B.B. King Laid to Rest in Mississippi

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Updated: | Originally published: ;

Blues legend B.B. King was mourned Saturday in Indianola, Miss., the small town where his career took off.

Fans lined up to view his open casket Friday at the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, where King was laid out in a purple satin shirt and a floral tuxedo jacket, flanked by two black Gibson guitars, the New York Times reports. King died May 14 in Las Vegas, at the age of 89.

A letter from President Obama was read at the funeral Saturday, held in Bell Grove Missionary Baptist Church on B.B. King Road. “B.B. may be gone but that thrill will be with us forever,” Obama wrote. “And there’s going to be one killer blues session in heaven tonight.” Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant was also at the funeral.

King was born in a small town 18 miles away from Indianola, but long embraced it as his hometown, and the place where he got his start in music. There was a period in the 1960s and ’70s when King avoided Indianola, annoyed that he and his band were not allowed to eat at a local restaurant or stay in the motel when they passed through during the segregated 1960s. The White Citizens Council, the infamous segregationist group that opposed the Civil Rights movement, was founded in Indianola in the 1950s.

Some residents say the desire to embrace B.B. King helped energize the city to move past the racial stratification of the past. Throughout the 1980s, white and black residents worked together to plan annual “homecoming” shows, and a 1983 interracial cocktail party in King’s honor is remembered by many as a moment of racial healing for the community, the Times reports.

Look Back at B.B. King's Life and Career

B. B. King Early Portrait
B.B. King a local DJ at WDIA Radio poses for a portrait circa 1948 in Memphis, Tenn.Michael Ochs Archives/ Getty images
B.B. King poses for a portrait in 1950.
B.B. King poses for a portrait in 1950. Gilles Petard/Redferns
King, Clapton & Bishop Jam
From Left: Musicians B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Elvin Bishop perform together in 1967 in New York City.Don Paulsen—Michael Ochs Archives
Blues man BB King
B.B. King performs on a TV show in Los Angeles in the early 1970's . Michael Ochs Archives/ Getty images
B.B. King Performing at Farm Aid
B.B. King performs at the Farm Aid concert in Champaign, Ill. on Sept. 22, 1985.Bettmann/Corbis
Photo of BB KING and Adam CLAYTON and BONO and U2
From Left: U2 and B.B. King perform onstage during The Lovetown tour on Sept. 1, 1989 in Australia.Bob King—Redferns
B.B. King and John Lee Hooker
From Left: B.B. King and John Lee Hooker pose for a portrait on Jan. 1, 1997.Bill Reitzel—Corbis
A Family Celebration 2001
From Left: President Bill Clinton plays the sax with B.B. King at 'A Family Celebration 2001' at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on April 1, 2001 Kevin Winter—Getty Images
Legendary Ray Charles Funeral in Los Angeles
B.B. King performs during the funeral for legendary singer and musician Ray Charles at the First AME Church in Los Angeles on June 18, 2004.Genaro Molina—Reuters/Corbis
US blues musician Riley "B.B." King (L),
B.B. King smiles while President George W. Bush presents King with the Medal of Freedom on Dec. 15, 2006 in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Tim Sloan—AFP/Getty Images
US President Barack Obama waves alongsid
From Left: B.B. King watches as President Barack Obama waves during the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 9, 2010. Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images
USA - Music - Peter Frampton's Guitar Circus Tour Performs in Atlanta
B.B. King performs at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on Aug. 13, 2013 in Atlanta.John Davidson—Corbis

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Write to Charlotte Alter at charlotte.alter@time.com