B.B. King

B. B. King is an American blues musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of Blues". He is also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career appearing at 250-300 concerts per year until his seventies.

In 1949, King began recording songs and many of his early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records.

King would assemble his own band called the B.B. King Review, under the leadership of Millard Lee. In 1956, King  founded his own record label, Blues Boys Kingdom.

In the 1950s, B.B. King released a number of songs that became hits including "3 O'Clock Blues", "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." King would win a Grammy Award for "The Thrill Is Gone" and he was the an opening act on The Rolling Stones' 1969 American Tour. During the 1970s, he released the songs "To Know You is to Love You" and "I Like to Live the Love".

King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1988, King released the single "When Love Comes to Town" with U2 on their Rattle and Hum album. In 2000, King recorded "Riding With The King" with Eric Clapton. In 2004, he was awarded the international Polar Music Prize.

In October 2006, he recorded a concert CD and DVD, B.B. King: Live, at his B.B. King Blues Clubs in Nashville and Memphis. In 2007, King performed "One Shoe Blues" on the Sandra Boynton children's album Blue Moo. King contributed to Cyndi Lauper's album Memphis Blues, which was released in June  2010.

Over a period of 64 years, King has played in excess of 15,000 performances.