The Thrill IS Gone:B.B. King, Legendary "King of the Blues," R.I.P.

B.B. King, the legendary blues icon who entertained countless millions for generations with his world-weary voice and wailing guitar, which he often called Lucille, passed away on Thursday at Las Vegas at age 89.

Mr. King, born Riley B. King to sharecroppers in Mississippi in 1925, had recently been in hospice care.

B.B., a self-taught guitarist whose name stood for "Blues Boy," listened to primeval bluesman Rice Miller, one of two performers who worked under the nom de plume Sonny Boy Williamson in 1941 on King Biscuit Time, which aired over KFFA Radio in Helena, Arkansas, which the young Mr. King heard on the radio during a lunch break at the plantation where he picked cotton.

After serving in the Army and marrying his first wife, 22-year-old B.B. went to seek out Mr. Miller in Memphis as he was looking for work.

Mr. Miller had two performances that night, one in Memphis, the other in B.B.'s native Mississippi.  He handed the lower-paying nightclub job to Mr. King.  It paid $12.50.

Mr. King, who had been being paid $5 per day at the plantation, never returned to his tractor.

He became a popular disc jockey on Memphis radio station WDIA, spinning blues records.

In 1951, B.B. had his first big hit, "Three O'Clock Blues," which reached the top of the Rhythm and Blues charts.  It stayed there for 15 weeks.

He began a tour that took him the biggest stages in which a bluesman could appear:  The Apollo Theater in Harlem, the Howard Theater in Washington, the Royal Theater in Baltimore.

By the time he divorced his first wife (after eight years of marriage), he was playing 275 one-night stands on the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit."

After numerous R&B hits in the 1950s (such as his version of "Every Day I Have The Blues," which came out in 1955) and 1960s, and after his second marriage had ended in divorce in 1966, in 1969, B.B. recorded a minor-key-tinged blues entitled "The Thrill Is Gone."

It was the success of that recording during a time in which there was a surging popularity among young white listeners in the blues that enabled Mr. King to gain many fans beyond the R&B genre.

He was make numerous appearances in many countries around the world into the 21st century.

There's no question that The King of the Blues will sorely be missed.

Here's B.B., performing "The Thrill Is Gone," at Chicago's Crosswinds Guitar Festival in 2010.

Thank you, B.B., for the music and memories.  And Rest In Peace.