Not So Obscure Trivia: How Did BB King Settle On The Name "Lucille" For His Guitars?

Question

It's a pretty well-known story, so I am sure someone out there will come up with it fairly promptly. BB King always names his guitars "Lucille", and he has a very good story and excellent reason for doing so.

What is it? Do you know? Please share.

(And by the way, yes, I do know the answer--I am just asking for fun.)

Answer 1

The story is that in a blues club back sometime

I believe in the 1940s or 50s, a fire had broken out

due to a fight which had incurred over a woman.

You guessed it, her name was Lucille.

I'm also pretty sure that BB was either playing

(or had or, was going to go on) that night.

EDIT:  Wouldn't luck have it someone beat me to it.

Answer 2

In the 1950's B.B. was playing at a club and two guys were fighting over a girl named Lucille - a container of kerosene got knocked over and started a fire. B.B. escaped from the building, but realized he forgot his guitar inside. He started naming his guitars Lucille to remind him never to forget to grab his guitar in an emergency situation.

Answer 3

"after he escaped a fire at a juke joint he was playing in. The fire was started by two men who were fighting over a woman named "Lucille".

To be honest - I did not know the answer... had to look it up.

You're right, Bron - It IS a good story :)

EDIT - Why did the top 2 answers get Thumbed-Down???

They got the story correct - God!!  I HATE TROLLS!!

.

Answer 4

Back in the late 1940's when B.B.'s career was in its infancy, one of his stops on the road was in Twist, Arkansas. It used to get quite cold in Twist in the evenings, and in order to keep the dance hall warm, kerosene was used for heat. A large barrel was placed in the center of the room and was filled about half way up with the fuel. The kerosene was then lighted to heat the room, a practice which was not uncommon in those days.

One cold night in 1949, two men started fighting and knocked over the barrel of burning kerosene. The burning fuel spilled over the floor like a river of fire. Every one, including B.B., ran out the front door. Once outside, B.B. realized that he left his guitar, a Gibson acoustic, inside the inferno. He went back inside the collapsing building to save his guitar, almost losing his life in the process. The blaze that night claimed two fatalities.

The next morning, B.B. discovered why the two men were fighting the night before. It seems as though they were fighting over a lady, and although he never met the woman, B.B. learned her name was Lucille. B.B. named that guitar Lucille, and also every guitar he has owned since that night, "to remind me never to do a thing like that again

Answer 5

Well it was a tough decision - he had a list of names -  if it was a boy it was going to be called Simon.