King, B. B., 1925-2015

B.B. King was born Riley B. King in Itta Bena, Mississippi on September 16, 1925. His parents, Nora Ella and Albert L. King were sharecroppers on a cotton plantation. As a child, his guitar playing reverend introduced him to gospel music. After his mother's and grandmother's deaths left him on his own at the age of ten, Riley B. King began playing on street corners for dimes. He joined The Famous St. John's Gospel Singers as a singer and guitarist. However, he longed to visit Memphis, the home of his cousin and prominent bluesman, Bukka White.

The young Riley B. King hitchhiked to Memphis in the mid-1940s. His first big break came from WDIA radio in West Memphis, where he was given a weekly performance plugging the health tonic, Pepticon. In the early 1950s, King signed a contract with Modern Records and made his first recordings. The song, "Three O'Clock Blues," earned him a strong local reputation and he began touring nationwide. In 1956, his band played an incredible 342 one-night stands across the country. In the years following, King moved from the chitlin circuit of the south to concert halls, amphitheaters, and resort hotels. He played for audiences at the Howard Theater in Washington, the Royal Theater in Baltimore, and the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.

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