Lucille is the name given to B. B. King's guitars. They are usually black Gibson guitars similar to the ES-335. Riley B. King, better known as B. B. King or The King of Blues (born September 16, 1925 in Itta Bena, Mississippi), is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, widely considered one of the best and most respected blues musicians of all time. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Gibson ES-335 In 1957, Gibson realeased the worlds first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, the ES-335. ...

The story of Lucille

In the winter of 1949, King played at a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas. In order to heat the hall, a barrel half-filled with kerosene was lit, a fairly common practice. During a performance, two men began to fight, knocking over the burning barrel and sending burning fuel across the floor. This triggered an evacuation. Once outside, King realized that he had left his guitar inside the burning building. He entered the blaze to retrieve his guitar, a Gibson acoustic. Two people died in the fire. The next day, King learned that the two men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. King named that first guitar Lucille, as well as every one he owned since that near-fatal experience, as a reminder never again to do something as stupid as run into a burning building.^{[1] [2]} 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Twist, Arkansas is a city in Arkansas. ... Kerosene or paraffin oil (British English, not to be confused with the waxy solid also called paraffin wax or just paraffin) is a flammable hydrocarbon liquid. ...

Lucilles through King's career

Early Lucilles

King played guitars of different brands early in his career. He played a Fender Telecaster on most of his recordings with RPM Records.^[3] However, he is best known for playing variants of the Gibson ES-355. The Fender Telecaster, also known as a Tele, is a typically dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender. ... RPM Records was a record label launched in the early fifties. ... The Gibson ES-335 was the worlds first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, released by Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1958. ...

Gibson Lucille

In 1981, Gibson Guitar Corporation launched the B. B. King Lucille model.^[4] The most noticeable differences between the Lucille and the ES-355 on which it is based are the "Lucille" script on the headstock and the lack of F-holes on the top. The top has no F-holes at B. B. King's request, in order to control feedback better.^[5] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Gibson ES-335 was the worlds first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, released by Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1958. ... The Gibson ES-335 was the worlds first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, released by Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1958. ... A cello with f-holes A guitar with a round hole A sound hole is a hole in the upper sounding board of a string musical instrument. ...

Gibson Little Lucille

In 1999, Gibson launched the Little Lucille, a version of their Blueshawk guitar. It differed from the Blueshawk in having a Tune-o-matic bridge and a TP-6 stop tailpiece.^[6] The Gibson Blueshawk is a relatively recently designed (1996-present) Gibson model designed mainly for blues players (hence the name). ... Typical Tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar Tune-o-matic (also abbreviated to TOM) is a fixed bridge for electric guitars, designed by Gibson and introduced in 1954 in Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar. ...

The model is no longer found among Gibson USA's current product listing, and the Blueshawk on which it was based has been discontinued.

Trivia

• On December 19, 1997, King presented Lucille to Pope John Paul II following a concert at the Vatican. ^[7]
• On November 5, 2000 King donated an autographed copy of Lucille to the National Music Museum. ^[8]

is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ... Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan PaweÅ‚ II) born   [] (May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland – April 2, 2005, Vatican City) reigned as... is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Music Museum, Americas Shrine to Music, is a music-oriented museum in Vermillion, South Dakota, USA. It was founded in 1973 on the campus of the University of South Dakota, as the National Music Museum & Center for Study of the History of Musical Instruments. ...

Lucilles in popular culture

In the anime BECK, Ryusuke's guitar is called Lucille after B. B. King's instrument. However, the guitar in BECK was not in a fire. Instead it has bullet holes. This article contains a trivia section. ...

References

1. ^ http://www.worldblues.com/bbking/prairie/lucille.html
2. ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/b-b-king
3. ^ Burrows, Terry. "The Complete Book of the Guitar" p. 111 Carlton Books Limited, 1998 ISBN 1-85868-529-X
4. ^ http://www.gibsoncustom.com/flash/products/signature/lucille/lucille.html
5. ^ http://player.gibson.com/nov03/bbking.html
6. ^ http://www.gibson.com/Whatsnew/pressrelease/1999/feb16a.html
7. ^ http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1430832/12191997/bb_king.jhtml
8. ^ http://www.usd.edu/smm/BBKing.html