B.B. King viewing draws more than 1,000 in Las Vegas
By KEN RITTER, Associated Press
May 22, 2015 10:21 PM CDT
FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2007 file photo, B.B. King performs at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center, in Salisbury, Md. The body of blues legend B.B. King will be flown on Wednesday, May 20, 2015, to Memphis, Tennessee, the place where a young King won the nickname Beale Street Blues Boy, then will...   (Associated Press)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — In death, as in life, B.B. King drew fans to his side in Las Vegas.

A funeral home manager says more than 1,000 people streamed past the guitar-flanked casket of the King of the Blues during a four-hour public viewing Friday.

King died May 14 at home in Las Vegas.

The 89-year-old music legend, known for hits like "The Thrill Is Gone" and "Everyday I Have the Blues," wouldn't have been downhearted about the turnout.

One of 11 surviving children, his daughter Rita, says she knows he's just loving the send-off.

It's all part of one last B.B. King homecoming tour.

A memorial service is set for Saturday in Las Vegas.

He'll arrive Wednesday in Memphis, Tennessee, on the way to his final burial May 30 in Indianola, Mississippi.

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