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Music1949–2015

B.B. King

Indianola, Mississippi King of the Blues whose Lucille guitar and vibrato-heavy single-string style defined electric blues and influenced virtually every rock guitarist who followed.

Origin
Indianola, Mississippi
Genre
Blues
B.B. King
Total Votes
Lists
Highest Rank
#—
The Divide

The Cultural Record

Discography

T
There Is Always One More Time1991

Indianola, Mississippi King of the Blues whose Lucille guitar and vibrato-heavy single-string style defined electric blues and influenced virtually every rock guitarist who followed

Blues ’n’ Jazz
Blues ’n’ Jazz1983
S
Six Silver Strings1985
Singin’ the Blues
Singin’ the Blues1957
M
Makin’ Love Is Good for You2000

Awards & Recognition

Grammy Awards
15

15 Grammy Awards

View All 15 Grammy Wins →
Hall of Fame

Riding with the King (2000

with Eric Clapton

Grammy)

Presidential Medal of Freedom

The Case For B.B. King

The longevity argument alone puts them in a category of one. While others burned bright and faded, this figure consistently reinvented and dominated across decades, eras, and cultural shifts that would have destroyed lesser talents.

C
@CulturalCritic
Credentialed Voter
4,201Agreed

Technically unmatched. The craft here is evident in every performance, every work — the kind of effortless execution that only comes from thousands of hours of mastery made invisible. They make the impossible look inevitable.

R
@RecordKeeper
Populist Voter
3,842Agreed

Commercial success should never be held against artistic legacy. The ability to dominate charts while maintaining critical respect is a skill unto itself — one that this figure has mastered better than any peer in the conversation.

V
@VoteWithFacts
Credentialed Voter
2,914Agreed

Rank History

Not Yet Available

Ranking history will be available once voting opens for B.B. King.

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