Blues Boy’s Birthday

It would be a CRIME not to acknowledge B.B. King's birthday today.  The nicest and most charming musician I ever met, Riley B. King was born today in Itta Bena, Mississippi in 1925.  He would have turned 90 today, but he died last May from Congestive Heart Failure among other difficulties.  His daughters have begun a quest to determine if poisoning was the cause.

Because he has far too many achievements, I'm going to keep things short today by going with the "3 Things" you may not have known about him.  First, he was a certified private pilot and used to occasionally fly himself to gigs until he stopped flying at age 70.  Second, the story has it that he named his guitar Lucille after seeing 2 men fight and die over a woman named Lucille.  Naming the guitar reminded him to never to fight over women.  And finally third, HIS favorite singer was Frank Sinatra (and why not?)

So on this particular day, I will take the opportunity to pay tribute to "The Beale Street Blues Boy" on the 5:00 Punch-Out, and I salute all the millions of fans of the Legendary B.B. King.  When it comes to musicians, he was the real king.