BB King 

He says he can't sing and keep rhythm on the guitar at the same time, but the unquestionable king of the blues in record sales and influence took the world by storm on his 1965 Live At The Regal LP.

The Mississippi-born son of a share cropper, Riley B King started singing the blues on the streets of Chicago after he had finished his US Army service in World War II. He worked for a while as a disc jockey on station WDIA and moved to California where he put together his first bands, which usually included brass and sax.

During the 50s he had many successes in the black record market but remained largely unknown to a white audience until acknowledged by Eric Clapton and other famous white guitarists. Since jamming with Clapton and Elvin Bishop in 1967, BB King became a major household name and toured the world incessantly.

In 1988 King reached a new generation of fans with the single When Love Comes To Town, a collaborative effort between King and the Irish band U2 (on their Rattle and Hum album). In 2000, King teamed up with Eric Clapton to record Riding With the King, and in 1998 he appeared in the movie Blues Brothers 2000 (playing the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys)  along with Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Koko Taylor, and Bo Diddley.

Over 52 years BB King has played at least 15,000 shows. He played his farewell tour in 2006, at the ripe old age of 80.