32 things you didn't know about B.B. King

B.B. King, the legendary blues guitarist who plays Sunday at the Florida Theatre, released his first single in 1949. That means the man has been a professional musician for an astonishing 64 years. In honor of that noteworthy accomplishment, we were planning to present 64 things you might not have known about B.B. King. Turns out we can't count that high, so here are 32 things - one for every other year of King's remarkable career.

1. His real name is Riley King. The "B.B." nickname came when he was billed on Memphis radio station WDIA as The Beale Street Blues Boy, later just Blues Boy, later just B.B.

2. Sam Phillips, who is credited with starting the careers of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, produced some of King's first records.

3. "Three O'Clock Blues," King's first national No. 1 song, was recorded at a YMCA in Memphis.

4. King plays a guitar named "Lucille," reportedly after a woman who started a bar fight that burned down an Arkansas club where he was playing in 1949.

5. There have been at least 40 Lucilles. That's the name of whatever guitar King plays, usually a black Gibson.

6. King's music has appeared on the soundtracks to at least 53 movies.

7. King has appeared on "The Cosby Show" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and in the movies "Spies Like Us" and "Blues Brothers 2000."

8. He's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1987, part of the hall's second class of honorees. He's also in the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.

9. He's a vegetarian, but he's done commercials for McDonald's and Wendy's.

10. He held a private pilot's license for most of his life, but his insurance company asked him not to fly once he got into his 80s.

11. Great quote: "About 15 times, a lady has said 'It's either me or Lucille.' That's why I've had 15 children by 15 women."

12. There is a B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, Miss.

13. King put 74 songs on the Billboard R&B charts between 1951 and 1985.

14. Only two of his songs have topped the charts: "Three O'Clock Blues" in 1951 and "You Don't Know Me" in '52.

15. The Rolling Stones invited King as opening act for their 1969 U.S. tour. He appears on the band's live album, "Get Yer Ya-Yas Out."

16. Rolling Stone magazine named him the No. 3 guitarist of all time.

17. He's received 16 Grammy Awards, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, honorary degrees from Yale and Brown and the keys to the cities of Utica, N.Y., and Portland, Maine.

18. There is a park named in his honor in Portugal.

19. It's hard to say how many albums he has released, but it's at least 60. At least 18 of those were recorded live.

20. Among his singles: "Shut Your Mouth," "You Done Lost Your Good Thing," "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water," "You're Still a Parallelogram," "I Don't Want You Cuttin' Off Your Hair" and "Nobody Loves Me But My Mother."

21. Great quote II: "There are so many sounds I still want to make, so many things I haven't yet done."

22. He's been married twice. The second wedding, in 1958, was presided over by the Rev. C.L. Franklin, Aretha's dad.

23. Barack Obama joined King for a version of "Sweet Home Chicago" at a 2012 White House performance.

24. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in the 1940s but discharged because of his skill as a tractor driver.

25. His tour bus burned during a 1958 tour - two days after his insurance was canceled.

26. 1966 was the sort of year blues songs are written about: The IRS hit him with a $78,000 lien, his wife left him and his bus was stolen.

27. "Riding with the King," a 2002 collaboration with Eric Clapton, sold more than 2 million copies and won a Grammy.

28. King borrowed $30 to buy his first guitar from a Sears & Roebuck catalog.

29. In the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., B.B. King played a benefit for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Also on the bill that night: Jimi Hendrix.

30. King has performed in prisons throughout his career. In 1992, he played a gig at a Florida correctional facility where his daughter was incarcerated.

31. Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, who live in St. Johns County, appear on King's "Live at the Royal Albert Hall 2011" CD.

32. At age 87, King's not slowing down: He has concerts booked for 16 of the first 20 days of January.