Talk:B. B. King/Archive 1

Archive 1

Archive 2

Misc

I've heard that he is not in good health, but continues to play small venues and greet fans. Is he in a wheelchair now? He does not use a wheel chair but does use a folding metal chair as he is 82 and probably close to 300 pounds --Pbh444 (talk) 13:23, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

b.b. king rules — Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.38.169.4 (talk) 14:16, 8 February 2005 (UTC) B.B. King rocks! he's an awesome guitar player!!

B.B. King has a song "Lucille" which actually tells his story of his guitar which is pretty cool, with some really nice riffs in it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.228.8.140 (talk) 12:49, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

"Riley B. King aka B. B. King " what does the three B mean? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.167.206.227 (talk) 10:12, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

Last live concert outside US?

The article reads that his last live concert outside the US took place in July, 2006. I went to see him live just last night in Helsinki, Finland, on the 31st of August. -LadyDee

Grammy Award Albums

I notice in the 'Honors and Awards' section, that there are two albums for which King won a Grammy (ie. My Guitar Sings the Blues and Blues 'N' Jazz) which are not mentioned at all in the 'Discography' section. Surely if the discography is incomplete it should say so, alternatively can someone (with more knowledge than I) quickly fill in the gaps. Thank you,

Derek R Bullamore 11:09,sweet 26 January 2007 (UTC)

This article is sorely lacking any early information!

His life, where he was born, where he grew up...

I agree. King was born in Indianola, Mississippi, which, interestingly enough, was the same birthplace as guitarist Albert King, but neither are related. B.B., however, is related to bluesman Bukka White.--Susan Nunes 26 October 2007 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.228.60.161 (talk) 05:38, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Also, reference #12 to his early sexual life is fraudulent. There is no reference to any such activity in that article.

I have read some of the stuff in the "early years" section on another page

i suspect plagiarism on the kerosene barrel and such fight stuff in the "early years" section i need to make sure but i am doing a project on BB King and i swear i just read that part in another article and it seems like the EXACT wording of that other article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.160.148.200 (talk) 15:38, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

I've read this years ago and I don't think it was from Wikipidia. Also, B.B. stands for Blues Boy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Samstra (talk • contribs) 19:40, 26 February 2006 (UTC)

I believe B.B. King stands for Blues Boy King and what I know is yes king started as a radio man and he used to do a corny add on radio for a drink. I've heard king telling the twist Arkansas story many times honestly I dont know if its right or wrong.

whether its or not . B.B. is the king! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.183.40.86 (talk) 06:50, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

I think there's something wrong with some of the dates...

I'm reading some stuff from the official B.B. King site, and it seems there's some date-skewing going on. It says that he went on the radio BEFORE the dance hall fire in Twist, Arkansas. I don't know what to believe. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.200.35.151 (talk) 06:11, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

Confusion on birth location/location moved to

The top of this article says that B.B. King was born in Indianola, Mississippi, and it also says that he moved to Indianola in 1943. It gives no indication that he lived anywhere else in between these two time periods. Would someone, who knows more about him than I do, please clarify? Kitambi 23:35, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

Did someone just make this up?

Now this entry says BBKing grew up in Chicago. That's totally wrong. B.B.King is from Mississippi, and that's where he grew up. He went to Memphis when he got a little older. B.B. King was born on a plantation and picked cotton in his youth.

The last fact in the "Trivia" section says that he claims to have had sex before the age of 10, and talks about fathering several children with different mothers. Wikipedia has graffiti every once in a while, so I'm just wondering who got this and where they got it from.

I don't know anything about the sex at age 10, but in an interview with the NYT a few years ago, King DID admit to fathering 15 kids by 15 women. He is on good terms with all of his children.--Susan Nunes 26 October 2007 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.228.60.161 (talk) 05:40, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Django Reinhardt as an influence

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/bb_king.html

This ref should have been added to the main article has a citation. I have copied it into the section where it mentions BB King's influences. Anger22 23:59, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Question:

Is there a duet version of "how blue can you get?" I have heard a version where bb king sings part of the song, and then another singer sings? Who is that other singer?

