B.B. King would have been 100-years-old on September 16th, 2025.
I’ve said many times over the years what I love about Memphis is the music and music scene. Memphis music changed the world. And it wasn’t just Elvis.
When I came here for a job interview, as I came out of the Commercial Appeal building at 495 Union Ave. a short walk from historic Beale Street, I could hear the blues music wafting through the air. I was already a blues fan.
That was enough for me. I was sold that this was the place I wanted to be.
My instincts were good. I’ve had so many wonderful experiences covering the Memphis Music scene. Being a photojournalist in Memphis has been an amazing experience. I left the newspaper over ten years ago, but I still continue to cover and enjoy the music scene here.
One of my favorite subjects was the great blues entertainer B.B. King, who would have been 100 years old September 16th, 2025.
B.B. King was so personable, so warm and kind. I loved to watch him perform and work the audience. B.B.’s life was on the road; his people were everywhere. He knew people all over the world.
B.B. (born Riley B. King) grew up in the Mississippi Delta, finding his way alone as a young man with little family support. He eventually moved to Memphis where he found success and took on the name “Beale Street Blues Boy” after his DJ days. I’d recommend reading a fascinating biography about B.B. King, “King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King” written in recent years by one of my favorite authors, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Daniel deVise. B.B.’s life is fascinating.
You can also learn more about B.B. King at his museum in Indianola, Mississippi, at https://bbkingmuseum.org/. I feel honored that a few of my photos are in his museum.
One of the things that stood out to me about B.B. was his gratitude for the life he was given. He was so thankful that he was allowed to follow his dreams and play music for a living.
As Kings 100th birthday crept up, I thought about an interview I had taped with B.B. on his bus around 2010. I interviewed him for a project I was doing at the time, “What is the Blues and Who gets to do it?” Only a tiny portion of the audio interview was published. So I decided this would be a nice time to share some of my B.B. King photo archive and that audio interview.
HERE IS THE LINK TO MY INTERVIEW WITH B.B. KING ON HIS BUS JUST OFF BEALE STREET IN MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 2010.
Harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
One of the world’s great harmonica players, Charlie Musselwhite, (above) reflected on B.B. King when I was chatting with him from his Clarksdale, Mississippi home recently. Charilie remembers listening to B.B. on the radio WDIA. Both were born in Mississippi and both were bluesmen who lived in Memphis for a time. He said “ What stood out to me about B.B. King was as a human being, what a nice person he was, he was like and an example for everybody. He always had time to talk with you; he was very compassionate and had a lot of heart.” Charlie toured a few times with B.B. and opened for him, he sat in on occasion with B.B. King and he loved to be on B.B.’s tour bus with him and said they talked about all kinds of things, especially women. “He loved the ladies.”
Three time Grammy award winner entertainer Bobby Rush in Memphis at the Overton Park Shell 2025.
Entertainer Bobby Rush, (above) another Mississippi Bluesman, said, “B.B. was the kindest person; he’d give you the shirt off his back. He’d talk to you until YOU are ready to go home, not him. I learned a lot of things from B.B. '“ He reflected on how they both enjoyed being with people and their fans. Bobby says”I shake every hand if I can.”
Bobby Rush was at B.B.’s funeral, marching down Beale Street in Memphis next to the hearse.
I covered B.B. King’s funeral for the Associated Press. His hearse drove down Beale Street and then on down highway 61 into Mississippi to lay his body to rest in Indianola.
B.B. King funeral Here is a link to a short clip of that day on Beale Street.
Karen Pulfer Focht ©2025 All Rights Reserved