INDIANOLA, Miss. (WLBT) - At the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Mississippi, visitors can trace the remarkable rise of one of America’s most influential musicians. The story of Riley King - who the world would know as B.B. King - is one of triumph, resilience, and the transformative power of music.
B.B. King was born in Berclair, Mississippi, about 20 miles from Indianola. His early life was marked by hardship. He lost his mother at a young age, followed by his grandmother, leaving him an orphan in a difficult era.
“He ended up coming here to Indianola during his childhood, and he worked on a farm,” explained Malika Polk-Lee, Executive Director of the B.B. King Museum. “He drove a tractor, picked cotton - all the things a typical young African-American would do during those times.”
But young Riley King dreamed of something bigger. His cousin introduced him to the guitar, and through natural talent and self-teaching, he discovered his voice.
King’s musical journey began in the churches of Indianola, where he performed gospel music with St. John’s quartet. But the blues called to him in a different way.
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“He took that gospel music and decided he wanted to cross over and started playing blues music,” Polk-Lee noted.
In the 1940s, King headed north to Memphis - a turning point that would change his life forever. He took to Beale Street, playing clubs night after night, building his reputation, one performance at a time. It was during his work as a radio DJ at WDIA that he earned his famous nickname. Known as the “Beale Street Blues Boy,” the name was eventually shortened to “Blues Boy,” and finally to “B.B. King.”
Along the way, King found his most famous companion - a guitar he named Lucille. The story behind the name is as dramatic as the music it would help create.
“Lucille came from Arkansas where B.B. was playing in a club, and there was a fight that broke out between two gentlemen,” Polk-Lee recounted. “They knocked over a kerosene lamp and the club caught fire. Everyone ran out, but B.B. went back in to get his guitar. He later found out the lady’s name was Lucille - who the two gentlemen were fighting over. And that’s how Lucille got her name, to remind him never to do anything that foolish again.”
King’s breakthrough came with “Every Day I Have the Blues” in 1955, a hit that helped cement his status as a rising star in the blues world. He toured extensively through the Chitlin Circuit, traveling from club to club and building a national audience.
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“When his albums hit the radio and he’s getting requests, he traveled on tour nationally,” Polk-Lee explained. “From that circuit to the audiences, he crossed over to become the icon that we know him as.”
In 1964, “Rock Me Baby” brought blues to mainstream radio. But B.B. King’s biggest moment came five years later, in 1969.
“The Thrill Is Gone” became B.B. King’s most iconic song. The single climbed the Billboard Hot 100, won a Grammy Award, and brought blues music to a worldwide mainstream audience. It remains the song most people associate with the blues legend.
Alphonso Sanders, a musician and board member at the museum, worked alongside B.B. King for over a decade. He witnessed firsthand the man behind the legend.
“I would describe B.B. King as the blues ambassador,” Sanders said. “He didn’t have an opportunity to go to college, but he said his music gave him his college. He was able to tour and see the world and understand different perspectives.”
King’s dedication to his craft was legendary. He stayed on the road more than 300 dates a year at one point, touring 90 countries, and allowing his presence as a performer to give a lifeline to music itself.
Over the course of his legendary career, B.B. King racked up countless awards, including 15 Grammy Awards. His guitar - Lucille - sits in the museum as a testament to a man who turned pain into poetry and struggle into soul.
B.B. King passed away at the age of 89 years old in 2015. He was laid to rest at the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, a place devoted to preserving his life and legacy. The museum stands as a reminder that some of the greatest art is born from the deepest hardship.
“The musical genius of Mr. King will live on for generations,” Polk-Lee said.
Around the Delta, people use a phrase to describe B.B. King’s legacy: “Imitated but never duplicated.”
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