Celebrity
Blues Giant, BB King, Dead at 89. “The thrill is truly gone”
MAY 14, 2015 BB KING DAY: A day the blues music world lost a giant. “The thrill is truly gone” says, J. Willie David, III, Publisher of the Florida National News
Blues giant B.B. King, whose six-string genius shaped generations of guitar gods from around the globe, died at home Thursday in Las Vegas, his lawyer said. He was 89.
The Mississippi Delta native, born Riley B. King, died peacefully in his sleep at 9:40 p.m., said attorney Brent Bryson. Bryson said funeral arrangements are underway.
Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg confirmed the death.
A cause of death was not immediately released, but the legend who was known as the “Ambassador of the Blues” across seven peerless decades of singing, songwriting, recording and performing suffered from diabetes and had been in hospice care.
King’s eldest surviving daughter Shirley King of the Chicago area said she was upset that she did not have a chance to see her father before his death.
A list of his musical acolytes reads like a litany of the world’s most renowned guitarists: Mike Bloomfield, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Larry Carlton, Jimi Hendrix, the Edge, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carlos Santana, Derek Trucks, Joe Walsh.
The self-effacing King was ranked as the No. 6 guitarist of all time on a 2011 Rolling Stone list — nestled neatly between Jeff Beck and Chuck Berry.
With his famous Gibson guitar “Lucille,” King earned 15 Grammys and kept the blues alive with relentless touring that continued into his 80s.
In 1956, King and his band performed 342 one-night stands — taking off just 14 days in the leap year. In 2012, King played more than 200 live dates — including a gig at the White House.
King famously said playing the guitar was like sharing an intimate conversation with a woman. He christened his guitar after a nightclub fire started by a fight over a woman — named Lucille.
King’s unique style featured stinging single-note solos, with an instantly recognizable sound ringing from his hollow-body guitar. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1984, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three years later. King opened for the Rolling Stones in 1969, and jammed with U2 two decades later.
At the turn of the century, he collaborated with Clapton on the album “Riding With the King.”
His signature hit single, “The Thrill Is Gone,” was released in 1969 and reached No. 3 on the R&B charts and No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The son of a segregated South once said his musical message was meant for all races, colors and creeds: “Red, white, black, brown or yellow, rich or poor, we all have the blues.”
King was born on a cotton plantation outside Indianola, Miss., where he played his guitar on street corners for spare change as a child. Life in the rural South was unsparing: King didn’t see a light bulb until he was 16.
When not strumming or singing gospel, King absorbed the musical messages of bluesmen like T-Bone Walker and Sonny Boy Williamson. Walker’s landmark “Stormy Monday” was King’s first serious taste of the blues.
His decision to choose a musical career was simple: “I made $22.50 on a plantation driving a tractor all week. Playing guitar on a Saturday night I made $25.”
He hitchhiked in 1947 to Memphis, where he landed on local radio stations and became a fixture on the club scene. The singer-guitarist was billed as the Beale Street Blues Boy — later shortened to B.B. King.
His first hit, “Three O’Clock Blues,” was recorded in a Memphis YMCA and spent five weeks at No. 1 on the R&B charts in 1952. The song offered the first widespread exposure for King. His live shows highlighted King’s most famous musical quirk: He never played guitar and sang simultaneously, focusing full attention on either vocals or music.
The stage veteran later recorded a pair of classic live albums before two very different Illinois audiences: “Live at the Regal” in 1965 and “Live at Cook County Jail” in 1971.
In between, he opened for the Rolling Stones on their 1969 tour — the same year that he first appeared on the “Tonight” show.
In 1985, he memorably performed the title track for the movie “Into The Night,” starring Jeff Goldblum, David Bowie, Dan Aykroyd and Michelle Pfeiffer.
King was also featured in the U2 documentary “Rattle and Hum” in 1988, playing with the band on their song “When Love Comes to Town.” But his favorite singer was always Frank Sinatra.
King was also a licensed pilot. He was married twice, with the second ceremony officiated by the Rev. C.L. Franklin — father of Aretha.
The guitarist’s name also adorned a half-dozen nightclubs, including one on Beale St. in Memphis and another on 42nd St. in Times Square.
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Celebrity
[PHOTOS] 2022 Cannes Film Festival: Supermodel Adriana Lima Boasts Baby Bump on ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Red Carpet
CANNES, France (FNN) – Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima brought a guest with her to the red carpet premiere of Top Gun: Maverick. No, we don’t mean her boyfriend Andre Lemmers, but her adorable–and well-styled–bun in the oven.
Lima, 40, graced the red carpet dressed in Chopard jewelry and a black long-sleeved Balmain gown with a baby bump cutout.
Lima announced in February that she was expecting her third child, this one being the first with Lemmers, and her first son. She has two daughters, Valentina, 12, and Sienna, 9, with ex-husband Marco Jarić.
Boyfriend Andrew Lemmers holds Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima’s baby bump on the 2022 Cannes Film Festival red carpet for the premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick.” Photo: Patience Eding/Another Concept via Florida National News.
Boyfriend Andrew Lemmers and Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima enjoy a quick smooch on the 2022 Cannes Film Festival red carpet for the premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick.” Photo: Patience Eding/Another Concept via Florida National News.
Supermodel Adriana Lima’s hair almost perfectly the texture of the her baby bump-baring Balmain gown on the 2022 Cannes Film Festival red carpet for the premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick.” Photo: Patience Eding/Another Concept via Florida National News.
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Florida National News editor Mellissa Thomas and FNN News international correspondent Patience Eding contributed to this report. | info@floridanationalnews.com
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