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'''B.B. King's Bluesville.
On December 1, 2008, King performed at the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown, Maryland. On December 3, King and John Mayer were the closing act at the 51st Grammy Nomination Concert, playing "Let the Good Times Roll" by Louis Jordan. On December 30, 2008, King played at The Kennedy Center Honors Awards Show; his performance was in honor of actor Morgan Freeman.
Over a period of 52 years, B.B. King has played in excess of 15,000 performances.
B.B. King's Blues ClubIn 1991, B.B. King's Blues Club opened on Beale Street in Memphis, and in 1994, a second club was launched at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles. A third club in New York City's Times Square opened in June 2000. Two further clubs opened at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in January 2002 and another in Nashville in 2003.A club in West Palm Beach is due to open in the fall of 2009 and an additional one, based in the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, is due to open in the winter of 2009.
PhilanthropyIn 2001, King signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underserved public schools throughout the US. He sits on LKR's Honorary Board of Directors.
TV appearancesB.B. King has made guest appearances in numerous popular television shows, including The Cosby Show,[url=www.imdb.com/name/nm0454475/ ] The Young and the Restless,[url=www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP3bUh4BOCk ] The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,[url=www.sesameworkshop.org/aboutus/newsletter_article.php?contentId=108003&type=sesame ] Married With Children
Personal lifeKing has been married twice, to Martha Lee Denton, 1946 to 1952, and to Sue Carol Hall, 1958 to 1966
. Both marriages ended because of the heavy demands made on the marriage by King's 250 performances a year.[BB King biography at Jazz and Blues Masters] He has lived with Type II diabetes for over twenty years and is a high-profile spokesman in the fight against the disease, appearing in advertisements for diabetes-management products.
His favorite singer is Frank Sinatra. In his autobiography King speaks about how he was, and is, a "Sinatra nut" and how he went to bed every night listening to Sinatra's classic album In the Wee Small Hours. King has credited Sinatra for opening doors to black entertainers who were not given the chance to play in "white dominated" venues; Sinatra got B.B. King into the
DiscographyVideography- The Electric B.B. King - His Best (1960)
- Great Moments with B.B. King (1981)
- B.B. King and Friends: A Night of Blistering Blues (1987, DVD 2006) Live at the Ebony Showcase Theater, April 15, 1987.
- Rattle and Hum (1988) B.B. King appeared in the film playing lead guitar for the song "When Love Comes to Town".
- The King of the Blues: 1989 (1988)
- Got My Mojo Working (1989)
- King of the Blues (Box Set, 1992)
- Why I Sing the Blues (1992)
- Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
- Live in the Jazz Channel (2001)
- Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: B.B. King (2003)
- Ultimate Collection (2005)
- B.B. King: Live (2008)
- ''B.B. King Live in Africa '74 (Shout! Factory) (2009) - The "Rumble in the Jungle" concert
- Lighting in a Bottle 2004
Honors and awardsB.B. King in 1990
- In May 1977, King was awarded an honorary doctorate by Yale University.Citation needed
- King was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995. This is given to recognize "the lifelong accomplishments and extraordinary talents of our nation's most prestigious artists."
- In 2004 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Mississippi;Citation needed
- In 2009, Time Magazine named B.B. King #3 on its list of the 10 best electric guitarists of all-time.
- Each year during the first week in June, a B.B. King Homecoming Festival is held in Indianola, Mississippi. However, King does not attend the festival.
Grammy AwardsGrammy Awards - King was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. As of 2009, he has won 15 Grammy Awards, of which ten have been the Grammy award for Best Traditional Blues Album: in 2009 (for One Kind Favor), 2006 (for B.B. King & Friends: 80), 2003 (for A Christmas Celebration of Hope), 2001 (for Riding with the King), 2000 (for Blues on the Bayou), 1994 (for Blues Summit), 1992 (for Live at the Apollo), 1991 (for Live at San Quentin), 1986 (for My Guitar Sings the Blues) and 1984 (for ''Blues 'N' Jazz). In 1982, he won the Grammy for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording (for There Must Be a Better World Somewhere). The Grammy for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk was last given in 1986; the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album was first given in 1983. In 1997, he won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance (with other artists, for "SRV Shuffle"). In 1971, he won the Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance (for "The Thrill is Gone"). A Grammy Hall of Fame Award was given to "The Thrill is Gone" in 1998, an award given to recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
Copyright Citations
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