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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nCommercial Appeal journalists cover the important moments in Memphis<\/p>\n
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Sept. 16, 2025, will be a milestone in the history of Memphis and American music, as it marks what would have been B.B. King\u2019s 100th birthday<\/a>.<\/p>\n To all who ever heard him play, King was the one true king of the blues<\/a>. A musical giant, cultural icon and pre-eminent influence on guitarists for more than 60 years, King was singularly synonymous with the genre he loved and helped turn it into a global touchstone.<\/p>\n To celebrate his centenary, B.B. King\u2019s Blues Club<\/a> and Memphis Tourism<\/a> will present two days of music and celebrations on Sept. 14 and 16. Here’s what you should know about King and the upcoming events.<\/p>\n In a career that spanned eight decades, King\u2019s achievements and credits were legion. Universally hailed as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, he was given honorary doctorates from Ivy League schools, a Presidential Medal of Freedom and Kennedy Center Honors, had been enshrined in the Blues and Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll halls of fame, and won more than a dozen Grammy Awards. King was lavished with praise for more than half a century by his fellow artists. Several generations of the world\u2019s biggest musical stars would cite his emotive singing, lyrical playing and unparalleled vibrato as the height of the blues and the foundation of their own work.\u00a0<\/p>\n Born Riley B. King in Berclair, Mississippi, between Itta Bena and Indianola, in 1925, he was the great-grandson of a slave. King’s childhood was filled with heartbreak: His younger brother died as an infant, his parents then separated and his mother died when he was 9. He was raised by his grandmother, who passed away during his teens. Blues music \u2014 through the records of Lonnie Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson and via his cousin, the slide guitar master Bukka White \u2014 had a profound effect on the young King.\u00a0<\/p>\nWho was the ‘King of the Blues’?<\/h2>\n