B.B. King died Thursday. He is the most recognized blues musician of the modern era, defined the genre for nearly seven decades and inspired countless artists with his unique style of electric guitar play earning him the nickname the King of Blues. He was 89.King’s death was confirmed late on Thursday on a Facebook page linked to the website of his daughter Claudette.King will forever be associated with his trademark black Gibson guitars, all of which he christened “Lucille” in recollection of a woman who two men fought over in 1949 in an Arkansas dance hall where he was playing.The men knocked over a kerosene lamp, setting fire to the building. King risked his life to retrieve his $30 guitar.King, an inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, won 15 Grammy awards over his lifetime.
