Google celebrates B.B: King 94 years after his birth with an animated Doodle. Here is the biography of the great blues guitarist
Google celebrates today, September 16, the great Blues guitarist B.B. King with an animated Doodle present on the home page of the search engine. The musician would have turned 94 years old today and the Menlo Park-based company decided to create an animated video that starts as soon as you press on the illustration present in place of the Google logo.
B.B. King was one of the most important musicians of the twentieth century. With his "Lucille", a Gibson ES-335, he formed one of the most recognizable "couples" of the international music scene. His career lasted almost seventy years, from 1949 to 2015, the year of his death. He won the Grammy 15 times in his career and was listed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 100 best guitarists of all time (in sixth place). With 70 records released throughout his career (including Live and Collected), he was one of the most prolific musicians of the twentieth century.
B.B. King, the King of the Blues
B.B. King, born Riley B. King, was one of the greatest interpreters of Blues music. Nicknamed the "King of the Blues," he was credited with bringing the blues from the cotton fields to the great international arenas. B.B. King was born on September 16, 1925 in Itta Bena, a small town on the Mississippi Delta. He spent his childhood with his mother and grandmother, working in the cotton fields.
His first musical experiences were in a gospel choir in church. He honed his technique as a guitarist in 1946, when he moved to Memphis with his whole family and got help from his cousin, who was also a blues guitarist. B.B. King also began working in radio as a disc-jockey. This is where he got the nickname B.B., or Blues Boy. His musical career began in 1949 when he recorded songs for RPM Records in Los Angeles, but it was in the 1950s that he began to be appreciated by the general public and to duet with the greats of "black" music.
B.B. King had the honor of opening the Rolling Stone concerts and becoming the first real star of blues music. He won a total of 15 Grammys and was included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He also performed at the White House and received doctorates and honors from the most important universities in the United States.
B.B. King and Lucille, the masters of the Blues
Lucille is the name that B.B. King gave to his guitar, a Gibson ES-335 that accompanied him throughout his life. During his career he also used other guitars (always Gibson), but his relationship with Lucille has become historical. This is a special guitar, tailored to the characteristics of B.B. King.
The Doodle celebrating B.B. King was made by Steve Spencer and Nayeli Lavanderos.