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Spotty showersMain event: King of kings
Main event: King of kings
Conrad Astley31/ 3/2006
BB KING has the honour of being named the third greatest
guitarist of all time.
While this may not sound that impressive, bear in mind he had to
beat competition from a lot of other axemen - as they're called in
the business.
King was given that position by Rolling Stone magazine in
2003.
Out of a roll-call of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time he
was beaten, somewhat predictably, by Jimi Hendrix, and, somewhat
less predictably, by Duane Allman (who played in the Allman
Brothers Band and Derek and the Dominos, was nicknamed Skydog and
was killed when he crashed his Harley Davidson Sportster in
1971).
Hendrix's place in rock legend speaks for itself, while Allman was
immortalised by the Lyrnyrd Skynyrd song Free Bird, and is
remembered by anyone who drives down the stretch of State Highway
19 on which he died, which the Georgia legislature tastefully
renamed Duane Allman Boulevard.
But BB King, who was compensated by being named the greatest living
guitarist in the same survey, is proof you don't necessarily have
to die in some horrific manner to receive rock 'n' roll
immortality.
The guitarist was around long before rock 'n' roll was invented,
and many incidents from his life seem to read like templates for
the antics of the rock wildmen who would follow him.
He almost died during a gig in the winter of 1949. While playing in
Twist, Arkansas, a barrel of kerosene used to heat the dance hall
was knocked over by two men fighting.
The band and audience were hastily evacuated as the fire spread,
but King realised he'd left his $30 acoustic guitar inside and
rushed back in to get it.
It later emerged that the fire had killed two people, and the
guitarist was clearly lucky to have got out with his life, let
alone his trusty six-string.
But both survived, and King was prompted to name the guitar Lucille
- the name of the woman it turned out the men had been fighting
over - as a reminder to never do anything like that again.
Many of his later guitars would bear the same name, and in 1980
Gibson began making the BB King (Lucille) to honour the
tradition.
The guitarist was born Riley B King in Itta Bena, Mississippi, and
worked as a cotton picker with his mum and grandmother before a
love of blues and jazz guitarists led him to discover his true
talent.
He began broadcasting his music live on Memphis' WDIA, which was
rare in playing all-black music. He adopted the name The Pepticon
Boy, but changed the moniker to Beale Street Blues Boy, later
shortening this to Blues Boy and then BB.
He then began recording under legendary producer Sam Phillips -
founder of Sun Records - having hits with tunes like You Know I
Love You, Woke Up This Morning, Whole Lotta Love and Every Day I
Have The Blues.
During the 50s and 60s, he built up a fearsome reputation as one of
the biggest names in rhythm and blues, or R&B - which, before
it meant videos of teenage girls drinking expensive champagne,
meant old men with guitars singing about how their girls had left
them.
King's star continued to rise as the decades went on, and he was
hailed as a genius by a younger generation of musicians such as
Eric Clapton and U2.
In true rock 'n' roll style, he is a known gambler, nightclub owner
and pilot, but in a not very rock 'n' roll style, he is also a
non-drinking, non-smoking vegetarian.
At 80, he has now decided to knock live gigs on the head - in the
UK at least - and is now in the middle of a farewell tour of
British stadiums.
He will be joined by former Thin Lizzy and Skid Row guitarist Gary
Moore, who has often spoken about how he idolised King while
growing up in Belfast.
BB King and Gary Moore play the MEN Arena tonight
(Friday).
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