into the [[Blues Hall of Fame]] in 1980, the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1987, and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2014.<ref name="halloffame">{{cite web | url=https://rockhall.com/inductees/bb-king/bio/| publisher=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame| title=B.B. King Biography| access-date=May 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/blues-icon-bb-king-dead-age-89/story?id=30884850| agency=ABC News| title=Blues Icon B.B. King Dead at Age 89| last=Rothman| first=Michael| date=May 15, 2015| access-date=May 15, 2015}}</ref> In 2004, he was awarded the international [[Polar Music Prize]] which is given to artists "in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music."<ref name="Polar Music Prize">{{cite web | url=http://www.polarmusicprize.org/laureates/b-b-king/ |title=B.B. King: Laureate of the Polar Music Prize 2004 |work=[[Polar Music Prize]] |access-date=May 15, 2015}}</ref>

From the 1980s to his death in 2015, he maintained a highly visible and active career, appearing on numerous television shows and sometimes performing 300 nights a year. In 1988, he reached a new generation of fans with the single "[[When Love Comes to Town]]", a collaborative effort with the Irish band [[U2]] on their ''[[Rattle and Hum]]'' album.<ref name="sawyer"/> In December 1997, he performed in the Vatican's fifth annual Christmas concert and presented his trademark guitar "Lucille" to [[Pope John Paul II]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.itnsource.com/jp/shotlist/RTV/1997/12/18/712180027/?s=*| agency=ITN Source| title=B.B. King Gives His Prized Electric Guitar 'Lucille' to Pope John Paul II During a Private Audience| date=December 18, 1997| access-date=May 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1430832/bb-kings-lucille-to-the-pope-after-vatican-concert/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221211213/http://www.mtv.com/news/1430832/bb-kings-lucille-to-the-pope-after-vatican-concert/| url-status=dead| archive-date=December 21, 2015| title=BB. King's 'Lucille' to the Pope After Vatican Concert| publisher=MTV News|date=December 19, 1997| access-date=March 6, 2018| language=en}}</ref> In 1998, King appeared in ''[[Blues Brothers 2000|The Blues Brothers 2000]]'', playing the part of the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys along with [[Eric Clapton]], [[Dr. John]], [[Koko Taylor]] and [[Bo Diddley]]. In 2000, he and Clapton teamed up again to record ''[[Riding with the King (B.B. King and Eric Clapton album)|Riding With the King]]'' which won a [[Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/15/king-of-the-blues-blues-legend-bb-king-dead-at-age-89.html| agency=KUSI News |title='King of the Blues' blues legend B.B. King dead at age 89 |first=Ken |last=Ritter |date=May 15, 2015 |access-date=May 15, 2015 }}</ref>

Discussing where he took the Blues, from "dirt floor, smoke in the air" joints to grand concert halls, King said the Blues belonged everywhere beautiful music belonged. He successfully worked both sides of the commercial divide, with sophisticated recordings and "raw, raucous" live performances.<ref name=Kot/>