B.B. King enters hospice care at home

ByKEN RITTER AP logo
Saturday, May 2, 2015
B.B. King
In this file photo taken Aug. 22, 2012, B.B. King performs at the 32nd annual B.B. King Homecoming in Indianola, Miss.
images-AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File

LAS VEGAS -- Blues legend B.B. King remains in hospice care Saturday at his home in Las Vegas.

King's longtime business manager Laverne Toney says the musician had a good night and she welcomed the concern about his health. Toney has legal control over King's affairs.

The 89-year-old musician posted thanks on his official website for fans' well-wishes and prayers on Friday after returning home from a brief hospitalization.

The hospitalization was the second in a month for King, who was diagnosed with diabetes decades ago.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

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."

"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.

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."