Today, one such travesty occurred. If you were anywhere online today, you may have read that blues great B.B. King had died. Thank goodness this is not true. When I first read the rumor, instead of promulgating it, I checked with my friends and family in Memphis, Tenn., to verify the story. I must admit I was elated to find out that this was not true.
Again, the Internet has been used to play a very bad joke on King as well as his family and friends. According to reports, he had died over the weekend as the result of a stroke. I found this strange since I was in Memphis this past weekend and never heard one word of it, with the exception of it being on the Web.
King will be forever considered the King of Blues by many along with his sidekick, his beloved guitar, Lucille. His career has spanned more than 60 years with more than 50 albums and CDs to his credit. Since 2006, he has reduced the amount time he has spent on the road touring, which includes more than 15,000 concerts around the globe.
B.B. King will be on tour again soon and is planning for concerts in early 2011 in Australia, which may also include the Kings of Leon on the bill. Again, B.B. King is not dead and please remember Google is not a news source.
–torrance stephens, ph.d.