The Lucilles

"but they are usually Gibson ES-355s custom made to King's required specifications." Nowadays they're always his custom/signature model, which is based upon his original favourite the 355, but to say 'usually' is completely wrong. In the early days King was neither well known nor rich enough to have custom made guitars. He bought them off the peg, bog standard just like everyone else, which was why he sometimes had to use something else. --Deke42 01:29, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Sings or plays, not both

I read years ago that BBK cannot sing and play at the same time, nor does he ever play rhythm. This has always been borne out by his performances on television, so I shall put it in. Rothorpe 19:05, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

I did put it in - but it didn't last very long. Comments, anyone? Rothorpe 15:43, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

It has to be referenced i.e. if you've seen it on TV it would be original research and not acceptable unless you post the specific reference (from printed source?).--Technopat 16:01, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

'By his own admission, he cannot play chords very well,' which is in the Lucille section, could be said to cover it, just about. Rothorpe 16:28, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

And now, I notice his name mentioned at the beginning of the List of musicians who play left-handed as a left-hander who plays right-handed, which strikes me as significant in light of the above. Maybe some original research will be done on this one day... Rothorpe (talk) 00:01, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Birthplace

This biography, and even the one on the official B.B. King website, list his birthplace as Itta Bena, Mississippi. The "album art" for Indianola Mississippi Seeds, however, shows a copy of King's birth certificate with "Official Registration at Indianola, Mississippi." This may not be an actual descrepancy. The two towns are just over 20 miles appart, and Indianola is the seat of Sunflower County. Anyone know the details? -MrFizyx 19:09, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I found this interesting, could be a good source:

"Even though he was born on a plantation between Itta Bena and Berclair, two small towns geographically closer to Greenwood, King has always considered Indianola his hometown, even calling his album of 1970 Indianola Mississippi Seeds." - Sebastian Danchin, Blues Boy: The Life and Music of B.B. King, University Press of Mississippi, 1998, p. 1 (ISBN 1578060176)

-MrFizyx 21:20, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Trivia

I have removed unsourced trivia here in accordance with the Wikipedia:Verifiability policy. If/When it is properly sourced, it may be added back into the article. --Bejnar 16:22, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

• Boxer Sonny Liston was King's uncle.
• He is mentioned in the Beatles' song "Dig It".
• King has used other guitars besides the incarnations of "Lucille", such as a Fender Telecaster, Gibson ES-330, Gibson ES-335, Gibson ES-345, Gibson ES-5, and Gibson ES-175.

I added a refernce for Sonny Liston being his uncle. Anson2995 17:07, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

More deleted trivia

I have deleted the following unsourced trivia:

It is reported that King had sexual relationships prior to age 10, ...

The supposed source makes no mention of this "fact". --Technopat 16:51, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

The referenced source has again been used to "back" unsourced information. Please help check that sources correspond to what they purport to. --Technopat 20:54, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Lucille

On 17 April an IP editor added the following section without sourcing. Can anyone substantiate this story, and does it belong in Wikipedia? --Bejnar 23:29, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Back in the late 1940's when B.B.'s career was in its infancy, one of his stops on the road was in Twist, Arkansas. It used to get quite cold in Twist in the evenings, and in order to keep the dance hall warm, kerosene was used for heat. A large barrel was placed in the center of the room and was filled about half way up with the fuel. The kerosene was then lighted to heat the room, a practice which was not uncommon in those days.

One cold night in 1949, two men started fighting and knocked over the barrel of burning kerosene. The burning fuel spilled over the floor like a river of fire. Every one, including B.B., ran out the front door. Once outside, B.B. realized that he left his guitar, a Gibson acoustic, inside the inferno. He went back inside the collapsing building to save his guitar, almost losing his life in the process. The blaze that night claimed two fatalities.

The next morning, B.B. discovered why the two men were fighting the night before. It seems as though they were fighting over a lady, and although he never met the woman, B.B. learned her name was Lucille. B.B. named that guitar Lucille, and also every guitar he has owned since that night, "to remind me never to do a thing like that again."

