B. B. King

E4690

blues guitarist human recording artist singer songwriter

B. B. King was an influential American blues guitarist and singer known for his expressive playing style and for helping popularize electric blues worldwide.

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All labels observed (4)

Label	Occurrences
B.B. King	195
B. B. King canonical	6
BB King	4
B.B. King & Friends	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T80246 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: B. B. King
Context triple: [King, hasNotableBearer, B. B. King]

A. Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong was an influential American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader whose innovative playing and distinctive gravelly voice helped shape modern jazz and popular music.
B. Earle Cabell
Earle Cabell was an American politician and businessman who served as mayor of Dallas, Texas, during the early 1960s, including at the time of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
C. Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers was an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor best known for hits like "The Gambler" and "Lucille," as well as his crossover success in pop and entertainment.
D. Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an influential American singer-songwriter and cultural icon whose poetic lyrics and groundbreaking work in popular music earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature.
E. King
King is a common English surname borne by numerous notable figures, including civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: B. B. King
Target entity description: B. B. King was an influential American blues guitarist and singer known for his expressive playing style and for helping popularize electric blues worldwide.

A. Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong was an influential American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader whose innovative playing and distinctive gravelly voice helped shape modern jazz and popular music.
B. Earle Cabell
Earle Cabell was an American politician and businessman who served as mayor of Dallas, Texas, during the early 1960s, including at the time of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
C. Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers was an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor best known for hits like "The Gambler" and "Lucille," as well as his crossover success in pop and entertainment.
D. Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an influential American singer-songwriter and cultural icon whose poetic lyrics and groundbreaking work in popular music earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature.
E. King
King is a common English surname borne by numerous notable figures, including civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (64)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	blues guitarist ⓘ human ⓘ recording artist ⓘ singer ⓘ songwriter ⓘ
activeYearsEnd	2010s ⓘ
activeYearsStart	1940s ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	B. B. King ⓘ surface form: B.B. King The King of the Blues ⓘ
awardReceived	Grammy Award ⓘ Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award ⓘ Presidential Medal of Freedom ⓘ
burialPlace	Indianola, Mississippi, United States ⓘ
collaboratedWith	Bobby Bland ⓘ Buddy Guy ⓘ Eric Clapton ⓘ U2 ⓘ
countryOfCitizenship	United States of America ⓘ
dateOfBirth	1925-09-16 ⓘ
dateOfDeath	2015-05-14 ⓘ
ethnicity	African American ⓘ
fullName	Riley B. King ⓘ
genre	Chicago blues ⓘ blues ⓘ electric blues ⓘ
hasMuseum	B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center ⓘ
helpedPopularize	electric blues ⓘ
influenced	Buddy Guy ⓘ Carlos Santana ⓘ Eric Clapton ⓘ Gary Moore ⓘ Jimi Hendrix ⓘ John Mayer ⓘ Keith Richards ⓘ Stevie Ray Vaughan ⓘ
instrument	electric guitar ⓘ vocals ⓘ
memberOf	Blues Hall of Fame ⓘ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ⓘ
notableAlbum	Completely Well ⓘ Live at the Regal ⓘ Riding with the King ⓘ
notableInstrument	Lucille ⓘ
notableSongCharacteristic	call-and-response between voice and guitar ⓘ
notableWork	Every Day I Have the Blues ⓘ Paying the Cost to Be the Boss ⓘ Rock Me Baby ⓘ Sweet Little Angel ⓘ The Thrill Is Gone ⓘ
occupation	guitarist ⓘ musician ⓘ singer ⓘ songwriter ⓘ
placeOfBirth	Itta Bena, Mississippi, United States ⓘ near Berclair, Mississippi, United States ⓘ
placeOfDeath	Las Vegas, Nevada ⓘ surface form: Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
recordLabel	ABC Records ⓘ Kent Records ⓘ MCA Records ⓘ RPM Records ⓘ
residence	Memphis, Tennessee, United States ⓘ
style	expressive string bending ⓘ vibrato-rich lead guitar ⓘ
touringActivity	performed extensively worldwide ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (206)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Simon Climie → notableCollaborationWith → B. B. King ⓘ

this entity surface form: BB King

ABC-Paramount → notableArtist → B. B. King ⓘ