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B. B. King

American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter (1925–2015)
Person human Q188969
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Summary

B. B. King was born on September 16, 1925[1], in Berclair[2]. He died on May 14, 2015[3], in Las Vegas[4]. He worked as a guitarist[5], singer[6], singer-songwriter[7], composer[8], and pianist[9]. He has Wikipedia articles in 84 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[10]

Key Facts

  • Place of birth: Itta Bena[11]
  • Spouse: Martha Lee Denton[12], Sue Carol Hall[13]
  • Country of citizenship: United States[14]
  • Ethnic group: African Americans[15]
  • Occupation: record producer[16], blues musician[17], musician[18]
  • Field of work: blues[19]
  • Award received: Blues Hall of Fame[20], National Medal of Arts[21], Presidential Medal of Freedom[22], Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award[23], Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[24], Library of Congress Living Legend[25], Kennedy Center Honors[26], Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences[27], Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres‎[28], Americana Music Association President's Award[29], star on Hollywood Walk of Fame[30], Maple Blues Awards[31]
  • Member of: American Academy of Arts and Sciences[32]
  • Sex or gender: male[33]
  • Genre: blues[34], rhythm and blues[35]
  • Record label: Geffen Records[36], Federal Records[37], RPM Records[38]
  • Discography: B.B. King discography[39]
  • Commons category: B.B. King[40]
  • Voice type: tenor[41]
  • Cause of death: diabetes[42], stroke[43]
  • Family name: King[44]
  • Given name: Riley[45], Ben[46], B.[47]
  • Official website: https://bbking.com[48]
  • Topic's main category: Category:B. B. King[49]
  • Commons gallery: B. B. King[50]
  • Medical condition: stuttering[51]
  • Manner of death: natural causes[52]

Product Details

The following facts are restated verbatim from public-domain and CC0 open-data sources — every line is independently verifiable against the named source's catalog.

MusicBrainz — CC0 open music encyclopedia

  • Type: Person[53]

  • Country: US[54]

  • Began / founded: 1925-09-16[55]

  • Ended / dissolved: 2015-05-14[56]

  • Genre(s): blues, blues rock, electric blues, soul, soul blues[57]

  • Community tags: 2008 universal fire victim, blues, blues rock, electric blues, filmore, jazz and blues, live, rhythm & blues, soul, soul blues, urban blues[58]

  • MusicBrainz ID: dcb03ce3-67a5-4eb3-b2d1-2a12d93a38f3[59]

Why It Matters

B. B. King is known by 38 alternative names across languages and contexts.[60]

FAQs

Where was B. B. King born?

B. B. King was born in Berclair[2].

Where did B. B. King die?

B. B. King died in Las Vegas[4].

Who was B. B. King married to?

B. B. King's spouses include Martha Lee Denton[12] and Sue Carol Hall[13].

What did B. B. King do for work?

B. B. King worked as a guitarist[5], singer[6], singer-songwriter[7], composer[8], and pianist[9].

What awards did B. B. King receive?

Honors received include Blues Hall of Fame[20], National Medal of Arts[21], Presidential Medal of Freedom[22], and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award[23].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [11] ↑ . Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians. wikidata.org.
  3. [4] ↑ . edition.cnn.com. edition.cnn.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  4. [33] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  5. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [14] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [19] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  9. [5] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  10. [6] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  11. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [9] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  14. [16] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  15. [17] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  16. [18] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  17. [34] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [35] ↑ . Montreux Jazz Festival Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  19. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [22] ↑ . crsreports.congress.gov. crsreports.congress.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  22. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [25] ↑ . loc.gov. loc.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  25. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  27. [28] ↑ . siv.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved . siv.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  28. [29] ↑ . americanamusic.org. Retrieved . americanamusic.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  29. [30] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  30. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  31. [15] ↑ . BlackPast.org. wikidata.org.
  32. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  33. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  34. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  35. [39] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  36. [40] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  37. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  38. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  39. [42] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [1] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  42. [3] ↑ . Find a Grave. Retrieved . edition.cnn.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  43. [44] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  44. [45] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  45. [46] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  46. [47] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  47. [48] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  48. [49] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  49. [50] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  50. [51] ↑ . Business Insider. Retrieved . businessinsider.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  51. [52] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Product details (FDA / USDA / NHTSA public-domain catalog data)

  1. [53] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  2. [54] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  3. [55] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  4. [56] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  5. [57] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  6. [58] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  7. [59] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  2. [60] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). B. B. King. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/b-b-king
MLA “B. B. King.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 14 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/b-b-king.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_b-b-king_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{B. B. King}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/b-b-king}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-14}}
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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 8d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-10-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Sitelink count → 98
    Wikipedia languages → ['af', 'als', 'an', 'ar', 'arz', 'ast', 'az', 'azb', 'bar', 'be', 'be_x_old', 'b
    Nlb authority id (belarus) → SEK-ar6737620
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Nlb authority id (belarus): SEK-ar6737620, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/289738|batch #289738]]"
  2. 5w ago · MsMorale · 2026-09-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Sinemalar person id → 106795
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Sinemalar person id: 106795, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/270606|batch #270606]]"
  3. 6w ago · MsMorale · 2026-09-02 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Tv maze person id → 197245
    Described by source → Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians, Memphis Barbecue: A Succulent History of Smoke, Sauce & Soul
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Tv maze person id: 197245, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/270242|batch #270242]]"
  4. 8w ago · Mahirtwofivesix · 2026-08-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Babelnet id → 00007606n
    Arabic ontology lexical concept id → 151060340
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||4 */ added/modified IDs mapped to WordNet 3.1"
  5. 9w ago · Yirba · 2026-08-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14750 → 7A43-629B-43E1-9BE0-727B
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/46470|batch #46470]]: HAND ID (9)"
  6. 13w ago · Sabelöga · 2026-07-09 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Wikisimpsons article id → 101027
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ Wikisimpsons article id: 101027, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/296169323|B. B. King (#296169323)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/8109|Wikisimpsons]] #m"
  7. 17w ago · MariuszRokin · 2026-06-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Dezède person id → 13267
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Dezède person id: 13267, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259603|batch #259603]]"
  8. 18w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-11 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Svkkl authority id → p0086427-King-B-B-19252015
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Svkkl authority id: p0086427-King-B-B-19252015, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259494|batch #259494]]"
  9. 21w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Occupation → guitarist, singer, singer-songwriter +5
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32074|batch #32074]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (21)"
  10. 21w ago · Pescan · 2026-05-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    National library of israel j9u id → 987007342216005171
    Plaque image → Twist AR BB king Marker 1.jpg
    Canadiana name authority id → ncf10010614
    Obálky knih id → mzk2003169566
    + 216 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Encyclopaedia beliana id: king-b-b"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.