Photo by Braden Dempster

Artist BB King performs at Riverwind Casino on Friday night. Braden Dempster/The Daily

B.B. King, a true living legend of American music, brought his signature style of blues guitar to a packed theater Friday night at Riverwind Casino.

King has been called the third greatest guitarist of all time by “Rolling Stone” magazine, and at 83 years old, he showed the Norman crowd he can still lay it down. Throughout the evening, the Mississippi blues legend made the audience laugh along with him while he poked fun at his age between songs.

“Oh gosh, I’m so glad to be back,” King told the crowd. “At my age, I’m glad to be anywhere. Been at this now 60 years of tryin’ to do what I’m tryin’ to do.”

King’s backing band, an eight-man group wearing black tuxedos, came on stage to play two songs before being joined by the star. As King approached the stage carrying his signature guitar, Lucille, fans rose to their feet and erupted into cheers.

Although he was sometimes coughing in-between breaks in the lyrics, King can still belt it out with a voice full of energy and soul. He told the audience he’s been recording since 1949, and has played concerts in over 90 countries around the world.

King and his band performed for nearly two hours, and after the music stopped he stayed on stage to interact with some of the crowd. He tried on a young boy’s fedora hat, threw out several guitar picks and signed autographs before being helped off the stage.

While a majority of the crowd may have been 40 and older, Tim Chambers, University College freshman, said he was glad to get to see King while he is still around.

“I didn’t ever know if I would get a chance to see him,” Chambers said. “The ticket cost quite a bit, but I feel like it was well worth it.”

DeJuan Briggs said he and his wife drove from Guthrie to see the show.

“The drive was about an hour or so,” Briggs said, “But we knew this might be our last chance to see the man. He’s the absolute greatest. It doesn’t get no better than that man.”

King isn’t showing signs of slowing down anytime soon. He has over 30 tour dates planned through April of next year, including several co-headlining shows with fellow blues legend Buddy Guy.