B.B King in 2009 Photo by: Tom Beetz

On this date May 14, 2015, B.B. King passed away in Las Vegas. Born, Riley Ben King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), but known by his stage name B.B. King, was an American Hall of Fame blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. also,King had been a long time Las Vegas resident since 1975.

His biggest hit was “The Thrill Is Gone,” which won him the first of 15 Grammy awards. King was also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at more than 200 concerts per year on average into his 70s.  His famous guitar was named  Lucille which was a Gibson ES-355 “Lucille”.  B.B King was 89.

Photo by: Tom Beetz – http://www.flickr.com/photos/9967007@N07/6577873073