B.B. King

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/bb-king

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was B.B. King born?September 16, 1925
2. Where was B.B. King born?Itta Bena, Mississippi, USA
3. What does the nickname "B.B." stand for?B.B. stands for "Blues Boy," a nickname he earned while hosting a radio show in Memphis.
4. Why did B.B. King name all his guitars "Lucille"?After a 1949 fire where he saved his guitar, he named every guitar Lucille to honor that special instrument and the story behind it.

Vibrato: A rapid, slight variation in pitch that adds expression and warmth to a musical note.
Call and Response: A musical structure where one phrase is answered by another, often between a singer and an instrument or two instruments.
Gibson Guitar: A highly respected American manufacturer of electric and acoustic guitars, famously associated with B.B. King's 'Lucille'.
Delta Blues: An early style of blues music originating in the Mississippi Delta, characterized by raw, often acoustic, guitar playing and emotive vocals.