Congo Square 2016The Thrills On: A Portrait of B. B. King by George Hunt B. B. King began playing on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1948. The antenna on the horizon marks that start. This led to his own show on Memphis, Tennessees WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, acquiring the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", later shortened to "Blues Boy," then Bee Bee and ultimately B. B. The hand painted tube amp King used to promote himself