INDIANOLA

Riley B. King

In the heart of the delta on U.S. Highway 82, Indianola is the home of B.B. King. King was born Riley B. King, September 16, 1925 in Itta Bena. When he was five, his family moved east of the delta to Kilmichael and later to the edge of the delta at Lexington. When he was thirteen, King rode his bicycle to Indianola to live with relatives and work in the cotton fields. He has claimed Indianola as his home town ever since, naming a 1970 album Indianola Mississippi Seeds,  and the town is pleased to accept the title. A $10 million B.B. King museum, originally scheduled to open in 2005, is now scheduled for opening in Indianola, September 13, 2008.

B.B.'s handprints and footprints

Music: B.B. King, Thrill Is Gone

Indianola is the birthplace of Albert King (no relation to B.B.) who moved to Arkansas as a young child. Charley Patton died in Indianola on April 28, 1934 at 350 Heathman Street.

Recently acquired book soon to be reviewed on the READING page