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B. B. King

B. B. King brought the blues from Mississippi to audiences around the world, while making Las Vegas his home for much of his later life. The singer and guitarist was more than an occasional casino headliner. His connections to the city included lounge performances, friendships with other entertainers and a private home that served as a base between long tours.

Born Riley B. King in the Mississippi Delta in 1925, he grew up with gospel singing and blues records. Moving to Memphis in 1947 brought him into a larger musical community, including his cousin, the guitarist Bukka White. Radio work helped establish both his audience and his name: “Beale Street Blues Boy” was shortened to B. B. King. The success of Three O’Clock Blues in the early 1950s helped launch a demanding national touring career.

King’s playing became recognizable through its phrasing rather than speed. He could make a bent note or a sustained vibrato answer his singing, leaving space between the vocal and the guitar. His instruments were famously called Lucille, a name he explained through the story of retrieving a guitar from a burning dance hall. Recordings such as The Thrill Is Gone carried his music beyond its established blues audience, and younger rock musicians helped introduce him to new listeners. The apparent ease of his performances rested on decades of work in clubs, theaters and concert halls.

Las Vegas offered another kind of stage. King credited Frank Sinatra with helping open the door to an engagement at Caesars Palace’s Nero’s Nook. He also performed at the Las Vegas Hilton, now Westgate. He moved to Las Vegas in 1975 and continued traveling extensively, so a home in the city did not mean a settled showroom residency. In 2009, he opened a B. B. King’s Blues Club at the Mirage, adding a venue bearing his name to his long association with resort entertainment.

King’s Las Vegas home also connected the city to his Mississippi legacy. Objects from the house, including his home studio, became part of the B. B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola. He died at home in Las Vegas on May 14, 2015, aged 89. Following his life across these places reveals a musician whose fame was international but whose daily working world included both the road and Las Vegas. The city belongs in his story as a place of opportunity, performance and home, alongside the Delta and Memphis.

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