Legendary Blues singer B.B. King died Thursday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 89.
King’s death was confirmed by Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg. Brent Bryson, his attorney also confirmed the date stating the King died peacefully in his sleep at his home.
The Mississippi native's reign as "king of the blues" had 15 biological and adopted children, 11 of which are still alive.
Born Riley B. King on Sept. 16, 1925, to Albert and Nora Ella King, both sharecroppers, in Berclair, a Mississippi hamlet outside the small town of Itta Bena. His early life was hard. He was educated in a one-room schoolhouse and had to overcome a stuttering problem He was raised by his grandmother after his parents separated and his mother died.
The 15-time Grammy winner released his first album in the 1940s and would go on to inspire some of the world's greatest guitarists, including Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Richards.
King played a Gibson guitar he affectionately called Lucille, creating a style that included single-string runs punctuated by loud chords, subtle vibratos and bent notes, building on the standard 12-bar blues.
King suffered from diabetes and had also been in declining health during the last year. He collapsed during a concert in Chicago in October, blaming dehydration and exhaustion.