B.B. King picked cotton on the plantation where he was born, but rose to become a world-travelling ambassador for the blues. He died yesterday in Las Vegas at the age of 89. "Lucille" was B.B. King's song about one of his first guitars, and it's the name he gave all the others he played during his extraordinary career. Jon Pareles, chief pop music critic for The New York Times, has more on the blues legend's career and his influence.
B.B. King at Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, Ontario, May 2007
Photo by Kasra Ganjavi
B.B. King at his home, October 8, 2014
Photo: B.B. King