Friday 15 May 2015

Blues Legend BB King Dies In Las Vegas

Blues legend BB King has died in Las Vegas at the age of 89, his lawyer says.

The 89-year-old guitarist recently returned home after a short stay in hospital, where he was treated for high blood pressure and diabetes.
It was the second time in a month that King, who has lived with diabetes for more than 20 years, had been admitted to hospital.
He cancelled the final shows of his 2014 tour last October after falling ill in Chicago.

With more than 50 albums under his belt, King was known for hits such as 1952's Three O'Clock Blues, The Thrill Is Gone in 1970 and the 1989 duet When Love Comes to Town with Irish rockers U2.
Born in Mississippi as Riley B King, the musician was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He released 50 albums during his career.
He sold millions of records worldwide and played a Gibson guitar he affectionately called Lucille.
King was not only the undisputed king of the blues but a mentor to scores of guitarists including Eric Clapton.
King had a deep, resonant singing voice and, despite having what he called "stupid fingers," an immediately recognisable guitar sound.
His unique style of trilling the strings with a fluttering left-hand vibrato, which he called it "the butterfly," helped shape early rock. He delivered stinging single-note licks that brimmed with emotion and were copied by white rock guitarists including Jeff Beck and Bonnie Raitt.
A dispute over the guitarist's wealth and wellbeing was thrown out of court on Monday by a US judge who declared there was no evidence he was being abused.
The ruling in Clark County Family Court kept King's longtime business manager Laverne Toney in legal control of his affairs.
Three of King's 11 surviving children - Karen Williams, Rita Washington and Patty King - suspected Toney of stealing money and neglecting their father's medical needs, while blocking them from seeing him in home hospice care.
"We lost the battle, but we haven't lost the war," Williams said outside court.

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