Lucille in her current form is a Gibson ES-355. B.B. has been playing the ES-355 for at least 25 years, before that he played an ES-335. The main difference between those two guitars is that the ES-355 is a solid body. B.B. likes to think of the ES-355 as the "big brother" of Gibson's Les Paul. Lucille has been with B.B. since 1949. The story has been told many times before, but for those of you not familiar with the details, here it is ... Back in the late 1940's when B.B.'s career was in its infancy, one of his stops on the road was in Twist, Arkansas. It used to get quite cold in Twist in the evenings, and in order to keep the dance hall warm, kerosene was used for heat. A large barrel was placed in the center of the room and was filled about half way up with the fuel. The kerosene was then lighted to heat the room, a practice which was not uncommon in those days. One cold night in 1949, two men started fighting and knocked over the barrel of burning kerosene. The burning fuel spilled over the floor like a river of fire. Every one, including B.B., ran out the front door. Once outside, B.B. realized that he left his guitar, a Gibson acoustic, inside the inferno. He went back inside the collapsing building to save his guitar, almost losing his life in the process. The blaze that night claimed two fatalities. The next morning, B.B. discovered why the two men were fighting the night before. It seems as though they were fighting over a lady, and although he never met the woman, B.B. learned her name was Lucille. B.B. named that guitar Lucille, and also every guitar he has owned since that night, "to remind me never to do a thing like that again." For specs on the guitar see: http://www.gibson.com/products/gibson/Classic/Lucille.html http://www.gibson.com/products/gibson/lucille/Lucille.html

wickedwillie is very very close on his answer. Here's just a couple of edits I'd add. The Gibson ES-335, ES-355 and "Lucille" are *all* semi-acoustic guitars (hollow/electric) with a maple center block running through the center of the body for added sustain. They could also be referred to as "thinline" guitars. The ES-335 and ES-355 have two cut-outs on the front of the body (known as f-holes because they resemble a scripted "f"). The lack of these f-holes on the "Lucille" may make it appear that it is a solid-body, when it is actually in fact - a semi-acoustic. Secondly, the ES-335 has a standard, mono output. The Lucille has a stereo output and a tone-altering rotary switch referred to as "Varitone". The ES-355 could be purchased with the same stereo outputs and Varitone as the Lucille comes with today. Some historical info on Gibson Thinline Guitars: www.provide.net/~cfh/gibson4.html Gibson Lucille Info: www.gibson.com/products/gibson/Classic/Lucille.html

Here is one of BB Kings guitars in the Highway 61 Blues museum in Leland, Mississippi. The true home of the Blues...BB King was born and raised close to here. It is signed by a number of the famous blues singers. BB King's name is on the upper left side...click on photo to enlarge it to see.