INDIANOLA, Miss. — By now you probably have heard that B.B. King is playing his final homecoming show in Indianola this Sunday. The blues boy, that’s where B.B. comes from, is 88 years old and he is a vital part of your state’s legacy.
B.B. King was born Riley B. King in a cabin on a cotton plantation just outside of Berclair, MS in 1925, but King considers Indianola his home. In 1947 he hitchhiked to Memphis, TN to peruse a music career. The rest is history.
“He went from Indianola to icon. To come out of the Mississippi delta, a person in the cotton field that is chopping cotton and planted cotton and working at a cotton gin. Then you leave here and expose this music to the world that comes right from here, form his soul. That makes him very important to this state.” said Robert Terrell Director of Facilities for the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center
B.B. King is one of the most important names in R&B music. He has received countless awards including several Grammys and a lifetime achievement award. King has also been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll hall of Fame.
King has played over 15,000 performances and released over 50 albums during his 64 year career. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential blues guitarist of all time as well as one of the greatest electric guitarist to have ever lived.
