Lucille

Sitting in the public library, using the free wi-fi (yes, I'm one of those people), looking at a book called American Roots Music, edited by Robert Santelli, Holly George-Warren, and Jim Brown.  Nice, heavy hardcover, with a picture of B. B. King on the cover.  I kind of want to tell you about the Zydeco/Cajun chapter, because I find that kind of music fascinating, but the picture of B.B. on the front reminds of something else.

Several years ago I read King's autobiography, Blues All Around Me.  Truly interesting read, that leaves the reader with not only an appreciation for King (born Riley B. King) himself, but for what many people went through in the early 20th century in the deep South.  One of the more interesting stories he told was how he came to call his guitar Lucille.  There have actually been many Lucilles, as the first one was stolen from King.  A black guitar, that he got for $30, was the original Lucille.  In the winter of 1949, in Twist, Arkansas, while playing a dance, a fire broke out.  Everyone left the building, but King went back into the blaze to save his guitar.  When he later learned that the fire was the result of a fight over a woman named Lucille, he decided to name his guitar (and all of his guitars since) Lucille.

Why is he called B.B.?  As a young man, he worked for a radio station and earned the nickname Beale Street Blues Boy.  This was eventually shortened to B.B.  King still tours the country, playing the blues.