B.B. King

Latest about B.B. King

B.B. King performs with Lucille live in 1991.
How to play B.B. King’s greatest song (with some help from Joe Bonamassa)

By Joe Bonamassa Published

Bonamassa says B.B. King’s The Thrill Is Gone is so perfect that he initially couldn’t find anyone to cover it on his tribute album. Here, he unpacks the tones and approaches of the King of the Blues

Artist Lessons
Joanne Shaw Taylor pictured with a Les Paul [left] and B.B. King, taking solo on Lucille at the Chicago Theater in 1991
Joanne Shaw Taylor on her life-changing first meeting with the great B.B. King

By Henry Yates Published

Joanne Shaw Taylor was just a young kid when she met B.B. King. Now she is paying tribute to the King of the Blues on Joe Bonamassa’s all-star album

5 Comments
Guitarists
Joe Bonamassa [left] wears shades takes a solo on vintage Gibson Les Paul; B.B. King [right] wears a cream suit and takes a solo on a red Gibson ES-355 at the 1969 Newport Jazz Festival
Joe Bonamassa on his friendship with the ultimate bluesman, B.B. King – and paying the ultimate tribute

By David Mead Published

B.B. King would have celebrated his 100th birthday in September last year. But when Joe Bonamassa discovered that the centenary was going almost unnoticed, he swung into action

Guitarists
Gibson Custom Gary Clark Jr. ES‑355
Gary Clark Jr. comes full circle with a new signature Gibson ES-355 that pays homage to his hero

By Phil Weller Published

The stunning signature is a recreation of Gary Clark Jr.'s one-of-one Custom Shop model – and it channels his love for B.B. King

Electric Guitars
Warren Haynes and B.B. King
Warren Haynes on the time he missed the chance to play with B.B. King

By Matt Owen Published

Haynes had witnessed the King play live years earlier – but when he first got the chance to jam with the blues icon, nerves got the better of him

Guitarists
Justin "GuitarSlayer" Lyons performs live with Machine Gun Kelly, on a stage lit in deep red.
How Justin Lyons is channeling the King of the Blues in mgk's punk-rock band – and he even has his own Lucille

By Jonathan Horsley Published

The mgk touring guitarist has been a superfan of the King of the Blues since he was five years old

Guitarists
Billy Gibbons and BB King
How B.B. King changed Billy Gibbons’ approach to guitar strings

By Phil Weller Published

When the King speaks, his subjects listen

18 Comments
Guitarists
BB King, Jimmie Vaughan, T-Bone Walker
When a 13-year-old Jimmie Vaughan was stopped from watching B.B. King play, another blues great came to his aid

By Phil Weller Published

Vaughan wanted to watch his guitar hero play live for the first time – and another hero saved the day

Guitarists
B.B. King [left] cups his hands to his ear as he asks the crowd for more. Joe Bonamassa, with a Les Paul, gives his crowd a thumbs up.
“I met him in 1990 when I was 13 years old. We became lifelong friends”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to B.B. King

By Joe Bonamassa Published

Bonamassa says King was the kind of player who could say it all with one note – “Just one stinging vibrato and you know it can only be him”

Artist Lessons
B.B. King
A B.B. King biopic is on the way – and it will chronicle the blues legend's life, legacy and Lucille

By Phil Weller Published

The film will chart B.B. King’s rise from extreme poverty to global stardom – and his life-long partnership with his iconic ES-355 will be at the heart of it all

Guitarists
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