Las VEGAS, Nev.–The KIng has left the building. A similar message boomed from the speakers after every Elvis concert, but a man who bears the name, and who is a king in his own right, has left the hospital after a weekend stay. B.B. King’s website posted a message from the man himself Tuesday, saying he is doing much better.
“I want to thank everyone for their concern and good wishes. I’m feeling much better & am leaving the hospital today.”
King, 89, was taken to the hospital, apparently because he was dehydrated. Several sources have said it was because of his Type II diabetes, a disease he went public with about twenty years ago.
Last year King canceled all of his tour dates after he got sick while on the road. Since then, he has not posted any new tour dates and has remained near his home base of Las Vegas.
King was born near Itta Bena, is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee (1987), and is widely considered one of two of Mississippi’s greatest musical ambassadors and exports. He gave his final “Homecoming” performance in Indianola in 2013.
