'King of the Blues' BB King has died at the age of 89, his lawyer has said.
King, who will always be linked with the Gibson guitars he named Lucille, died in Las Vegas, according to his lawyer, USA Today reported.
Born in Mississippi as Riley B King, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
As a radio DJ in Memphis, Tennessee, King became known as 'The Beale Street Blues Boy', which was gradually shortened to 'Blues Boy' and eventually 'BB'.
The guitarist, who took blues from rural juke joints and influenced a generation of rock guitarists, was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the 1980s.
He was hospitalised in April for a few days after suffering from dehydration related to the disease.
In May, he said in a Facebook post that he was in hospice care at his home.
King had a deep, resonant singing voice and, despite having what he called "stupid fingers," an immediately recognisable guitar sound.
King also famously featured on the song 'When Love Comes to Town' with U2 from the 1988 album 'Rattle and Hum'. The song reached No 1 in the Irish singles chart in 1989.
Rolling Stone magazine listed King as No 3 on a list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time in 2003, with Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman ranking just ahead of him.
King played over 10,000 shows across his career, and also appeared on a number of television shows, including 'The Cosby Show', 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air', 'Sesame Street' and 'The Young and the Restless'.
Barack Obama paid warm tribute to Mr King, who once visited the White House and convinced the president to sing "Sweet Home Chicago" with him.
"The blues has lost its king, and America has lost a legend," President Obama said.
"B.B. may be gone, but that thrill will be with us forever. And there's going to be one killer blues session in heaven tonight."
Play a BB King song today & remember him! RIP Mr King & thanks for all the Great Music!!
— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) May 15, 2015Oh God. BB King. Let the sad times roll.
— Hugh Laurie (@hughlaurie) May 15, 2015BB, anyone could play a thousand notes and never say what you said in one. #RIP #BBKing pic.twitter.com/YvZYH8hyJE
— Lenny Kravitz (@LennyKravitz) May 15, 2015