BB King will always be one of the first names that rolls off the tongue when one is asked to name great electric blues players. Inspired to get an electric guitar by T-Bone Walker, the biggest of the three Kings of the blues guitar has an unmistakeably smooth, lyrical style in sharp contrast to the raw sound of many of his Mississippi contemporaries.

After an estimated 15,000+ performances across six decades, BB King is still performing live. A true inspiration.

Listen: BB King - The Thrill Is Gone (live 1993)

Your votes:

“BB King. Why? I need to tell you WHY? Pah!” (Thanks, BlindLemonAde)

“BB King.” (Thanks, Gallagher)

“Peter Green, BB King, Muddy Waters .. the list is endless.” (Thanks, Fretwired)

“BB King: don’t really have to say anything... like Bonamassa said, the guy is a freaking blues monument.” (Thanks, pleskoch)

“I guess if I have to really get down to it I'd have to say the greatest blues guitarist is BB King.” (Thanks, bbcoz)

“…followed closely by Buddy Guy and BB King.” (Thanks, samgoldshark)

“Difficult to choose, but I'm gonna have to go with BB King. If you only ever buy one blues album, make it Live In Cook County Jail.” (From Adam via Facebook, thanks)

“BB King :).” (From Angel via Facebook, thanks)

“BB King - but hey Robert Johnson invented it.” (From Jan via Facebook, thanks)

Next: Jimi Hendrix