B.B. King viewing being held before funeral in Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. — Friends and fans are getting a chance to file past B.B. King's coffin during a public viewing Friday in the Mississippi Delta, the land that gave birth to the blues.

The visitation comes a day before the funeral for the man who influenced generations of singers and guitarists.

King was 89 when he died May 14 at his home in Las Vegas. A public viewing and invitation-only memorial service were held in that city before his body was flown to Memphis for a tribute Wednesday.

Hundreds of people lined the roads to catch a glimpse of the hearse that drove his coffin from Memphis to his hometown of Indianola, Miss.

He will be buried on the grounds of the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola.

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