B.B. King was a blues singer and guitarist. His full name is Riley B. King. He was born September 16, 1925, near Indianola, Mississippi. An important aspect in King's life was, of course, when he was first exposed to the blues. 'I guess the earliest sound of the blues that I can rremember was in the fields while people would be pickin' cotton or choppin' or somethin,' " he told Living Blues . " When I sing and play now I can hear those same sounds that I used to hear then as a kid." B.B. King's first musical influence came through religion. He was a member of the Church of God In Christ. He was forbidden to play blues at home. He sang in spiritual groups like the Elkhorn Singers and the Saint John's Gospe