B.B. King has been around a long time, a very long time. He is revered as the king of the blues by many and he tends to stick to the same guitar. That guitar is a Gibson ES-335, a beautiful piece of craftsmanship in my opinion. Like many other legends, he has named his beloved instrument.
The story behind “Lucille” starts back in 1949 at a small venue in Arkansas. It was one of his first shows and the place that he was playing at was heated by kerosene lamps. Pretty flammable stuff. An altercation between two men erupted and during the brawl they had knocked over one of the lamps and lit the whole place on fire. Everyone evacuated, but B.B. realized that he had left his $30 Gibson guitar inside the blaze. He charged back inside and returned with his guitar shortly after, triumphant. Later on he found out that this fight had started out like most fights, over a girl – a girl named Lucille. Thus he named his guitar and every single one after that, Lucille. It serves as a reminder to avoid foolishness, such as fighting over women…and running in to burning buildings.
Gotta love B.B.
Tuned In, Turned Up 