Entertainment

Blues Legend B.B. King in Hospice at His Home in Las Vegas

Published

10 years ago

May 2, 2015

In this April 4, 2014 photo, B.B King performs at the Peabody Opera House on April 4, 2014 in St. Louis, Mo. Some St. Louis music fans are singing the blues after an erratic weekend performance by 88-year-old guitar legend B.B. King led to a stream of early departures and audience catcalls. Concert-goers say Kings rambling Friday night set at the Peabody Opera House included only a handful of complete songs amid musical snippets, long-winded soliloquies and a 15-minute sing-along of You Are My Sunshine. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sarah Conard)

In this April 4, 2014 photo, B.B King performs at the Peabody Opera House on April 4, 2014 in St. Louis, Mo. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sarah Conard)

Ken Ritter, ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Blues legend B.B. King was in hospice care Friday at his home in Las Vegas, according to a longtime business associate with legal control over his affairs.

The 89-year-old musician posted thanks on his official website for fans’ well-wishes and prayers after he returned home from a brief hospitalization, said Laverne Toney, King’s longtime business manager and current power-of-attorney.

“Mr. King is where he wishes to be,” Toney said. “He’s always told me he doesn’t want to be in a hospital. He wants to be at home.”

An ambulance was summoned Thursday after what Las Vegas police Officer Jesse Roybal characterized as a domestic dispute over medical care. No arrests were made, and Roybal said no criminal complaint was filed.

Toney disputed reports by celebrity website TMZ citing one of King’s daughters as saying she called police because she was upset about her father’s condition and that he had suffered a minor heart attack. Efforts by the Associated Press to reach the daughter, Patty King, were not immediately successful.

Paramedics checked King’s heart rhythm, and he was treated at the hospital for complications of high blood pressure and diabetes, Toney said. King was diagnosed with diabetes decades ago.

Roybal confirmed that police received a report on Nov. 16 claiming abuse at the house. No charges have been filed, and the police spokesman said details of the investigation were not immediately available.

King’s hospitalization was the second in a month. He posted a similar message to fans when he returned home April 7.

He canceled the final shows of his 2014 tour last October after falling ill in Chicago.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He has released more than 50 albums and sold millions of records worldwide.

His guitar, famously named Lucille, has soared and wailed in songs ranging from “Every Day I Have the Blues” to “When Love Comes to Town” to “The Thrill is Gone.”

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