# Why I Sing the Blues: B.B. King is in hospice **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062 "2015-05-02T02:50:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/1 "2015-05-02T02:50:23Z")
Doleful (k)night for Kings. First we lost [Ben E. King](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=755848) and now news broke that [B.B. King is in hospice](http://www.bbking.com/2015/05/01/a-message-from-b-b-2/). We were lucky enough to catch him before he cancelled the rest of his 2014 tour. Had to be helped out to the stage, but then utterly demolished the house. Always kind to new artists (and bringing relatively unknowns with him on tour), and gracious to the audience—he’d stay on stage after performances just to talk to whoever stuck around. A true legend. [Why I Sing the Blues](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJrZ1LAOLYQ) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/2 "2015-05-02T02:56:37Z")
Aww geez. Lucille has lost her man. She will never sing again. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/3 "2015-05-02T03:00:03Z")
BB King gets back his stolen Lucille. [http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Book-on-B-B-King-Inspired-by-a-Stolen-Lucille.aspx](http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Book-on-B-B-King-Inspired-by-a-Stolen-Lucille.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/4 "2015-05-02T03:47:12Z")
I was just practicing guitar on Rocksmith tonight, _The Thrill Is Gone_. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/5 "2015-05-02T04:09:17Z")
I’m glad I got to see him live a few times. He was great at the Count Basie theater back around 2000. The old showman really put on a show. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/6 "2015-05-02T04:57:41Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I was just practicing guitar on Rocksmith tonight, _The Thrill Is Gone_. OT: how is Rocksmith? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/7 "2015-05-02T05:38:23Z")
He was hospitalized earlier last month from dehydration due to diabetes. Diabetes is one damned horrid disease. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/8 "2015-05-02T06:02:13Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > OT: how is Rocksmith? I’m enjoying it, and making progress. If you haven’t tried it, it looks like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCimH3AbfxE) (ignore the inset of the guy playing the guitar). ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/9 "2015-05-02T06:51:06Z")
Damn! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/10 "2015-05-02T07:23:26Z")
Awww, man. I met him once. At a seriously down point in my life. He was kind and gracious, and he paid me what is still the best compliment I have ever received; he said to me, “Boy, you understand the blues.” I wrote about it on here once; I still shake my head about that whole time and the great story I got from it. Thanks, Mr. King. For everything. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/11 "2015-05-02T18:03:50Z")
I’d always assumed that one _went_ to a hospice. I asked the SO what ‘home hospice’ is, and she said that’s what _she_ does; nurse people in their homes. My Blues collection is rather small. Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, Howlin’ Wolf, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, T-Model Ford… and B.B. King. I notice him on his commercials, and am always amazed he’s still going. But the photo in the [CNN article](http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/01/us/bb-king-in-home-hospice-care/) shows him looking very old and frail. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/12 "2015-05-02T18:20:04Z")
Is hospice still considered waiting to die? I think of hospice as terminal. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/13 "2015-05-02T19:40:52Z")
I checked and it still means what I thought. I freaked out once when I learned a friend had a Palliative care doctor. I didn’t realize she was dying until then. Glad that at least BB can afford home hospice care. Being at home with family makes a difference. > **[Hospice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospice)** > > Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by reducing pain and suffering. Hospice care provides an alternative to therapies focused on life-prolonging measures that may be arduous, likely to cause more symptoms, or are not aligned with a person's goals. > Hospice care in the United States is largely ... > [@](#): > > Hospice care is a type of care and philosophy of care that focuses on the palliation of a chronically ill, terminally ill or seriously ill patient’s pain and symptoms, and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs. ---
**Author:** ![Abracadebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abracadebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abracadebra)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/14 "2015-05-02T23:41:13Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I checked and it still means what I thought. I freaked out once when I learned a friend had a Palliative care doctor. I didn’t realize she was dying until then. > > Glad that at least BB can afford home hospice care. Being at home with family makes a difference. > [Hospice - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospice) I’m a hospice nurse. The patients I have are all at home, and fortunate to be so. The job of the hospice team is to make a person’s passing as peaceful and pain-free as possible, and to support the family as they say goodbye to their loved one. I consider it a privilege to be involved in so intimate a situation. It’s a job that stays with you, though. I’ve learned what really matters in life, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-sing-the-blues-b-b-king-is-in-hospice/719062/15 "2015-05-03T01:21:20Z")
[This article](http://www.tmz.com/2015/05/01/bb-king-abused-hospitalized-elder-abuse-daughter/) says that his daughter claims he has been defrauded and abused by his manager. Moreover said manager, who has power of attorney, refused to allow the daughter to call an ambulance until she (the daughter) called police. Very sad for a guy in the twilight of his days. Incidentally I should imagine that it is the manager who controls the website. Eta to add [this article](http://www.bbking.com/2015/05/01/a-message-from-b-b-2/) written by somoen who has been speaking to the manager.