MIDTOWN — Harlem resident Evelyn Douglas was 12 years old when her mother took her to a B.B. King performance because she could not find a baby sitter.
Douglas, 45, said she was immediately enthralled by the blues guitar player's emotion.
"He plays like he sings," Douglas said, adding that she asked her mother to wait with her after the show so she could meet King.
"I told him I loved him so much," Douglas said. "He gave me a hug."
Douglas was one of dozens of fans who stopped by B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on 42nd Street in Times Square Friday to mourn the passing of the legend.
King passed away at age 89 Thursday at his home in Las Vegas.
Guitar player Carlos Fabbri, 54, was visiting the city from Lima, Peru and was planning to see a show at the club Saturday night.
"He plays really soft, but with lots of fills," Fabbri said about King's style. "His legacy will remain on all blues fans forever."
Kalel Koven, 35, who came from Paris to live in Brooklyn for three months, decided to stop by the club Friday to photograph the memorial.
"He brought the blues out of the frontier to everyone in the world," Koven said. "His face is iconic."
King stopped touring last October after falling ill.
He had been in hospice care and died in his sleep.
