BB King

BB KING

BB King

Photo owned by Tom Davis

BB King was born on September 16,1925 in a small cabin near the town of Itta Bena.He was named Riley B. King.

Riley first arrived in Memphis in the summer of 1946. His talents were improving and he profited from impromptu jam sessions with other blues musicians he had met in and around the Memphis area.

However,after ten months in Memphis. ,he decided that his music career was'nt goin' anywhere. Besides that, he missed his wife and had left other responsibilities back in Indianola. Riley returned to Indianola, and in 1947, he and his wife Martha raised a crop on the Johnson Barrett plantation. By end of the crop season in 1948, Riley had earned enough money to pay off all of his debts by sharecropping, driving a tractor for $22.50 per week, loading trucks and playing guitar on street corners. In late 1948 he headed back to Memphis, this time bound and determined to make it in the music business.

When Riley returned to Memphis, he went to look for Sonny Boy Williamson who had a blues music radio show on station KWEM. Once he had found Sonny Boy, he asked him if he could play a song on his blues radio show. Sonny touted Riley as a new talent and the radio station was flooded with calls.He then set up Riley with a gig as a backup for his preferred show.Riley now had his big chance to play in front of a live crowd at Miss Annie's Saloon in West Memphis.

Riley couldn't have picked a better time to return to Memphis. Miss Annie told Riley that if he was to become a regular performer at the saloon, he would have to promote the business on the radio. On June 7, 1947, a new radio station, WDIA, went on the air. By 1948, the station was turned into one of the first all black staffed and managed radio stations. Riley went to WDIA and asked the popular DJ, Nat Williams, if he could make a record. Surprised by Riley's request, one of the station's two owners, Bert Ferguson, had an idea. The station had just secured an advertising contract for a health tonic named Pepticon, the competitor for the tonic Hadacol, which was promoted by Sonny Boy Williamson on KWEM. Ferguson set Riley up with a ten minute spot in which he could play his guitar and sing anything he liked, as long as he promoted Pepticon. Riley's advertising jingle was:

"Pepticon, Pepticon, sure is good - You can get it anywhere in your neighborhood" *

Riley became known as the Pepticon boy. Because of his popularity, the radio station expanded his program and promoted him to a DJ. Riley's show was called the "Sepia Swing Club." He played recordings by black artists, played his guitar and also sang requests from listeners. Now that he was a DJ, Riley needed a catchy name. He started out as the "Beale Street Blues Boy," later he changed it to "Blues Boy King," and finally shortened it to the now famous "B.B. King."

B.B. King's popularity was spreading and he made his first recordings in 1949.It was these early recordings which caught the attention of Modern Records. B.B. signed a recording contract with Modern Records which lasted for 10 years.

During the last six months of 1949, RPM released six B.B. King singles. Although none of the recordings were a national success, locally B.B. was quite popular. but outside of Memphis, no one had heard of him.

But in late 1951, B.B.'s seventh RPM single, "Three O'Clock Blues," a Lowell Fulson tune, hit Billboard's R&B record chart.And by early 1952, the song reached the number one position and stayed there for 15 weeks. B.B. had finally received national recognition as a blues musician. As a result of the success of the song,he was able to get a contract with Universal Artists in New York, which set him up with shows at the three major black theaters in the country: the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C., the Royal Theater in Baltimore, and the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Less than 18 months after he had first played on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio show, B.B. took a leave of absence from his job at WDIA and left Memphis for Washington to start on his first national tour.

BB King

Photo owned by Tom Davis

As a result of his new found success, B.B.'s marriage was now under a heavy strain. Without any children, the couple had to either travel on the road together, or separate during tours. While B.B. was on tour, he got word that his wife (Martha) had filed for the divorce. Although he was crushed by the news, it inspired him to write the song "Woke Up This Morning," which was his first big hit after "Three O'Clock Blues." In 1952, after 8 years of marriage, B.B. and Martha King were divorced.

Rise to Stardom

B.B. King's opening show on his first national tour in 1952 was at the Howard Theater in Washington, D. C. Playing with the Tiny Bradshaw band, B.B.'s performance shined, he was on his way to becoming one of the best in the business. The tour continued for six months, and over the next 18 months, B.B. performed on the road with layovers in Memphis where he continued to work for radio station WDIA. In 1953 B.B. signed up with a new manager, a Texan named Maurice Merrit. B.B. also hired a Houston based booking agent, Don Robey, who handled engagements through his agency "Buffalo Booking." B.B. King now had a legitimate national presence on the "Chitlin Circuit."

He had a loyal following and was a major artist in his field. He married his second wife, Sue Hall, on June 4, 1958. He had met Sue in his home town of Indianola, at Club Ebony, where Sue's mother was the manager. Sue was 15 years younger than B.B. and traveled with him constantly for 6 months until they bought a house in Los Angeles. Sue began making a home there, but B.B. was rarely in town. As was the case in his first marriage, the tension of B.B. constantly on the road drove the couple to break up. B.B. and Sue King were divorced in 1966, which he responded to by recording his biggest hit song,"The Thrill Is Gone," - from Live at the Apollo, ( 254 K, 23 sec.) Copyright ©, GRP records, 1991.

The birth of Rock & Roll music made stars of many black performers such as Little Richard, Fats Domino, James Brown and Chuck Berry. Unfortunately for B.B., race music remained isolated from mainstream white America. Dispite changing his booking agency and switching to ABC records in the early 1960's, B.B. was unable to find an opening to the mainstream which many lesser artists had. Although the change from Kent to ABC looked promising, ABC did not understand his music. B.B. was frustrated, prior to 1968 he had made no more than two appearances before white audiences, and both were disasters. Despite the setbacks, B.B.'s music was better than ever during this period of this time, here's a sample of a B.B. classic, first recorded in the early 1960's,"Sweet Sixteen," - from Why I Sing the Blues, (155 K, 14 sec.) Copyright ©, MCA records, 1992.

Around 1965, the final barriers that kept blues as race music began falling down. The change began at the Newport Folk Festival where white America first heard the music of Sun House and Mississippi John Hurt. Also performing that day was a new group called the Butterfield Blues Band. With Paul Butterfield on harp and Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield on guitar, the Butterfield Blues Band developed a strong national following. In 1965 Elektra records released the first Butterfield Blues Band album and it gained wide popularity in white Middle America. The new excitement generated by the band with guitar playing of Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield created curiosity about the origins of their music. Countless times the were asked, "Where did you learn to play that way?" Both guitarists answered honestly, "By copying B.B.'s licks." People looked at them blankly, "B.B. who?" "The real monster," Bishop and Bloomfield would reply, "B.B. King." *

After mainstream America had finally heard of B.B. King, two new events occurred in his career when all the world seemed ready for him, a hit record and a new manager. The record was the Roy Hawkins song, "The Thrill Is Gone," which B.B. had recorded in response to his divorce with his wife Sue King in 1966. In the 18 months following the peak popularity of "The Thrill Is Gone," B.B.'s intinerary changed completely. The chitlin circuit gave way to a combination of jazz clubs and rock palaces, such as the Fillmore East. This new market also expanded to include college concerts and the dining rooms of luxury resort hotels. In 1969, B.B. made his first network TV appearance on the "Tonight Show," a lucky break provided by Flip Wilson who had been filling in for Johnny Carson. With all his new triumphs, the most symbolic was his appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1971. Playing on the Sullivan show was a sign that a new performer had arrived with the American public.

B.B. King feels that the most important aspect of being a blues artist is the craft of performing before a live audience. (And hopefully he'll be performing for a LONG time to come).

BB King MIDIS

Texas Blues Jam