B.B. King has died at the age of 89. The Blues icon was considered one of the greatest guitar players of all time and credited with bringing the music of the African-American community of the Deep South into the mainstream. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
King, who was born in 1925, began performing in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi in the 1940s. (Photo by GAB Archive/Redferns)
GAB Archive/Getty
He was signed to his first record contract by an independent company in California in 1950, after a couple of years in obscurity he started to be recognized with successful national tours.
GAB Archive/Getty
In 1970, he won his first Grammy award taking his underground stardom into the mainstream. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
He played with fellow blues stars John Lee Hooker, and Papa John Creach in Los Angeles in 1974. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
King would go on to record more than 50 albums. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
He won 15 Grammys including a lifetime achievemet award that was handed out in 1987, decades before he retired from live performances. (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images)
Vince Bucci/Getty
King toured non-stop; sometimes completing more than 300 gigs per year. In 2004 he toured Spain with Raimundo Amador and Dr. John. (REUTERS/Heino Kalis AC/WS)
President George W. Bush awarded King the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006. (Photo credit should read TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty
His beloved guitars were always known as Lucille. (SWITZERLAND ENTERTAINMENT IMAGES OF THE DAY)
