B.B. King - Young Bluesman

Young Bluesman

When Riley B. King first arrived in Memphis in the summer on 1946, he searched on Beale Street for his cousin Bukka White. After looking for Bukka for a few days, Riley finally found him and Bukka took young Riley in. For the next ten months, Bukka schooled Riley in the art of the blues. Although Riley and Bukka jammed together in private, they never played in public. Riley's talents were improving and he profited from impromptu jam sessions with other blues musicians he had met in and around the Memphis area. Bukka had prepared Riley for his life as a bluesman by teaching him everything from how to hold his guitar to phrasing lyrics. Bukka's most important trait which he impressed upon Riley was his durability, and without it, B.B. King would not be who he is today.

After ten months in Memphis with Bukka, Riley decided that his music career was getting nowhere. Besides that, he missed his wife and had left other responsibilities back in Indianola. Riley returned to Indianola, and in 1947, he and his wife Martha raised a crop on the Johnson Barrett plantation. By end of the crop season in 1948, Riley had earned enough money to pay off all of his debts by sharecropping, driving a tractor for $22.50 per week, loading trucks and playing guitar on street corners. In late 1948 he headed back to Memphis, this time bound and determined to make it in the music business.


When Riley returned to Memphis, he went to look for Sonny Boy Williamson who had a blues music radio show on station KWEM. Sonny Boy was actually Aleck "Rice" Miller, who has been commonly referred to as Sonny Boy Williamson #2. Riley had met Sonny Boy earlier in Indianola and was friends with his guitarist Robert "Junior" Lockwood. Once Riley had found Sonny Boy, he asked him if he could play a song on his blues radio show. When Riley had convinced Sonny Boy to let him play, Sonny Boy touted Riley as a new talent and the radio station was flooded with calls. Sonny Boy then set up Riley with a gig for which he himself had overbooked as a backup for his preferred show. Sonny Boy was in a bind, and Riley now had his big chance to play in front of a live crowd at Miss Annie's Saloon in West Memphis.

Riley couldn't have picked a better time to return to Memphis. Miss Annie told Riley that if he was to become a regular performer at the saloon, he would have to promote the business on the radio. On June 7, 1947, a new radio station, WDIA, went on the air. By 1948, the station was turned into one of the first all black staffed and managed radio stations. Riley went to WDIA and asked the popular DJ, Nat Williams, if he could make a record. Surprised by Riley's request, one of the station's two owners, Bert Ferguson, had an idea. The station had just secured an advertising contract for a health tonic named Pepticon, the competitor for the tonic Hadacol, which was promoted by Sonny Boy Williamson on KWEM. Ferguson set Riley up with a ten minute spot in which he could play his guitar and sing anything he liked, as long as he promoted Pepticon. Riley's advertising jingle was:

"Pepticon, Pepticon, sure is good - You can get it anywhere in your neighborhood"

Riley became known as the Pepticon boy. Because of his popularity, the radio station expanded his program and promoted him to a DJ. Riley's show was called the "Sepia Swing Club." He played recordings by black artists, played his guitar and also sang requests from listeners. Now that he was a DJ, Riley needed a catchy name. He started out as the "Beale Street Blues Boy," later he changed it to "Blues Boy King," and finally shortened it to the now famous "B.B. King."

B.B. King's popularity was spreading and he made his first recordings in 1949 for the Bullet Recording and Transcription Company. Jim Bulleit had recently expanded Bullet Records into the race record market with a series of blues recordings called the "Sepia" series. It was these early recordings which caught the attention of the Bihari brothers, Jules, Saul and Joe, who controlled Modern Records. Modern issued three labels: Kent, Crown and RPM. In the summer of 1949, B.B. signed a recording contract with Modern Records which lasted for 10 years.

During the last six months of 1949, RPM released six B.B. King singles. A good example of one of B.B.'s earliest RPM recordings is the song,"B.B. Boogie," - from Everyday I Have the Blues, (182 K, 17 sec.) Copyright ©, TEL-STAR Records, 1991. Although none of the recordings were a national success, locally B.B. was quite popular. B.B.'s airplay of his records, along with his public appearances, built him a steady circuit of Roadhouses and juke joints where he was the top attraction. These places might be no larger than tiny roadside hash houses or as big as large dance halls. B.B. was a local celebrity, but outside of Memphis, no one had heard of him. He was moving up fast and needed a manager. B.B.'s first manager was a Beale Street pool hall owner, Robert Henry. Henry also operated a record shop, an amusement park and a few restaurants.