• I removed it again today, 6 May 2007. Anyone find a source? Does it belong in an encyclopedic article on B.B. King? --Bejnar 23:59, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

• I found the source. http://www.worldblues.com/bbking/prairie/lucille.html --Ncix 13:25, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

So, in other words, it is a copyright violation, as that source is "Text copyright ©, 1996 Jim Kerekes & Dennis O'Neill". Therefore Wikipedia cannot use that text. The question still remains does that story (assuming that it is appropriately rewritten) belong in this article, or is it beyond the scope of an encyclopedia article? If it does belong here, would a simple three sentences encapsulate the essence of the story? --Bejnar 13:47, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

• I tend to think the story merits inclusion. Lucille is one of King's best-known trademarks, and so a brief explanation of how the guitar got its name is deserved. I agree that it could be much shorter. My suggestion would be to pull the story out of the page header, and create a Lucille section later in the article, along the lines as follows:

One of King's best-known trademarks is his guitar, "Lucille." While different types of guitars bore the name early in his career, in 1982, King made an arrangement with Gibson[1], and has used a customized Gibson ES-335 guitar since that time. His customizations include a fine-tuner tailpiece and a semi-hollow body with no soundholes.

The guitar's name stems from an incident in 1949, during which King had to evacuate a venue he was playing when it caught fire. Realizing he had left his guitar inside, King went back into the burning building to retrieve it. The building began to collapse around him, and King says he almost lost his life in the blaze. (Two men died in the fire.) King later learned that the fire was caused by two men fighting over a woman named Lucille, and he gave the guitar the woman's name "to remind me never to do a thing like that again."[2]

Of course, this means the Lucille page also needs real help.

AllTheseWorlds 18:05, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

• I like it. I think we should put that in to the article. Ncix 22:35, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

I think that's appropriate as well, but does rewording something constitute copyright or is it ok so long as you source it?--Mikeoman 20:36, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

• Actually, I'm not sure about the copyright issue, he tells this story in one of his concerts, I have the track, if anyone want's to listen, couldnt that be simply used as the source, I mean that would be first hand information on how his guitar got the name etc.123.255.54.111 05:50, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

yikes: of course the story has to be reworded, not lifted verbatim from a copyrighted source! and yes, it's the wording that's copyrighted, not the information itself. i'm removing the passage until someone has time to rewrite it. Sssoul (talk) 06:18, 7 April 2009 (UTC)

Musical Style

One major thing this article lacks is an article on BB's musical style, BB is famous for his solos and he uses a special extended version of the minor pentatonic scale using more treble strings than bass, i'm going to master it myself then i'm going to write about it. What we need to establish is- does BB play rhythm? I read that he's not good a chords but I can't say for sure, What I think would be accurate to say is that the drums and the other instruments comp whilst BB remains as the frontman and provides melody by singing or his solos, I think that's right, but if someone would confirm. What we must also speak about is the content of his lyrics and going against what is popular for example in the song- 'the cost to be the boss' and 'don't answer the door' would be historially controversial as it was at the time of American feminism. Finally we need to speak about the masses of bluesmen BB has inspired, I can name, clapton, Jeff Beck there are others but none come to mind. Bobby Bland, Robert Cray, Gary Moore and U2 played with BB King, some shared the solos, some just played rhythm with him and some sung with him, are there any other examples? I can include this in the article soon but I need some more contributions.--Mikeoman 13:16, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

If we answer these 7 questions we can get a good musical style section. If you can answer these questions write the number underneath and say what info you have, please sign your posts

1) talk about his voice- is he baritone, bass etc. and couple that with his lyrics- from what i've heard of him he sings about his bad love life, but he has happier songs like 'playing with my friends', maybe some info about his songwriting process.

2) talk about his band- he has drums, wind instruments etc. and the role of his backing singers. what does he have?

3) what kinds of guitar, amps and effects does he use?

4) who inspired BB king?

5) who did BB inspire- I can name Jeff Beck, Bobby Bland. who else?

6) theory- Is there anything special about the way he solos? to me it's a lot more 'trebley' sounding, he's famous for his solos.

7) Who did BB king do duets with I can name Bobby Bland, U2, who else? we need names of tracks.--Mikeoman 12:52, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Re: "What we need to establish is- does BB play rhythm?":

When I saw him in Indiana in December of 1980 he only played lead. I don't think this is strictly a matter of technical limitation. King is a very accomplished showman, and he needs his arms to be free in order to gesture with them while singing. This is an important part of his act.

