B.B. King needs no introduction. His unprecedented sound, crossover talent and six decades full of chart-topping music speak for themselves, leading him to be recognized as the all-time king of blues. No other blues artist has even come close to achieving the same kind of fame as King, and his southern soulful style is one that is untouchable, sure to last to the end of the century, if not the end of the universe.

King's roots take him back to the Mississippi Delta, in the southern town of Indianola. Enduring a less-than-glamorous youth, King was inspired by country and gospel music as a child. The inspiration eventually bloomed into a plan, and King ultimately hightailed it to Memphis where his cousin Bukka White gave him lessons in playing blues guitar. This was the beginning of King's remarkable journey, and soon after that King began broadcasting his music through a radio station in Memphis, somewhere along the way garnering the name "Beale Street Blues Boy," which got shortened to Blues Boy and then, finally, B.B. The name stuck, and so did the musician in the world of blues music.

King signed his first recording contract in 1949, and his first number one song "Three O'Clock Blues," recorded at a Memphis YMCA, was released in 1951. Making a name for himself through songs like "You Know I Love You," "Ten Long Years," "Sweet Little Angel" and "On My Word of Honor," King took the R&B world by storm, releasing at least one album a year from 1956 to 2008 (with the exception of five years in the entire 52-year span.) After making it big-time with R&B fans, King finally achieved crossover status in 1969 when he released the Roy Hawkins hit "The Thrill Is Gone." The song climbed the Billboard charts for R&B and pop, and B.B. King has only gotten more and more famous as time continues to wear on.