Todays Google Doodle celebrates The King of Blues on what would have been the late B.B. Kings birthday, but who is the legendary star depicted in the animated video and what are his most well known songs?
B.B. King was a nine time Grammy Award winning musician who was born in Mississippi on September 16 1925.
The talented musician, whose name was Riley B. King, began to rise to fame in 1948 after performing on Sonny Boy Williamsons radio program on KWEM in West Memphis.
Known professionally as B.B. King, the guitarist was part of the infamous Blues scene on Beale Street and gained popularity in the 1950s, generating an impressive list of hits.
What does BB King stand for?
In an interview with Ebony magazine, King described his time in the Blues scene on Beale Street as his: college of hard knocks and the college of learning where he got his training in his art, so it seems fitting that the music legends well-known name was born out of that time.
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While King was a guitarist and radio DJ in those early years of his long career, he took the nickname Beale Street Blues Boy which was eventually shorted to Blues Boy before the star adopted the even shorter moniker B.B. to get his name B.B. King.
What are B.B. Kings biggest songs?
While B.B. King is best known as a Blues musician, his songs also use the sounds of other music genres such as R&B, soul and funk.
One of the stars first hit songs was his cover version of Lowell Fulsons Three OClock Blues which he released in 1951. He would go on to achieve numerous top 10 hits, including songs like Chains and Things, Paying the Cost To Be the Boss, I Like To Live the Love and The Thrill Is Gone.
According to Billboard, B.B. Kings top 10 biggest songs, based on their performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart are:
- The Thrill is Gone
- I Like to Live the Love
- To KnoRead More – Source
