The iconic blues musician B.B. King was honored by President George W. Bush on Dec. 15, 2006, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in Washington, D.C. During the ceremony, Bush lauded the guitarist for setting himself apart as the standard in playing the instrument.
"It has been said that when John Lennon was asked to name his great ambition, he said, 'to play the guitar like B.B. King,"' Bush said according to Billboard. "Many musicians have had that same goal but nobody has ever been able to match the skill, or copy the sound of the King of the Blues."
Throughout his career, B.B. King has won 15 Grammys and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987.
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(Photo: REUTERS/Larry Downing)