Riley B. King, better known by his stage name B.B. King, was a blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer who lived in the United States from September 16, 1925, until May 14, 2015.

B.B King was born on a cotton estate in Berclair, Mississippi, not far from Itta Bena, and eventually worked at an Indianola cotton gin.

B.B King participated in the gospel choir when he was younger at Kilmichael’s Elkhorn Baptist Church. King was drawn to the music of the Pentecostal Church of God in Christ.

During church sessions, the local minister played a Sears Roebuck Silvertone guitar and showed King his first three chords. B.B King’s boss in Kilmichael, Flake Cartledge, spent $15 on King’s first guitar.

In church, B.B King developed an interest in music and the guitar, and he started his career in juke joints and local radio.

B.B King later lived in Memphis and Chicago; then, as his fame grew, toured the world extensively.

B.B King put in a lot of work as a performer throughout his musical career, attending more than 200 shows a year on average into his 70s. B.B King showed up at 342 performances in 1956 alone.

B.B King Wife: Was B.B King Married?

B.B King was not married before his death even though he was married twice and divorced from all of the two marriages.

How Many Times Was B.B King Married?

B.B King was married twice: from November 1946 to 1952 to Martha Lee Denton and from 1958 to 1966 to Sue Carol Hall.