Riley B. King has defined the Blues for worldwide audiences for over 50 years. King would play for change on the streets as a child and eventually hitchhiked to Memphis to hone his skill under his cousin, Blues great Bukka White.
As his fame increased in Memphis he needed a catchy name. First it was "Beale Street Blues Boy," then "Blues Boy King" and that was finally shortened to the now familiar B.B. King.
Armed with his famous guitar "Lucille", King continues to perform worldwide and record award winning Blues albums.
Oh and in case you were wondering why King calls his guitar "Lucille:" In the mid 50's, King was playing at a dance in Arkansas when two men got into a brawl and knocked over a kerosene lamp. The hall burst into flame and King raced outside. Once outside he realized that he forgot his guitar so he ran back in to the burning building to retrieve it!
He later found out that the fight that set the building ablaze was over a woman named...LUCILLE. So King decided to give his guitar the name to remind him never to fight over a woman. Of course if you would like a Lucille of your own, the Gibson Company would be happy to sell you a ES-355 just like the King of Blues himself.