Tribute to B.B. King

Floor Speech

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Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, ``The Thrill is Gone.'' Legendary iconic guitar player and performer B.B. King passed away last night.

B.B. King, born Riley B. King, born in the delta, lived a phenomenal life. He was born into poverty and was a sharecropper in Itta Bena, Mississippi.

He moved to Memphis and went on WDIA radio, the first African American-owned station in America, and became a disc jockey, Beale Street Blues Boy. That is where he got his B.B. name.

He went on to perform and learn on Beale Street, and he went on to be one of the great guitarists of all time. He taught a lot of guitarists how to play and was their mentor, somebody they looked up to.

Memphis was his adopted hometown. A club in his name is there on Beale Street, B.B. King Blues Club.

He was a very, very nice man and a talented individual who rose to get the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Kennedy Center Honors. His art will live on forever. He will be greatly missed.

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