B.B. King - "Lucille" story

There are a lot of rock/folk stories out there and one that I'm a fan of is how B.B. King got to call his Gibson ES-335 Lucille.

It was the winter of 1949 in Twist, Arkansas. B.B. King had just rolled into town to play a gig at this old music hall. Now it was cold outside, and so the best and cheapest way to keep a building warm in those days was to use kerosene. Yeah a barrel and a half would do it. So people were partying, having a laugh and dancing when a fight broke out between two men. This scuffle knocked over the barrel of kerosene and the whole building went up. People were running for their lives as the building rapidly burnt to the ground. The only thing on B.B's mind was his guitar. This was the tool of his trade, the only way he had of making a living. So he braved the flames and ran back into the burning building to rescue his guitar.

The next day Mr. King was to hear that two people had died in the fire that night and that a woman named Lucille was the reason for the fight that started the fire which ended their lives. B.B. King then named his Gibson and every other guitar after that "Lucille" just to remind himself not to ever do stupid things like running into burning buildings or fighting over women.

Listen to: B.B. King - Lucille on Youtube

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B.B. King Official Website

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