B.B. King struck all right chords — with class, kindness

The big tributes to the late B.B. King continue.

The latest edition of Guitar World Magazine features longtime Las Vegan King on the cover and a feature by Ted Drozdowski that captures King’s generous spirit and singular talent while also chronicling his incredibly bleak childhood.

Born in Mississippi, King attended a one-room schoolhouse and picked cotton for 35 cents a day. His mother, Nora Ella, died when he was just 9. With family nearby, he lived in a cabin on a plantation in exchange for helping out at the big house.

He grew up hungry, afraid of the dark from all those childhood nights alone, and an eyewitness to the racism inherent in a segregated society.

Floyd Cartledge, on whose plantation King’s relatives sharecropped cotton, loaned 12-year-old Riley $15 to purchase a cherry-red Stella six-string. And the rest is music history.

The fact King survived his childhood without apparent bitterness made him an American success story. His astounding music career made him a legend that will survive as long as people feel the blues.

“He also was a kind, generous and gracious man who cared about the people he entertained and the people he employed,” Drozdowski writes. “And King was a living link to an era when performers were truly shining ambassadors of the arts — larger than life in a way that reflected a knowledge that with their status came certain responsibilities to themselves, their fans, their creativity and the qualities that made them special. Dignity, respect, humanity and kindness were traits that King practically radiated in his being as well as in the notes that he teased from his beloved six-stringed First Lady, Lucille.”

That’s the B.B. King the world should remember — not the tawdry tabloid tale that has bubbled up thanks to some family in-fighting over the legend’s estate.

In late June, District Judge Gloria Sturman denied a request by lawyers for four of King’s daughters to contest his will. The judge named his longtime business manager Laverne Toney as sole executor of his estate.

“Ms. Toney has always served the best interests of Mr. King, and she will continue to do so now that she has been appointed as personal representative of Mr. King’s estate,” attorney Brent Bryson said. “… That’s why the judge appointed Ms. Toney over the children’s objections.”

Because of an allegation of foul play, King’s coda will come following the results of an autopsy by the Clark County Coroner’s Office.

“Hopefully once the autopsy report is completed, all of this negativity regarding King’s last days will be put to rest and the concentration will be placed on the body of work Mr. King left the world,” Bryson said.

The greatest tribute the legendary bluesman could receive is to let his music speak for itself and his family to let him rest in peace.

ON THE BOULEVARD: The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) is scheduling a protest against a sacred Nevada institution — high-interest payday loan centers. … The Environmental Protection Agency has cited North Las Vegas over its sewage treatment plant. Perhaps its inspectors will eventually discover what smelled about the construction of the costly project at a time the city was slipping toward bankruptcy. … Now that it’s been reported that the dismissed illegal gambling case against Paul Phua won’t be appealed by prosecutors, do you think a Las Vegas casino will one day consider welcoming him back to the Strip? Or will they be frightened off by his reputation as an associate of a Chinese organized crime triad? … Not all local cab drivers are bothered with ride-share operators Uber and Lyft coming to Las Vegas — far from it. Look for one insider’s intriguing views in Sunday’s column.

BOULEVARD II: Jerry Tarkanian, 5-year-old grandson of the late UNLV coaching great Jerry Tarkanian, is scheduled to throw out the first pitch at Saturday’s Las Vegas 51s game at Cashman Field. Little Tark continues to recover from a stroke he suffered in April.

Have an item for the Bard of the Boulevard? Email comments and contributions to Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. Find him on Twitter: @jlnevadasmith