Remembering B.B. King

US legend B.B. King will be remembered around the world as the face of American blues. The guitarist and singer rose from poverty in the American deep South to become one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He passed away on May 14 in Las Vegas, at the age of 89. King is pictured here at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2011.

B.B. King was born in 1925 to sharecroppers in Mississippi - a time marked by segregration and racism in the South. After a white plantation owner bought him a guitar at age 12, he busked and was active in Gospel choirs. He eventually headed off to Nashville, where he made it on to a radio show. He referred to himself as Beal Street Blues Boy, shortening it to Blues Boy King, then B. B. King.

With his roots firmly in Gospel music, B.B. King found that blues was more lucrative. By the late 1960s, he had secured a mainstream audience. In 1968 he received his first standing ovation at San Francisco's Fillmore West and in 1969 he opened for a Rolling Stones' tour. He's since risen to global fame, touring some 100 countries, sent in part as a cultural ambassador by the US government.

Renowned British guitarist Eric Clapton has frequently cited B.B. King as a major influence on his music. He told Rolling Stone magazine in 1969, "I still don't think there is a better blues guitarist in the world than B.B. King." The two are pictured here during a jam session at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, in 2004.

Officially, it was a Gibson ES-355, but B.B. King named it "Lucille." Legend has it that he once rescued his beloved guitar from a house fire in Arkansas after two men fought over the Instrument. B.B. King is pictured here in 1989 at the Bercy concert hall in Paris.

In 1970, King made it onto the pop music charts for the first time with his hit, "The Thrill is Gone." While many of his famous songs, like "How Blue Can You Get," touched on heartbreak, King's personal life had ups and downs. He was married and divorced twice and said he had 15 children from 15 women, though eight children were known. He's pictured here at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2009.

In 1989, B.B. King toured with U2 and made an appearance in "Rattle and Hum," a film about the band. He's pictured here with Bono on stage in Los Angeles in 2008. King has been named the third greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine, behind Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman.

In December 1997, King showed his famed electric guitar - known affectionately as "Lucille" - to Pope John Paul II. The following day, he performed together with Chaka Chan, Portuguese vocal Ensemble Madredeus and Mireille Mathieu at the Vatican's Christmas concert.

King is pictured here receiving his Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 2001. Over his career, he took home 15 Grammys and sold more than 40 million records worldwide - a huge success for blues music. He has been inducted into both the Blues and the Rock and Roll Halls of Fame, and his Album"Live at the Regal" is preserved in the US Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.

B.B. King came a long way from his humble beginnings on a plantation in Mississippi. In 2006, US President George W. Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The country's highest civilian honor is awarded to those who make an "especially meritorious contribution" in a variety of fields, including culture.

After suffering from diabetes and other health problems, B.B. King was in hospice care when he passed away in Las Vegas on May 14. He was 89. The blues star continued performing well into his 80s, completing his 42nd studio album in 2008 ("One Kind Favor"). This artwork, created by Italian sculptor Marco Zeno, can be found in Montreux, France, near the site of the famous Montreux Jazz Festival.