Re: "5) who did BB inspire- I can name Jeff Beck, Bobby Bland. who else?":

Carlos Santana, or course!

Re: "2) talk about his band- he has drums, wind instruments etc. and the role of his backing singers. what does he have?":

He's recorded in a variety of formats from rhythm section plus a single saxophone to a large big band. His signature song "The Thrill Is Gone" has salient strings, of course. In Indiana he was backed by "the B. B. King Orchestra", a moderately sized big band.

6) theory- Is there anything special about the way he solos? to me it's a lot more 'trebley' sounding, he's famous for his solos.":

I don't think "trebly sounding" is it. His solos are laconic and well-paced, and his phrasing and use of vibrato match his vocal phrasing and vocal use of vibrato almost precisely. There's very little difference between King singing and King playing guitar. TheScotch (talk) 07:45, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

instruments

I have just added piano (he plays solo on "Nobody Loves Me ..." on Indianola Mississippi Seeds) to the infobox, but some mention should also be made in the body of the text - just can't find where to include it. Any ideas? Thanx.--Technopat 14:15, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Adding copyright stuff?

To those of you out there who know about such things: I just came across a great interview wherein B. B. makes what I consider an important reference to his use of a brass section. Is there any way it can be included in the article using the "insert block of quoted text" icon without it infringing copyright? Here's the paragraph and the website URL and date accessed etc. which might be useful to add:

My very first recordings [in 1949] were for a company out of Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalls. "I had horns that very first session. I had Phineas Newborn on piano; his father played drums, and his brother, Calvin, played guitar with me. I had Tuff Green on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player.

http://www.bluesaccess.com/No_37/bb_talk.html

A BLUES ACCESS Interview by Wayne Robins (Spring 1999) – Accessed April 29th 2008

Hope someone can fit it in somehow, Regards, --Technopat (talk) 22:49, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Questionable Quote

The quote "I have 4 people in my life I wanted to be like - would you believe 3 of them was white...and I'm from Mississippi!" and the footnote simply refers to "see external links."

This quote was added on March 17, 2008 by 65.93.138.38. who, when he/she added it deleted 3 King "citation needed" quotes. I have changed the reference to "citation needed". --Pbh444 --Pbh444 (talk) 15:34, 23 May 2008 (UTC) Update I now completely question the validity of the quote as he is supposed to have said: "and I am from Mississippi." Those words make no sense. It would have made sense if he had said something "and look what color I am." --Pbh444 (talk) 19:36, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

It seems to me pretty obvious that "and look what I color I am" would have been a ridiculous thing to say and that King would have never said it. It also seems to me that if you don't get the "and I'm from Mississippi" you probably shouldn't be editing this article. TheScotch (talk) 08:46, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

XM Blues Channel

Bluesville on XM Satellite Radio is rebranding their channel to add BB King's name in July 2008. Not sure if he is doing the shows (ala Tom Petty, Bob Dylan) or just lending his name.

-Phil R 7-14-2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.74.173.5 (talk) 21:22, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Space between B. and B.

Allmusic.com, the official B.B. King-website, and most album covers I've seen (example 1, example 2, example 3), do not put a space between the B initials. Should this article not reflect that? Gigantibyte (talk) 03:19, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

I would agree. His initials are not B. B., that is a nickname ("Blues Boy") of his. Thus, the letters should not be written like initials, more like an abbreviation of a nickname, 'B.B.'. Andre666 (talk) 09:08, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

i agree. what would be entailed in making the change? a] putting a "hidden note" at the top of the page to direct people to this section before changing it back; b] doing a page move; c] fixing the "what links here" pages; d] ... what else? Sssoul (talk) 09:18, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

I would have agreed until a while back, but now not so sure. Wikipedia doesn't follow the aesthetic of album cover/web site designers (who, among other things, often use lowercase for names, etc.) and when I originally started editing BB King articles here way back as an unregistered IP user, an editor corrected my BB and changed it to B. B. and linked me to an MoS bit that clearly laid down the law on this issue. I have since tried to find that particlular guideline - to no avail. It's been nagging me ever since, so am interested in solving this. Cheers! --Technopat (talk) 09:53, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

well, guidelines change, including the MoS; and there are exceptions to everything. we all know the rules for punctuating intials, but as noted above: B.B. is his nickname, not his initials. if there's "local" consensus for this change, we could invoke WP:BRD and see what happens; or we could start by having an RfC to see if there's any serious objection. until further notice i'm inclined toward the BRD approach ... Sssoul (talk) 10:18, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

