Lucille (guitar)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lucille is the name given to B. B. King's guitars. They are usually black Gibson guitars similar to the ES-335.

Contents

[edit] The story of Lucille

In the winter of 1949, King played at a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas. In order to heat the hall, a barrel half-filled with kerosene was lit, a not uncommon practice. During a performance, two men began to fight, knocking over the burning barrel and sending burning fuel across the floor. This triggered an evacuation. Once outside, King realized that he had left his guitar inside the burning building. He entered the blaze to retrieve his guitar, a Gibson acoustic. Two people died in the fire. The next day, King discovered that the two men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. King named that first guitar Lucille, as well as every one he owned since that near-fatal experience, as a reminder never again to do something as stupid as run into a burning building.[1] [2]

[edit] Lucilles through King's career

[edit] Early Lucilles

King played guitars of different brands early in his career. He played a Fender Telecaster on most of his recordings with RPM Records.[3] However, he is best known for playing variants of the Gibson ES-355.

[edit] Gibson Lucille

In 1981, Gibson Guitar Corporation launched the B. B. King Lucille model.[4] The most noticeable differences between the Lucille and the ES-355 on which it is based are the "Lucille" script on the headstock and the lack of F-holes on the top. The top has no F-holes at B. B. King's request, in order to control feedback better.[5]

[edit] Gibson Little Lucille

In 1999, Gibson launched the Little Lucille, a version of their Blueshawk guitar. It differed from the Blueshawk in having a Tune-o-matic bridge and a TP-6 stop tailpiece.[6]

The model is no longer found among Gibson USA's current product listing, and the Blueshawk on which it was based has been discontinued.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Lucilles in popular culture

In the anime BECK, Ryusuke's guitar is called Lucille after B. B. King's instrument. However, the guitar in BECK was not in a fire. Instead it has bullet holes.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.worldblues.com/bbking/prairie/lucille.html
  2. ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/b-b-king
  3. ^ Burrows, Terry. "The Complete Book of the Guitar" p. 111 Carlton Books Limited, 1998 ISBN 1-85868-529-X
  4. ^ http://www.gibsoncustom.com/flash/products/signature/lucille/lucille.html
  5. ^ http://player.gibson.com/nov03/bbking.html
  6. ^ http://www.gibson.com/Whatsnew/pressrelease/1999/feb16a.html
  7. ^ http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1430832/12191997/bb_king.jhtml
  8. ^ http://www.usd.edu/smm/BBKing.html
In other languages