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B.B. King

by Dimitri from Franklin


Blues - why is it so famous and who are the pioneers? Well, I will tell you about one, my hero B.B. King and his guitar Lucille. I will tell their story and how they became who they are today.

My hero is B.B KING. He was born on September 16, 1925. His real name is Riley B. King. His mother's name was Nora Ella and his father's name was Albert King King. He "sang gospel music in church and even performed professionally with the Famous St. John Gospel Singers, but he was not allowed to sing the blues," which was considered "the devil's music.'' but he he still listened to blues. He became a dj at a radio station.

"One cold night in 1949, two men started fighting and knocked over the barrel of burning kerosene. The burning fuel spilled over the floor like a river of fire. Every one, including B.B., ran out the front door. Once outside, B.B. realized that he left his guitar, a Gibson acoustic, inside the inferno. He went back inside the collapsing building to save his guitar, almost losing his life in the process. The blaze that night claimed two fatalities.

The next morning, B.B. discovered why the two men were fighting the night before. It seems as though they were fighting over a lady, and although he never met the woman, B.B. learned her name was Lucille. B.B. named that guitar Lucille, and also every guitar he has owned since that night, 'to remind me never to do a thing like that again.'"

He is one of the pioneer blues singers. He gave to charity and was a spokes person for diabetes. One of his famous songs was The Thrill is Gone and he owns a chain line of restaurants and clubs around the U.S. His name is Riley B. King but they called him Blues Boy, which in short is B.B. Then he added his last name King.

The reason why he is my hero is because although he has diabetes, he still lives like there is nothing wrong and he helps with charities and shares his story with with the ones who want to know it.

Page created on 2/18/2010 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 2/18/2010 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

B.B. King - World Blues
B.B. King - Answers