B.B. King is a singular blues guitarist. He is instantly recognizable in a genre of music that has for hundreds of years relied on generally the same chord structure and patterns. Why? Because B.B.

From ZZ Top to Jimmy Page to Susan Tedeschi, B.B. King has been a significant influence on rock and blues artists who came after him. Yet, when we think of the most ubiquitous musicians of either ...

B.B. King, born Riley B. King on Sept. 16, 1925, in Itta Bena, Mississippi, was an icon in music history. With his groundbreaking guitar playing and soulful voice, King became a global ambassador of ...

As I drive my rented Dodge Hornet south on Highway 61 across the flat Mississippi Delta, the region’s famous native son B.B. King croons “Why I Sing the Blues” on the radio. Music that sprung from ...

When B.B. King passed away in 2015 at the age of 89, he left behind a challenge. “Do what you can to keep the blues alive,” he often told those who crossed his path. Today, on what would have been ...

This September, Memphis will sing the blues in the most joyful way possible: by celebrating the 100th birthday of B.B. King. Born September 16, 1925, his music transcended genres, inspiring ...

Sept. 16, 2025, will be a milestone in the history of Memphis and American music, as it marks what would have been B.B. King’s 100th birthday. To all who ever heard him play, King was the one true ...

In what would have been B.B. King’s 100 th birthday month, CU Boulder music scholar Shawn O’Neal considers how the legends of blues can be heard in even the fizziest pop of 2025 B.B. King was born to ...

REUTERS - Guitarist Eric Clapton remembered the B.B. King album that inspired him as a young musician and Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton recalled the thrill of performing with the "King of ...

SIOUX CITY -- For many generations of music lovers, B.B. King was never simply "The King of the Blues." Instead, Riley B. King, the Itta Bena, Mississippi-born son of sharecroppers, was often the only ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Pam Windsor lives in Nashville, Tennessee and writes about music. It’s been a little over a decade since the death of B.B. King, ...