The Thrill is Gone: B.B. King Dead at 89 Blues Icon and one heck of a guitarist, BB King dies in Las Vegas on Thursday, May 14, 2015. The 89-year-old was a 15-time Grammy Award winner and was a member of the Rock and Roll and Blues Hall of Fames. Accompanied by his long-time partner, Lucille ; he achieved so many more accolades, which included: a Lifetime Achievement Award, Presidential Medal of the Arts; President Medal of Freedom ; the international Polar Music Prize ; and honorary doctorates from Yale and Brown. King influenced Thousands of musicians in many genre's. Everyone from musical greats Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page ,Mike Bloomfield, Stevie Ray Vaughan as well as Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Bono and Jimi Hendrix . Among the numerous acts he performed or recorded with were Hendrix, Clapton, U2, Bobby "Blue'' Bland, Ronnie Wood ...