President Obama on Friday mourned the loss of legendary bluesman B.B. King, who died Thursday night in Las Vegas at 89 years old.
King, a highly influential guitarist, vocalist and 15-time Grammy winner, had been in hospice care and had long suffered from diabetes.
In a statement, Mr. Obama paid tribute to the profound impact King had on blues and rock ’n’ roll.
“The blues has lost its king, and America has lost a legend. B.B. King was born a sharecropper’s son in Mississippi, came of age in Memphis, Tennessee, and became the ambassador who brought his all-American music to his country and the world. No one worked harder than B.B. No one inspired more up-and-coming artists. No one did more to spread the gospel of the blues,” the president said. “B.B. may be gone, but that thrill will be with us forever. And there’s going to be one killer blues session in heaven tonight.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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