B.B. King and 'Lucille'

Carl Adams of Nashua points out an image of blues icon B.B. King during an opening reception of a photo exhibit by Charles Sawyer at Kimball Jenkins in Concord. King always named his black Gibson guitars “Lucille,” and lore has it that comes from two nightclub patrons fighting over a woman and inadvertently starting a real fire in the process.

Already blues royalty to a national following, B.B. King hadn’t yet won his first of 15 Grammy Awards when he headed to an unlikely hot spot in New England — Lennie’s on the Turnpike on Route 1 in Peabody, Mass., for a string of shows.

With tables clustered right in front of the stage, it was a perfect chance for Concord native Charles Sawyer, a blues-loving New Hampshire teacher with aspirations of becoming a photojournalist, to grab his camera and take a seat.

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