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(NewsNation) — Put on your dancing shoes because it’s time to “let the good times roll.” It may be impossible to stay still while listening to the electric “King of Blues.”
A disc jockey turned international music legend, Riley B. King took the world by storm with his influential vibrato and staccato picking. But King’s rise to international fame didn’t come easy; in fact, it might shock some to know it wasn’t until midway through his career that he stood out among the rest.
King was born into a poor, sharecropping family in 1925 in Itta Bena, Mississippi. As a boy, he dropped out of school and took up driving a tractor on the plantation instead.
He had served in World War II with the U.S. Army but was released after being ruled “essential” to the economy due to his tractor-driving experience.
It was then that King fell in love with music. He was introduced to gospel music through his reverend, who was the first person King had heard play the electric guitar.
After his mother’s death, King took to the streets as a disc jockey, playing for dimes and hoping it would lead to his discovery.
King went to live with his father in Lexington, where he experienced segregation for the first time. He had experienced a lynching of a young Black boy, watching a mob drag the boy’s body across the town.
Despite facing racism, bigotry and hatred himself, King never let it dull his spirit or music.
It was in Memphis, Tennessee, that King acquired the name “Blues Boy” King, otherwise known as B.B. King, for being the “Beale Street blues boy.”
Beale Street was where it all started for King.
King recorded his first record in 1949, signing a 12-year-long contract with RPM Records — a subsidiary of Modern Records. He wrote songs such as “You Know I Love You,” “Woke Up This Morning” and “Three O’Clock Blues,” while touring nightclubs across the U.S., playing more than 300 shows on average every year.
However, King did not initially achieve mainstream success.
It wasn’t until King released a reworked version of Roy Hawkins’ 1951 “The Thrill is Gone” in 1970 that King gained popularity on the music charts. His version crossed over into the pop charts, setting himself up as not just a blues player, but rather a multi-genre trailblazer.
He mixed his blues expertise with other genres from rock to pop to country. His success opened doors to collaborations with other incredible artists and expanded King’s initial fan base to international fame.
Collaborations with all-star artists, such as Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt and Eric Clapton, created musical fusions that topped blues charts for years.
King became the first bluesman to enter the pop mainstream.
In 1980, King was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. He was then inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Over his career, King won 15 Grammy Awards.
In 2006, former President George W. Bush honored King with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, usually presented to those who have made great contributions to the nation or world.
King died in 2015, just four months before his 90th birthday, leaving behind a historic legacy. Not only has he sold more than 50 million records, but his music continues to trend with an average of 90 million streams annually.