BB King

BB King named his guitar Lucille and spent sixty years explaining why. The Gibson ES-355 — or one of its predecessors — was not just an instrument but a partner, and King's relationship with it produced the most imitated vibrato technique in blues history. His refusal to use a slide or open tuning forced him to develop a finger vibrato so expressive it could replicate the human voice. Gibson produced multiple Lucille signature models. King played over 300 shows a year for most of his career, meaning Lucille logged more stage time than virtually any other guitar in existence.