I'm editing my comment (no problem for the deletion-and-paste) because when I wrote it i could'n see anything on the talk page. I think if thre's no sentence in the MoS that clarifies this issue we should write it like himself does! It's not a name but an artistic nickname so it doesn't have to be even spelled correctly, or am I completely wrong? Khaozete (talk) 17:47, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

Instead of moving the article to a "new" name - and possibly waking up the odd sleeping dog :) , how 'bout being subtle and just adding a summary of what is mentioned here and something along the lines of: "His stage name is also written BB King and B.B. King". --Technopat (talk) 18:16, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

I think it's OK. That's better than make a conflict. Khaozete (talk) 22:35, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

okay so i've added something like that (in the paragraph explaining the origins of the nickname) and also changed it to the spaceless "B.B." throughout the article, so now the only inconsistency is the article's title. i'd be really happy to see that changed as well but if you say those sleeping dogs are really too much of a hassle to deal with ... sigh, okay, so be it! 8) Sssoul (talk) 06:42, 5 April 2009 (UTC)

influence

please can someone add his influence on other guitarists and on music at all, techniques or something like that, i don't know much about him but he deserves more than the few legacy lines i think. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.196.253.221 (talk) 21:01, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Rolling Stone's ranking..........

Who posted BB's ranking on Rolling Stone's list of greatest guitarists? In my opinion this is completely random and irrelavent information, especially in the heading. And if any of you have seen their list I'm sure you'd agree with me that it is stupid and doesn't truly reflect a guitarist's standard.

Live recordings?

I make Live at the Apollo (B. B. King album) (1990) his last-but-one live recording, in which case his 2006 live CD and DVD, B.B. KING LIVE, would be the first live recording in 16 years. Feedback - and references - anyone? Cheers!--Technopat (talk) 00:58, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

incomprehensible bits

i've just done some general clean-up-type editing, and in the process i removed two items because i couldn't figure out what they're trying to express. i hope someone can help clarify them:

King was present before the boxing match at the world championship between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in the stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire, in October 1974. His band's performance there was released on a DVD.

what does "present" mean in this case - his band was the warm-up act for the Ali/Frazier fight? if so, then that's the way to say that. (the release date of the dvd is in the "Videography" section and it's worth adding here too, if this sentence is going to be restored to the body of the article.)

the next enigmatic sentence i removed was:

Among his jazz colleagues like Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, King once said, "What they did, simply went over my horizon."

i don't understand any of that - he said this "among" his colleagues?? meaning what - is it praise or indifference or ... ?? (and either way, does it need to be in the article?) Sssoul (talk) 06:56, 5 April 2009 (UTC)

born Riley B. King...

The lead states that he was "born Riley B. King". As this is unlikely, does anyone have any idea as to the B. bit? --Technopat (talk) 13:36, 5 April 2009 (UTC)

I've searched around and could not found what the B stands for in Riley B. The only information is that his father Albert King named him after his brother Riley King, who was last heard to be in a Texas prison, although what happened to him after that is anyone's guess. Holyroller07 (talk) 10:08, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

This article says that "King's middle initial "B" is just that, it is not an abbreviation." That's the best I could find. Jafeluv (talk) 17:36, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

the "final farewell tour"

was it officially called the Final Farewell Tour? the article currently seems undecided about whether or not to capitalize that name (and whether or not to use quote marks around it), and we should make it consistent one way or the other. it's a minor point but ... well, the devil is in the details. Sssoul (talk) 11:39, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

Claim Authentication

"King won a Grammy Award for a tune called "Thunder horse"; his version became a hit on both the pop and R&B charts, which was rare during that time for an R&B artist." -It was rare for a BLUES artist. R&b should be changed to blues, because first of all he decidedly not r&b, and secondly plenty of r&b/soul acts crossed over. This distinction is very important. Both blues and r&b acts did well on the Black Singles Chart (what it was once called), though few blues artists crossed over to the pop charts.24.0.60.105 (talk) 18:18, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

the recent move to BB and back

okay, we've had the B and R, so can we have the "D" part of BRD now, please?
i support moving this article to BB King - it's the normal way his stage name is presented; and since these aren't his initials, wikipedia rules about punctuating initials shouldn't be applied. Sssoul (talk) 16:39, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