Just after Christmas in 1951, B.B.'s seventh RPM single, "Three O'Clock Blues," a Lowell Fulson tune, hit Billboard's R&B record chart."Three O'Clock Blues," - from The Fabulous B.B. King, (133 K, 12 sec.) Copyright ©, VIRGIN Records, 1991. By early 1952, the song reached the number one position and stayed there for 15 weeks. B.B. had finally received national recognition as a blues musician. As a result of the success of the song, Robert Henry was able to get B.B. a contract with Universal Artists in New York, which set him up with shows at the three major black theaters in the country: the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C., the Royal Theater in Baltimore, and the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Less than 18 months after he had first played on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio show, B.B. took a leave of absence from his job at WDIA and left Memphis for Washington to start on his first national tour.

As a result of his new found success, B.B.'s marriage was now under a heavy strain. Without any children, the couple had to either travel on the road together, or separate during tours. Martha King knew that as an entertainer, B.B. was subject to adoring young female fans. It was only a matter of time before the tension resulted in divorce. While B.B. was on tour, he got word that Martha had left Memphis and had filed for the divorce. Although he was crushed by the news, it inspired him to write the song "Woke Up This Morning," which was his first big hit after "Three O'Clock Blues." In 1952, after 8 years of marriage, B.B. and Martha King were divorced.

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B.B. King - The King of the Blues

IN THE BEGINNING
YOUNG BLUESMAN
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
RISE TO STARDOM
LUCILLE SPEAKS
DISCOGRAPHY
THE INFLUENCES

Surely the most influential guitarist of our time, B.B. has had a major impact on the development of modern blues and rock & roll music. Although he was a well known star on the "chitlin circuit" during the 1950's and 60's, B.B. King was relatively unknown to Middle America until the late 1960's. B.B. broke through the barriers of race and national boundaries when he recorded an adaptation of the Roy Hawkins'song, "The Thrill Is Gone." The song shot up to #15 on the Pop charts and topped out at #3 on the R&B charts in 1970, leading to the solidification of B.B. King as the premier blues artist of our time.

B.B. King has also been referred to as "The Ambassador of the Blues" - he is constantly on the road, performing more than 250 shows per year. In 1956, B.B. King performed 342 one night stands! His travels have taken him all over the world. B.B. has performed in the former U.S.S.R in 1979, and at the opening of the Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing, China.

From his humble beginnings as a sharecropping farmer, to his rise to musical stardom, these pages will take you on a cyberspace exploration into the life and times of the man known as the "King of the Blues."

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B.B. King - In The Beginning

In The Beginning

The year was 1925 ... In the area of Mississippi known as the "Delta", a baby was born on September 16 in a small sharecropper's cabin near the town of Itta Bena. The proud parents of the newborn baby boy were Albert and Nora Ella King, hardworking sharecropping farmers who had lived in Mississippi all of their lives. The boy was named Riley B. King, after his uncle, the only known living kin of Albert King. It should be noted here that B.B. King's father, Albert King, was NOT the great bluesman from Indianola, Mississippi. Although the now dearly departed bluesman named Albert King grew up in the same area of the Delta as B.B. King did, they were not related.

Young Riley King never knew his uncle for whom he had been named after. When Albert King was very young, his father had left his mother and vanished into parts unknown. Not long after his father had left, Albert's mother and only sister died, leaving him with his older brother. For reasons unknown, his brother had left young Albert to be raised by a sharecropper named Love. When Albert was 7 years old, he learned that his brother was in a Texas prison, and that was the last he had ever heard of him. In an interview with Albert King in 1978, he says of his son, "I call B.B. my baby brother 'cause we're only eighteen years apart. I call him B.B. like everybody else, but his real name is 'Riley.' Now he's got them two B's up front of his name."


Nora Ella King left Albert King for another man when Riley was only 4 years old. She moved back into the hills east of the Delta and sent Riley to live in nearby Kilmicheal with his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr. Riley's father Albert did not interfere, and lost touch with his wife and son. Riley lived off and on with his mother and two subsequent step fathers, but most of the time he stayed with his grandmother, who sharecropped on the land of Edwayne Henderson, a dairy farmer.

