BB King

Yesterday afternoon, my daughter came home with a homework assignment for her Mississippi Studies class. She was asked to pick a famous person who came from Mississippi to write a paper about. Of course there's no shortage of celebrities from here. Oprah, Jim Henson, Jimmy Buffett, and of course, the king himself, Elvis all had their beginnings in this small state in the south.

While all of these people are incredible who have changed the course of twentieth century pop history, there is one that I have only gained an appreciation of in recent years, blues legend BB King. Born only about twenty minutes from where I grew up, his contribution to music continues to bring new generations to a love of blues music.

BB King was born in 1925 in Leflore County. Like many singers from Mississippi, King had his beginnings singing gospel music with his church choir. His first guitar was bought for him for fifteen dollars through a loan from his boss. He then taught himself how to play. By the forties, his music career began to take off.

Throughout his career, he guest starred on a ton of shows including the Cosby Show and Touched by an Angel. In 1998, he was in the movie The Blues Brothers 2000. Each performance introduced him to new groups of fans. In 1980, he was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame, and in 1987, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2012, he performed at the White House for President Barack Obama.

Despite his huge success, King never forgot where he came from. He would often come to the Civic Center in Greenwood, MS(my home town,) to invite local high school bands to join the stage for a jam session. In 2001, I had the opportunity to be on that stage. I would love to say that I did perform and have to opportunity to shake his hand and discuss music. Unfortunately, I decided to go to my scheduled guitar lesson that day instead. Believe me, that's a decision I will be kicking myself for awhile.

In later years, he was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. He would advocate in teaching others about the disease, as well as starting a program to allow students to obtain musical instruments who otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford them. His encouraged music in children's lives.

BB King is a music legend, his music is timeless. In 2000, he teamed up with another music legend, Eric Clapton to perform Riding with the King. This song is somewhat biographical as it discusses leaving Mississippi, as well as his love for music. He lovingly named his guitar Lucille, and as he sang, he played Lucille until the day he died.

As with so many other legends, I didn't realize how lucky I was to live in the same time as him. I didn't really care about his music. However, in recent years, I have grown an appreciation and love of it. His music spoke from the soul. In a time where most music talks about money and one night stands, his spoke of love, broken hearts, and dreams. When you hear one of his songs, you know how he felt.

Sometimes when I'm driving, I will play Riding with the King full volume. I was a kid from the Mississippi Delta. I remember having these huge dreams of getting out of that small town and taking on the world. I'm still working on making those dreams come true, but when I see somebody like BB King, the little boy with the guitar almost as big as he was, and the dreams even bigger, I know that those dreams can come true. He truly was the king.