B.B. King sold out at Shooting Star

B.B. King will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at Shooting Star Casino, Hotel and Event Center, located at 777 Casino Road in Mahnomen, Minn. Tickets are sold out.

For more than half a century, Riley B. King — better known as B.B. King — has defined the blues for a worldwide audience. Since he started recording in the 1940s, he has released more than 50 albums, many of them classics.

In his youth, King played on street corners for dimes, and would sometimes play in as many as four towns a night. In 1947, he moved to Memphis, Tenn., to pursue his music career. While in Tennessee, King stayed with his cousin Bukka White, one of the most celebrated blues performers of his time, who schooled him further in the art of the blues.

Over the years, King has developed one of the world’s most identifiable guitar styles. His sound mixes swing, mainstream pop, jazz, and traditional blues, earning him the title, “King of Blues.” Some of his chart-topping classics include “Payin’ The Cost To Be The Boss,” “Everyday I Have The Blues,” “So Excited,” “Sweet Little Angel,” and “Shake It Up and Go.”

In 1984, King was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a few years later. He has received The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, as well as honorary doctorates from various colleges and universities including Yale University, Berklee College of Music, Brown University and more.

A couple of autobiographies have been written about him. King’s first autobiography, “The Arrival of B.B. King,” by Charles Sawyer was published in 1980. His second, “Blues All Around Me,” written with David Ritz was published in 1996. King continues to tour around the world today, averaging over 250 concerts per year.

Tags: diversions, performances