Riley's mother and grandmother were both very religious and he attended services with them at the Holiness Church in Kilmicheal. It was here at church where young Riley had his first true musical influence. The preacher, Archie Fair, who was the brother-in-law of Riley's maternal uncle William Pullinan, was an important musical inspiration to Riley. Music was the main tool used by Archie Fair to bring the congregation together as one. Riley's dominant singing style with the congregation helped to develop his powerful charismatic influence for his future audiences. Archie Fair led the congregation by playing guitar. Riley was fascinated with the preacher's guitar and Archie taught him how to play the E, A and B chords.

Riley's mother died in the summer of 1935, when he was only 9 years old. He then lived with his grandmother in Kilmicheal. When word reached Riley's father, Albert King, of Nora Ella's death, he became concerned for Riley's welfare. He contacted Riley and told him that he could come to live with him, his new wife and family in Lexington, Mississippi whenever Riley was ready. Riley was reluctant to leave Kilmicheal because of his schooling and his newly formed gospel singing group. The group consisted of Riley's cousin Birkett Davis and his friend Walter Doris, Jr. Riley made the decision to stay in Kilmicheal.

Riley's grandmother, Elnora Farr, died on January 15, 1940. Although Riley still had kin in the area, his uncle William Pullinan and his aunt Mimy Stells, both of whom were sharecroppers for Henderson, neither family had either the resources or the room to support Riley. Riley continued to live at his grandmother's cabin and farmed one acre of Henderson's land to raise a cotton crop. He barely made enough money to live that year, and in the fall of 1940, Riley moved to Lexington to live with his father.

Riley lived with his father for two years. He became homesick for the Kilmicheal area, and in 1942 when he was 16 years old, he moved back to Kilmicheal to attend the Elkhorn school and continue singing with his gospel group. The Flake Cartledge family, white cash tenants for Edwayne Henderson, took Riley in and he worked to earn his keep. The Cartledge's were very kind to Riley, in fact Flake loaned Riley $2.50 to buy his first guitar from a Kilmicheal man, Denzil Tidwell. By the end of 1942, Riley had decided to move to the Delta in search of better work, but in the back of his mind he was thinking about forming a better singing group with his cousin, Birkett. Birkett borrowed a car, and in the spring of 1943, he moved Riley to Indianola, Mississippi.

Riley was able to find work with an Indianola planter named Johnson Barrett. Riley worked on the Barrett plantation as both a sharecropper and a tractor driver, for which he was paid a day wage of $1.00. In only a few short months after leaving Kilmicheal, Riley now had a skilled job as a tractor driver, a new singing group and a girlfriend.

The singing group consisted of a five man chorus, including Riley and cousin Birkett, and was led by John Matthews. The new group was called "The Famous St. John's Gospel Singers." Riley accompanied them on guitar when they sang, mostly at churches. Occasionally, they gave live performances which were broadcast on radio station WGRM in Greenwood, Mississippi. At this same time, Riley was also playing the blues on the Indianola street corners on Saturday nights. Blues music was not new to him, his mother's cousin, Bukka White, a noted Memphis bluesman, would come to visit Riley's family when they lived in Kilmicheal. Riley soon found out that by using his day wages for traveling money to get to other Delta towns, he could double or triple his money by playing the blues. His profits and exposure to other Delta bluesmen turned his musical interests away from the gospel spirituals.

Riley had to register for the Military draft in 1944 and was found physically fit for service. Johnson Barrett, not wanting to loose a skilled tractor driver, applied to the draft board on Riley's behalf for an occupational deferment. Barrett also told Riley that getting married would improve his chances of being deferred. Riley married his first wife, Martha Denton, on November 11, 1944, and shortly afterward he received his deferment.

After he was released from the selective service, Riley tried to convince the St. John's Gospel Singers to leave Indianola in search of fame and fortune. It soon became apparent to Riley that if he was going to make his career in music, he would have to make the break alone. The final decision came one night in May of 1946 when Riley had returned from the fields with the tractor. He shut off the tractor, but the engine turned over a couple of extra times and the machine lunged forward, breaking off the exhaust stack. Riley, not wanting to face an angry Johnson Barrett, left town with his guitar and $2.50 in his pocket. He was heading to Memphis on highway 49 in search of his cousin Bukka White ...

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