MUSICIAN

B.B. King

1925 - 2015

Photo of B.B. King

Icon of person B.B. King

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato and staccato picking that influenced many later blues electric guitar players. AllMusic recognized King as "the single most important electric guitarist of the last half of the 20th century".King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and is one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of the Blues", and is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and Freddie King, none of whom are related). Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of B.B. King has received more than 6,506,225 page views. His biography is available in 81 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 75 in 2019). B.B. King is the 38th most popular musician (down from 23rd in 2019), the 275th most popular biography from United States (down from 152nd in 2019) and the 12th most popular American Musician.

B.B. King is most famous for his guitar playing. He has been playing since he was a child and has had many hit songs.

Memorability Metrics

  • 6.5M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 76.84

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 81

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.78

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 5.49

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of B.B. Kings by language


Among MUSICIANS

Among musicians, B.B. King ranks 38 out of 2,675. Before him are Scatman John, Arthur Rubinstein, Jean-Michel Jarre, Django Reinhardt, Keith Richards, and Maria Anna Mozart. After him are David Gilmour, Isaac Albéniz, Roger Waters, Jimmy Page, Vladimir Horowitz, and Martha Argerich.

Most Popular Musicians in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1925, B.B. King ranks 18. Before him are Alija Izetbegović, Mikis Theodorakis, Tony Curtis, Carlos Castaneda, Lee Van Cleef, and Mahathir Mohamad. After him are Audie Murphy, Jorge Rafael Videla, Rock Hudson, Michel Piccoli, Angela Lansbury, and Giorgio Napolitano. Among people deceased in 2015, B.B. King ranks 11. Before him are Christopher Lee, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Omar Sharif, Demis Roussos, Terry Pratchett, and Tomas Tranströmer. After him are Anita Ekberg, Henning Mankell, Süleyman Demirel, Helmut Schmidt, Lemmy, and Leonard Nimoy.

Others Born in 1925

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Others Deceased in 2015

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In United States

Among people born in United States, B.B. King ranks 275 out of 15,968. Before him are Hugh Hefner (1926), Philip Kotler (1931), Leonardo DiCaprio (1974), Bette Davis (1908), Gwyneth Paltrow (1972), and Paul Walker (1973). After him are Jay Leno (1950), Joe Pesci (1943), Ezra Pound (1885), Norbert Wiener (1894), Tim Cook (1960), and Spencer Tracy (1900).

Others born in United States

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Among MUSICIANS In United States

Among musicians born in United States, B.B. King ranks 12. Before him are Ray Charles (1930), Chuck Berry (1926), Frank Zappa (1940), Ronnie James Dio (1942), Miles Davis (1926), and Scatman John (1942). After him are Bruce Springsteen (1949), Brian Wilson (1942), Paul Simon (1941), Charlie Parker (1920), Robert Johnson (1911), and Iggy Pop (1947).

American born Musicians

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