Blues legend B.B. King in hospice at his home in Las Vegas
In this file photo taken Aug. 22, 2012, B.B. King performs at the 32nd annual B.B. King Homecoming, a concert on the grounds of an old cotton gin where he worked as a teenager in Indianola, Miss. The Blues legend King is telling fans he’s in hospice care at home in Las Vegas. AP
LAS VEGAS — Blues legend B.B. King was in hospice care Friday at his home in Las Vegas, according to a longtime business associate with legal control over his affairs.
The 89-year-old musician posted thanks on his official website for fans’ well-wishes and prayers after he returned home from a brief hospitalization, said Laverne Toney, King’s longtime business manager and current power-of-attorney.
“Mr. King is where he wishes to be,” Toney said. “He’s always told me he doesn’t want to be in a hospital. He wants to be at home.”
An ambulance was summoned Thursday after what Las Vegas police Officer Jesse Roybal characterized as a domestic dispute over medical care. No arrests were made, and Roybal said no criminal complaint was filed.
Toney disputed reports by celebrity website TMZ citing one of King’s daughters as saying she called police because she was upset about her father’s condition and that he had suffered a minor heart attack. Efforts by the Associated Press to reach the daughter, Patty King, were not immediately successful.
Paramedics checked King’s heart rhythm, and he was treated at the hospital for complications of high blood pressure and diabetes, Toney said. King was diagnosed with diabetes decades ago.
Roybal confirmed that police received a report on Nov. 16 claiming abuse at the house. No charges have been filed, and the police spokesman said details of the investigation were not immediately unavailable.
King’s hospitalization was the second in a month. He posted a similar message to fans when he returned home April 7.
He canceled the final shows of his 2014 tour last October after falling ill in Chicago.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
He has released more than 50 albums and sold millions of records worldwide.
His guitar, famously named Lucille, has soared and wailed in songs ranging from “Every Day I Have the Blues” to “When Love Comes to Town” to “The Thrill is Gone.”
