PHOTO: B.B. King at his Homecoming performance in 2012
Las VEGAS, Nev.–Blues legend and Mississippi native B.B. King is in a Las Vegas hospital after being taken there Saturday with diabetic-related health problems, reported WLBT TV, citing long-time friend Charles Evers as their source.
The website TMZ reported King was hospitalized due to dehydration.
King lives in Las Vegas.
There was no official word on King’s status on his website Tuesday morning, but King, 89, stopped performing last year while on tour. He returned home and has been there ever since. He has not rescheduled any tour dates.
“I’m back at home now listening to music, watching movies and enjoying some down time. I think I’m busier at home now than on the road talking to friends calling to check up on me. I do appreciate everyone’s calls and concern. I want to tell you, I’m doing alright,” is the latest message posted by King.
“He’s a real ambassador for our state,” said Shelley Ritter, executive director of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, which has one of King’s famous “Lucille” Gibson guitars on display. “His incredible touring schedule throughout his lifetime is just phenomenal. He’s brought a positive face about Mississippi globally.”
King was born near Itta Bena in 1926. He calls Indianola his home town, though he lived with different relatives in different places, learning guitar before moving to Memphis in 1946 to pursue his career.
King is known for being able to play many different musical styles and is listed at No. 6 on Rolling Stone’s top 100 guitarists of all time.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
