Plan B Forum

The "King of the Blues" guitarist and singer BB King has died aged 89.



King, known for his hits Lucille, Sweet Black Angel and Rock Me Baby, died in his sleep in Las Vegas. Born in Mississippi, King began performing in the 1940s, going on to influence a generation of musicians, and working with Eric Clapton and U2. Once ranked as the third greatest guitarist of all time, he had been suffering ill health in recent months.



He was recently taken to hospital with a diabetes-related illness.

A former farmhand, King was awarded his 15th Grammy award in 2009 for his album One Kind Favor.



He was also inducted into both the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone magazine placed him behind only Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Until recently, King performed in at least 100 concerts a year.


He fused together both jazz and blues on his beloved guitar, a Gibson ES-344 he lovingly dubbed "Lucille". In the early part of his career, he played to exclusively black audiences, but his heartfelt vocals and undeniable talent saw him embraced by a much broader fanbase as time went on - touring Europe and topping the charts. Younger musicians such as Clapton and Steve Miller, who admired his work, introduced him to a new generation of fans in the late '60s with hits like The Thrill is Gone.

Albums such as Live at County Cook Jail and BB King in London followed. His career was reignited in the late 1980s when he duetted with U2 on When Love Comes To Town. At the turn of the millennium, aged 75, he once again achieved major commercial success with the Eric Clapton collaboration Riding With the King.

"King's is now the name most synonymous with the blues, much as Louis Armstrong's once was with jazz," critic Francis Davis wrote in his 1995 book The History of the Blues. "You don't have to be a blues fan to have heard of King."

Two of BB King's daughters are accusing the blue's legend's two closest aides of poisoning him.

However the lawyer for King's estate says the claims are ridiculous.

Three doctors determined that King was appropriately cared-for, and King received 24-hour care and monitoring by medical professionals "up until the time that he peacefully passed away in his sleep," lawyer Brent Bryson said.

Daughters Karen Williams and Patty King allege that family members were prevented from visiting while King's business manager, LaVerne Toney, and his personal assistant, Myron Johnson, hastened their father's death.

Toney is named in King's will as executor of an estate that according to court documents filed by lawyers for some of King's heirs could total tens of millions of dollars.

Johnson was at BB King's bedside when he died on May 14 in hospice care at home in Las Vegas at age 89. No family members were present.

"I believe my father was poisoned and that he was administered foreign substances," Patty King and Williams say in identically worded sections of affidavits provided to The Associated Press by their lawyer, Larissa Drohobyczer.

"I believe my father was murdered," they say.

Toney and Johnson each declined to comment on the accusations.

"They've been making allegations all along. What's new?" said Toney, who worked for King for 39 years and had power-of-attorney over his affairs.

Las Vegas police homicide detectives are investigating, Lieutenant Ray Steiber said.

Drohobyczer said she represents Williams, Patty King and most of King's nine other adult children and heirs.

"The family is sticking together ... to oust Ms Toney based on her illegal conduct, conflicts of interest and self-dealing," she said.

She alleged that Toney hastened King's death by "misconduct, or by failing to properly attend to his medical needs".

Before his death, King was rushed to hospital in early April reportedly suffering from a "diabetes-related emergency".

Following his hospialisation three of his 11 surviving children attempted to take control of his estate. Williams, Patty King and Rita Washington said they suspect the musician's manager of stealing his money, neglecting his medical care and alleged they were blocked from seeing him in home hospice care.