LYCOS RETRIEVER 
B.B. King: Bukka White
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During the late 1960s, praise for King from English rock musicians such as Eric Clapton (1945–) and Jimmy Page (1944–) led to renewed interest in the blues among U.S. audiences. King found himself playing concerts with bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Santana. As African American audiences moved away from the blues, King began to attract young white listeners. In 1969 "The Thrill Is Gone" was released; the song won a Grammy in 1971 and became King's biggest hit. In 1971, with attorney F. Lee Bailey (1933–), King founded FAIRR (the Foundation for the Advancement of Inmate Rehabilitation and Recreation), an organization dedicated to the improvement of prison conditions. King often gave concerts in prisons, one of which was recorded and released as Live at San Quentin.
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Riley B. King was born on a cotton plantation in 1925. He grew up in Itta Bene, Mississippi, just outside the Mississipppi delta town of Indianola. Both his parents, Albert and Nora Ellen King, were sharecropping farmers on a white plantation owned by Jim O'Reilly. Albert drove a tractor while his wife worked in the fields. B.B.'s father wasn't a strong figure in his life. When B.B.
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One of the most influential guitarists of all time, King remains an icon and a model for Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, and many other contemporary rock musicians. King first learned guitar in the 1940s from his cousin, Bukka White, and found inspiration in the works of celebrated jazz and blues musicians T-Bone Walker, Charlie Christian, and Django Reinhardt.
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