Requested move (2009)

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was moved to B.B. King –Juliancolton | ^Talk 01:22, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

---

B. B. King → B.B. King — Per multiple discussions above. The B's aren't initials, it's his stage name. B.B. King is the accepted standard for this stage name (google either "B.B. King," "B. B. King" or "BB King" and you'll get exactly the same google results; closer inspection will reveal that it's always written "B.B. King"). Consensus in the "Space between B. and B." section above that this is the correct stage name. Cayafas (talk) 14:53, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

See also previous discussion above. — AjaxSmack 16:39, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Support per multiple discussions above - it's a two-letter stage name, not initials. Sssoul (talk) 15:01, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Support
— V = I * R (talk) 02:27, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

a layout proposal

the way the photos are positioned is getting really awkward-looking, at least on my browser (Firefox 3.5). can we start considering which photos really add something to the article and how to position them gracefully? the Montreux 2006 photo for example crowds the text quite severely and is not very legible as an illustration - can we remove it? i'm sure it's a great photo but it doesn't work well within the constraints of a Wikipedia article. Sssoul (talk) 15:53, 12 November 2009 (UTC)

Having added many photos to Wiki I know that owners can get quite possessive over their contributions......however that particular photo seems to be very blurry, hardly shows King and, as you say, splays the info. Would agree with your suggestion.--Egghead06 (talk) 16:04, 12 November 2009 (UTC)

thanks for your input - i've gone ahead and made some trial rearrangements; while trying to get the photos placed sensibly, i also rearranged the sections a bit, removed some duplicate information, eliminated an empty section, etc. it looks better to me now, but could certainly still be improved; and if any of my changes seem misguided of course it's fine to rework them. Sssoul (talk) 18:50, 12 November 2009 (UTC)

your information

Dear Mr.B.King My name is Miracle T. Watson an im doing a reaserch on you a i really need to learn more about you so if you can help me out an tell me what educations did you do an skills,and training i tried to look it up but i cant find the website with all of your information you can surely e.mail me at watson.mirale@yahoo.com your's truely, Miracle T. Watson —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.21.117.71 (talk) 03:04, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for trying to find more information about B.B. King! I wish more people were as dedicated as you are! However, remember, the Wikipedia, an encyclopedia, has basic rules, and among the first we learn is that NO original research is accepted here. There IS a lot of information about B.B King in library books, in newspaper and magazine articles and more! I'd be happy work with you to find them and help show you how to properly add them to his (or any) musician's biography articles! (First thing- to avoid your text like above, from having run-on sentances with a square around it, never indent any text--be sure all of it lines up with the left margin line in any writing box in Wikipedia, and also, after finishing any talk comment, sign your name with four tildes --these things (~~) just be sure to use four of them, OR click the little "signature tab", just to the right of the one above this writing box with the red crossed over the W. By clicking it, it will leave both your username, place where we can contact you on your personal talk page, and the date. If you wish to reach me with questions, just click the "talk" after my name since I'm signing my name that way now! --Leahtwosaints (talk) 01:42, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Early Life and Honors/Awards

The article fails to mention that both B.B.'s mother, grandmother, and father had died by the time he was about 14. His mother and father most likely died of diabetes. And in the honors and awards section, his honorary doctorate from Brown is listed, but he has at least three others than I am aware of: Yale, Rhodes College, and Mississippi Valley State. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.65.10.179 (talk) 08:50, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Honors and awards

I added that in 1980, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Im surprized it wasn't already in there, although it is mentioned in the external links. Seems like quite an important honor. Toxicchili (talk) 12:51, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Minor Edit

Does anyone else see a problem with the way this sentence is structured? "In 1930, when King was four years old, his father abandoned the family and his mother married another man." .. can someone reword this little bit as to not imply that his father left his family FOR ANOTHER MAN , unless of course you can site it . im not one for editing articles myself so can someone who knows what they are doing please change it.--HighallTimes (talk) 15:17, 8 July 2011 (UTC)

