Lucille (guitar)

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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 fairly common practice at the time. 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 learned 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 made by different manufacturers 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

  • On December 19, 1997, King presented Lucille to Pope John Paul II following a concert at the Vatican. [7]
  • On November 5, 2000 King donated an autographed copy of Lucille to the National Music Museum. [8]
  • In the manga and anime BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad one of the main characters plays a guitar named Lucille. In the anime, a blues musician was shot to death while on stage by another man over a woman named Lucille. In the American dub, the guitar was renamed Prudence due to an unresolved rights issue over the name "Lucille". In manga it was actually the same but no one was pointing against the name of the guitar.
  • Lucille's kidnap and rescue was the plot in "Someone Stole Lucille" episode of the TV series Booker.

[edit] References

  1. ^ B.B. King: Lucille Speaks
  2. ^ B.B. King: Biography and Much More from Answers.com
  3. ^ Burrows, Terry. "The Complete Book of the Guitar" p. 111 Carlton Books Limited, 1998 ISBN 1-85868-529-X
  4. ^ gibsoncustom.com
  5. ^ The GIBSON & Baldwin Player - B.B. King - Make the people happy
  6. ^ B.B. King embraces Gibson's 'Little Lucille'
  7. ^ CMT.com : B.B. King : B.B. King's "Lucille" To The Pope After Vatican Concert
  8. ^ B. B. King Guitar at the National Music Museum
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