The “King of the Blues”, guitarist and singer BB King, died yesterday night.
Aged 89, King died in his sleep in Las Vegas.
Born in Mississippi, King began performing in the 1940s, going on to influence a generation of musicians and work with Eric Clapton and U2. Once ranked as the third greatest guitarist of all time, he had been suffering ill health in recent months. He was recently taken to hospital with a diabetes-related illness.
A former farmhand, King was awarded his 15th Grammy award in 2009 for his album “One Kind Favor”.
Fellow musicians expressed their regrets:
Lenny Kravitz tweeted: “BB, anyone could play a thousand notes and never say what you said in one.”
Ringo Starr said: “God bless BB King, peace and love to his family.”
Guns N Roses guitarist Slash tweeted: “Devastated by the passing of BB King. My favourite blues guitarist and a truly wonderful man.”
Source: BBC
