King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King

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"King of the Blues presents the vibrant life and times of a trailblazing musical giant. Riley 'Blues Boy' King (1925-2015) was born into deep poverty in Jim Crow Mississippi and music became his emancipation from exhausting toil in the fields as a sharecroppyer. Inspired by the records of Blind Lemon Jefferson and T-Bone Walker, B.B. taught his guitar to sing in the unique solo style that, along with his relentless work ethic and humanity, became his trademark. Over the course of his career, B.B. performed incessantly -- more than fifteen thousand concerts in ninety countries over sixty years -- and several of his concerts, including his landmark gig at Chicago's Cook County Jail, endure in legend to this day. Daniel de Visé interviewed almost every surviving member of B.B. King's inner circle and their voices and memories enrich the life of this Mississippi blues titan whom generations of artists claimed as inspiration, from Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton to Carlos Santana and the Edge." -- From back cover