Photos:: B.B. King | Life in pictures

After serving in World War II, B.B. King became a disc jockey in Memphis, Tenn. He earned the name “the Beale Street Blues Boy,” which was shortened to Blues Boy King, and eventually B.B. In 1948, pictured, he landed his big break when he performed on a local radio program.

In 1949, B.B. King made his first recording. He’s pictured here a few years later with bandleader Johnny Otis, who also went on to have a storied career.

B.B. King is at the microphone during a drive to raise money for radio station WDIA’s Wheelin’ on Beale March of Dimes charity for baby and pregnancy health.

A year after signing with ABC Records, B.B. King takes the stage at the Apollo Theater in New York’s Harlem in 1963.

B.B. King, whose performances took him to small and large cities alike, plays the guitar at Central Park in New York in June 1969.

B.B. King and his band play the blues at Southern California’s Chino state prison in 1972.

B.B. King worked with all kinds of musicians from rock, country and pop genres. Here, blues musicians John Lee Hooker, left, and Papa John Creach, right, collaborate with King on “Gettin’ It Together” on the TV show “The Midnight Special” in Los Angeles in 1974.

B.B. King appears on “American Bandstand” with host Dick Clark in Los Angeles in 1975. Just a few years earlier, he had released his biggest hit single, “The Thrill Is Gone.”

B.B. King attends a party and chats with some folks in Los Angeles. About a year later, he became the first bluesman to tour the Soviet Union.

B.B. King delivered musical performances in all kinds of places, including dance halls, concert halls, small-town cafes, universities, resort hotels and amphitheaters both nationally and internationally. Here, King and his band command the stage in 1980.

B.B. King received an honorary doctor of music degree from Berklee College of Music. He’s pictured here with President Lee Eliot Berk during Berklee’s commencement ceremony in 1985.

As the story goes, King once ran into a burning building to save his guitar. When he found that the blaze started because of a fight over a woman named Lucille, he named his Gibson guitar “Lucille” as a reminder. Here, B.B. King performs at Michael’s Supper Club in Dana Point in 1988.

B.B King puts his hands in wet cement to be the newest member of the Rock Walk on Sunset Boulevard in 1989.

In 1991, B.B. King‘s Blues Club opened in Memphis, and in 1994, a club pictured here began at Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles (it has since closed).

Eric Clapton and B.B. King perform a blues number at the Shrine Auditorium during the 41st Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 1999.

Music legends B.B. King, left, and Tony Bennett hold their Grammys at the 42nd Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles in 2000.

In 2001, B.B. King won awards for traditional blues album and pop collaboration with vocals at the 43rd Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Music legends Les Paul, t88, left, and B.B. King, 77, put their heads together during a 2003 jam session at the third anniversary celebration of the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York’s Times Square.

B.B. King is overcome by emotion before performing a song during the funeral for singer Ray Charles at the First AME Church in Los Angeles.

B.B. King performs in Lowell, Mass., in 2005.

Artwork fills the background at a party and concert to celebrate B.B. King‘s 80th birthday, which also raised funds for the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Miss., in 2005.

Bono pays his respect to honoree B.B. King at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz gala performance at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood in 2008.

John Mayer and B.B. King perform at the Grammys nomination announcement and concert at the Nokia Theatre in 2008.

Eric Clapton, and B.B. King perform onstage during the 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.