... different, but the narrative of his life is similar to blues musicians who came before him. He was born poor and black as Riley B. King in 1925. His parents split, leaving his grandmother to raise him before she died while he was still a young boy ...

... and artifacts that point to Memphis as nourishing the roots of American music. You can see Ike Turner's piano and Riley B. King's original "Lucille" guitar. A 1956 hand-painted sign for the Club Ebony promotes a show featuring Fats Domino ...