B.B. King, born on September 16, 1925 in the Mississippi Delta, was the most
important and influential blues singer, guitarist and entertainer of the
twentieth century. He influenced entire generations of musicians, from Eric
Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan to Mike Bloomfield and Johnny Winter, so much so
that the question arises: what modern bluesman hasn't he inspired? The "King of
the Blues" hardly usurped his crown with immortal standards such as "Everyday I
Have the Blues" and "The Thril Is Gone"; a myriad of albums that defined and
accompanied a genre - electric blues - in a...