Riley
B. King was born September
16, 1925 in a sharecroppers cabin in an area of Mississippi knwon as the
Delta. to Albert and Nora Ella King (Note: BBs father was not the
legendary blues guitarist Albert King, just a guy named Albert.) When BB
was 4 years old, his mother left his father for another man. Nora then
sent BB to live with his Grandmother. Over the years, he did stay with
his mother for brief periods of time though, and lost contact with his
father.
BBs fascination with guitar began one Sunday when his grandmother took
him to church. The preacher there, named Archie Fair. Archie was BBs
first real musical influence, and taught him how to play the E, a and B
chords.
BBs mother died in late 1935, when he was only 9 years old. At the time,
BB was still living with his grandmother in Kilmicheal. When Albert
heard the news, he became concerned about BBs well-being, and wanted BB
to come live with him in Lexington Mississippi whenever he was ready.
But BB didn't want to leave Kilmichael, he was enrolled in school there,
and had just formed a Gospel singing group. BB decided to stay in
Kilmichael.
In early 1940, BBs grandmother died. Reluctantly, he stayed on his
grandmothers farm, not wanting to leave the area. Remember, his
grandmother was a sharecropper, and sharecroppers have to pay the
landowners for the use of the land, tools, and seed. By fall of 1940, BB
had farmed only one acre of the property, and barely made enough money
to sustain himself. That same year, he decided to move to Lexington with
his father.
Yearning for the Kilmichael area, he packed his bags, and moved back in
1942. BB moved in with the Flake Cartledge family, and worked for them
in exchange for living their. They treated BB well, and even loaned him
$2.50 to buy his first guitar with.
In spring of 1943, BB moved to Indianola, Missisippi. There, he worked
on a plantation owned by a man named Johnson Barrett. He worked as a
sharecropper and tractor driver, earning $1.00 a day. He also formed a
new singing group, called The Famous St. Johns Gospel singers. BB would
also play the blues on street corners on Saturday nights. BB found out
that by using his daily wage to travel, he could earn twice as much
playing the blues in other towns.
In 1944, BB had to register for military service, but shortly after,
married his first wife, Martha Denton, and recieved his deferment.
BB wanted the St Johns gospel singers to leave Indianola, but decided if
he was going to make it in music, he would have to break out alone. In
1946, BB left Indianola with $2.50 in his pocket and guitar in hand, to
find his cousin notable Blues musician Bukka White in Memphis.
After a few days of searching the streets of Memphis, he found Bukka.
Bukka taught BB everything he knew about playing the blues. After almost
a year in Memphis, BB decided to move back to his wife in Indianola,
because he thought his music career was going nowhere. In 1947, BB and
his wife were able to pay off all their sharecropping debt, and in 1948,
BB moved back to Memphis with his mind set on making it big.
This time, BB went looking for another person, Sonny Boy Williamson, who
had a blues radio show on a local radio station named KWEM. BB had
already met Sonny Boy in indianola and was friends with his guitarist.
When BB found Sonny boy, he convinced him to let him play a song on his
radio show. The radio song was a big success, and Sonny Boy booked BB to
play his first gig, at Miss annies saloon in west memphis. To become a
regular performer there, BB had to advertise the business on radio. BB
asked a newly formed all black radio station, WDIA, if he could make a
record. The radio station gave BB a ten minute spot instead, in which he
could play guitar, as long as he advertised a medicine named Pepticon.
This was BBs advertising jingle:
"Pepticon, Pepticon, sure is good - You can get it anywhere in your
neighborhood"
The spot was so successful, that the station promoted him to a DJ, and
expanded his show, called the Sepia Swing Club. Now that he was a DJ, he
of course needed a catchy nickname. First there was Beale Street Blues
Boy, then it was shortened to, Blues Boy king, and finally, it became BB
king.
BB made his first recording for the Bullet recording and transcription
company. Those early blues recordings caught the attention of the owners
of Modern records. BB signed a 10-year contract with Modern.
In late 1949, one of moderns labels, RPM, released six of BBs songs as
singles. BB became a very popular local musician, not yet receiving
national attention. He was a nobody outside of Memphis.
In early 1951, BB released another single for RPM, Three O Clock Blues,
which slowly ascended the charts, and by early 1952, it was at the
number one spot, and remained there for 15 weeks. That same year, BBs
wife Marthas building jealousy for his young female fans resulted in her
filing for divorce. It inspired BB to write Woke up this morning, which
became a big hit. BB and Martha were divorced in late 1952 after 8 years
of marriage.
BB was going on his first national tour in 1952. His opening show was
playing with the Tiny Bradshaw band in Washington DC. The tour lasted 6
months. BB then began paying in Memphis again, and performing on WDIA.
In 1953, BB broke his contract with then manager Robert Henry, who could
not handle a nationwide career. He signed with a new manager named
Maurice Merrit, and hired a booking agent named Don Robey.
In '55, BBs friend Cato Walker bought a used Greyhound bus for $5000,
and fixed up. This was used as BBs touring bus. In 1958, the bus hit an
oil tanker in a head on collision on a narrow bridge. Luckily, no one
was hurt. But unluckily for BB, who was not on the bus that night, his
insurance on he bus the previous Friday had been dropped. BB was now
$100,000 in debt, and had to buy a new bus, which he bought for $27,000.
On June 4, 1958, BB married Sue Hall, whom he had met in indianola. She
was 15 years younger than BB, and toured with him for half a yea until
they bought a home in Los angeles. But, this marriage met the same ill
fortune as his first. With BB touring constantly, the marriage fell
apart and ended in divorce in 1966. this inspired Bb to write his
biggest hit song, The Thrill Is Gone.
BB was still frustrated with his music being isolated from the
mainstream, and most white people ignored him. But around 1965, the gate
between Mainstream music and blues started to open, following the
Newport Folk Festival, in which whites were exposed to Sun house,
Mississippi John hurt, and the Butterfield Blues Band.
When BB was finally recognized by the mainstream, he recorded a hit
record, the thrill is gone, and got a new manager. His new manager was
Sidney a Seidenberg, a business account who was also BB’s book keeper.
He re-negotiated contracts and booked major shows. In 1973, BB dropped
Seidenberg because he thought he was putting him second behind another
band he was managing at the time, Gladys Nights and the Pips.
Eventually, Seidenberg was dropped by Gladys Night and in 1977 they
joined forces once again.
A legend for over 50 years, BB king was one of the few people who
remained true to the music he played. BB did not change with the times,
the times changed with him.
