B.B. King

About B.B. King

B.B. King (1925–2015) stands as one of the most consequential figures in 20th-century music, earning him a Historical Popularity Index (HPI) rank of #937. Known as the "King of the Blues," his signature vibrato and expressive guitar style on his beloved Lucille shaped modern blues and profoundly influenced rock and roll artists for decades. His contributions cemented the blues as a global art form, warranting a high ranking among the world's most influential historical figures.

Despite this significant historical standing, B.B. King currently experiences an Attention Gap of -2x, meaning the modern internet pays significantly less attention to him than his importance suggests. In 2025, his Wikipedia page accrued an annualized total of 152K views. For context, this is vastly overshadowed by figures with much lower historical importance, such as Musa I of Mali (#244 importance, 18K views). His attention is underrepresented compared to his global cultural impact.

Furthermore, his online presence shows slight contraction, with a year-over-year view change of -16.2%, though recent engagement in the first three quarters of 2025 suggests a marginal positive momentum of +4% compared to Q1 versus Q3.