Google Doodle celebrates late Blues legend BB King on his 94th birth anniversary

The Google Doodle on 16 September paid tribute to iconic Blues legend BB King, who inspired a generation of guitarists from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan. Instantly recognisable for his guitar licks and heartfelt vocals, he was aptly referred to as “King of the Blues.”

The Google Doodle features a short animation clip set to King’s rendition of the blues standard, ‘The Thrill is Gone’, and chronicles the life and career of the acclaimed musician.

Born on a Mississippi plantation to sharecropper parents, King went on to enjoy a career spanning nearly 70 years. He recorded more than 50 albums, starting with Singin’ the Blues in 1956 to One Kind Favor in 2008. He toured the world well into his 80s, and played over 15,000 live gigs during his career, according to the BBC.

He won plenty of Grammys over the years for his work, many of which were for ‘Best Traditional Blues Album’. Two weeks after his 80th birthday, King released BB King & Friends: 80, featuring duets with guests like Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Elton John and Sheryl Crow among others.

King was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1984, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Songwriters Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. He was mentor to scores of guitarists, including Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, John Mayall and Keith Richards.

King will forever be associated with his trademark black Gibson guitars, all of which he christened “Lucille”. The story goes he saved the guitar from a fire while he was playing an Arkansas club in 1949. The fire broke out when two men — fighting over a woman — knocked over a kerosene lamp. King risked his life to retrieve his guitar from the blaze and named it Lucille after learning the woman’s name.