RIP B.B. King: Blues Legend Dies At 89; Eric Clapton, Brad Paisley, Lenny Kravitz, Ringo Starr, Kelly Clarkson, Diddy & More React

Riley B. King, the legendary guitarist known as B.B. King, died Thursday night in Las Vegas at the age 89. His daughter, Patty King, told CNN he died while in home hospice care after suffering from dehydration two weeks ago.

A native of Mississippi, he was responsible for bringing blues music into the mainstream and was dubbed "king of the blues" for more than six decades, across two centuries.

He began his career in the 1940s, initially playing to exclusively black audiences, but his undeniable talent and style was later embraced by a broader fanbase. With his beloved Gibson ES-355 named "Lucille" in hand, he fused together both jazz and blues to become an international treasure.

Once ranked as the third greatest guitarist of all time behind Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman by Rolling Stone, he influenced the generation of rock and blues musicians who came after him including Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, U2, Steve Miller and many more.

He toured relentlessly (at least 100 concerts a year) well into his '80s and was honored with many awards in his lifetime including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award among other Grammys, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Blues Foundation Hall of Fame inductions, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

King was born on September 16, 1925, on a cotton plantation in Mississippi. As a child, he sang in church choirs and learned basic guitar chords from his uncle, a preacher. In his youth, he busked on street corner to make money. He enlisted in the Army during World War 11 but was released because he held an essential home-front occupation. In 1947, he hitchhiked to Memphis and embedded himself in a music scene full of aspiring black performers. His cousin, blues icon Bukka White, taught King the art of the blues.

He later became a radio DJ, where he took the name B.B. for short, and got his first big break in 1948 on Sonny Williamson's Memphis radio show. His ascent continued, and in 1951, he earned his first hit with "Three O'clock Blues," which stayed on the charts for four months.

Last year, he began to show signs of slowing down after living for decades with Type II diabetes. In October, he fell ill and cancelled the remainder of his tour.

A number of artists have taken to social media to mourn the icon's death.

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