Requested move (2011)

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: page moved. Arbitrarily0 ^(talk) 01:04, 26 July 2011 (UTC)

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B. B. King → B.B. King – Previous consensus above has agreed to let this article remain at B.B. rather than the usual convention of B. B. It was changed back in a unilateral move, but because of the earlier consensus, a new discussion should take place first based on the arguments made above. --Starcheerspeaksnewslostwars (talk) 23:28, 19 July 2011 (UTC)

• Speedy rename violating a previously established consensus discussion outcome without establishing a new consensus. 65.93.15.213 (talk) 04:00, 20 July 2011 (UTC)
• Speedy rename - Is inserting a space between two initials - "B. B." - the usual convention? Surely the convention is no intervening space between two initials? Opbeith (talk) 07:58, 20 July 2011 (UTC)
  • We usually space initials, though there is no weight of policy behind that, simply practice. Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people)#Middle names and abbreviated names -- Powers ^T 13:15, 21 July 2011 (UTC)
    • "Weight of policy"? I thought policy was produced by "simple practice"? What ever happened to consensus? Srnec (talk) 14:40, 21 July 2011 (UTC)
      • I wasn't sure how else to describe it. Of course I meant there's no weight of consensus, as expressed in policy. Powers ^T 17:20, 21 July 2011 (UTC)
• Speedy rename- Even though spacing has been changed in other article title names, "B.B." is not from his initials, but from his stage name. Read the article, or go to his official site to confirm (which is consistently 'B.B.' except where 'bbking' for computer formatting). Dru of Id (talk) 09:28, 21 July 2011 (UTC)

• Comment – Other uses not representing names: L.V. Johnson, J.D. Short, but J. B. Lenoir. -Ojorojo (talk) 15:59, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

• Support. Srnec (talk) 14:40, 21 July 2011 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Sources belong here, not in external links

These sources do not belong in External links. I have moved the link farm from there to this talk page where they do belong. Warning: I didn't check them over, so be careful in choosing any references here. Thank you! --Leahtwosaints (talk) 12:03, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

• Official B. B. King Museum website
• B. B. King at IMDb
• B. B. King discography at MusicBrainz
• Tickets Portal of BB King
• 1980 Blues Foundation Hall of Fame induction
• Live Photos 1 2
• B. B. King's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project
• B. B. King biographer Charlie Sawyer writes about returning to the Delta and a "charette" on the B. B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, Mississippi
• Harvard University pays tribute to B.B. King with multiple web pages and a video of a 2-hour concert honoring B.B. King at Harvard University in 2007, featuring "Monster Mike" Welch and J. Geils performing with the blues band "2120 South Michigan Avenue"
• B. B. King: Number 1 Bluesman (November 22, 1969) KPFA audio documentary at archive.org.

Born in 2012??

'smartyyy. King (born September 16, 2012), known by the stage name B.B. King This must be incorrect as I don't think BB King was born in 2012?????? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.54.222.170 (talk) 15:00, 17 October 2012 (UTC)

Someone was obviously having fun. The correct date of birth has been restored.--JayJasper (talk) 16:53, 17 October 2012 (UTC)

"Random Black Man" (??)

BB King's Name has been listed as "Random Black Man". Clearly this is incorrect, not to mention offensive. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.144.20.208 (talk) 21:44, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

It was vandalism. Regards.--Tomcat (7) 21:47, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Name of "his" club in New York City

The name of "his" club in New York City is "B.B. King Blues Club & Grill" (note lack of apostrophe-s), as can be seen on its Web site. --anon 72.68.252.181 (talk) 20:25, 6 April 2013 (UTC)

TV appearances

In the TV appearances section, it says King was in Married... with Children. It was episode 14 of season 5, Look Who's Barking. I was thinking about maybe adding the episode name in parentheses after the show name. Someone reading this article might want to check out the episode King was in, for example. However, none of the other television shows mentioned in that section have episode information. Add it or not? --82.170.113.123 (talk) 22:58, 12 April 2013 (UTC)

Sebastian Acosta??

There is no reference to his birth name. If his father was Albert King, where does "Acosta" come from? --Jbaranao (talk) 16:29, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Status

The most recent report has him resting at home. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 17:37, 4 May 2015 (UTC)