“King of blues”, guitarist and singer B.B. King died at age 89 in his sleep at home in Las Vegas.
Due to diabetes caused health issues, King was hospitalised several times since last October when a part of his American tour had to be canceled. In recent years this artist played 100 concerts a year and in past years this number used to rise up to 300. It is assumed that B.B. King has played more then 10.000 concerts since the 1940’s when he started performing.
He was born in 1925 in Mississippi as Riley B. King, he was awarded 15 Grammys and five honorary doctorate titles by five respected American educational institutions like Berklee, Yale and Brown University.
King is considered one of greatest guitarists of all times. His hit singles have been evergreens for decades, influencing various generations of musicians. He recorded more then 50 albums, sold millions of records and with Lucile, his guitar, he made songs from Every Day I Have the Blues to When Love Comes to Town or The Thrill is Gone.
An exceptional documentary about his life was released three years ago for which King collaborated closely with the director Jon Brewer for two years. He thought it was the right time to tell his, until then, untold story, in the movie The Life of Riley, B.B. King with his family, friends and contemporaries revealing details from the life of the great artist, narrated by actor Morgan Freeman.