It's a story that is more than 50 years old, but everyone who knows blues knows the story behind B.B. King's guitar, Lucille.

King was playing at a dance in Arkansas when a fight broke out between two boys and a kerosene stove was knocked over, setting the dance hall on fire.

King rushed out, forgetting to bring his guitar. Once he realize he had left his Gibson guitar in the burning hall, he rushed back in to get it.

Later, King found out that the boys were fighting over a woman named Lucille.

Ever since, any Gibson guitar that King has bought has shared that name.

Tomorrow night, King will perform at the Bryce Jordan Center and you can be sure Lucille will be with him. With King will be another blues legend, Bobby Bland, formerly Bobby "Blue" Bland.

Bland, a blues legend in his own right, has been performing and touring as long as King. The word "blue" was taken out of Bland's name because many record executives realized that Bland's talent was more than just blues.

"B.B. King is this great marshmallow of a cultural figure, quite benign, while Bobby 'Blue' Bland has a harder, street edge to his sound that I find more interesting," said Toby Thompson, associate professor of English and author of the Bob Dylan biography Positively Main Street. "He's not to be missed."

The two blues legends are guaranteed to put on a performance that should prove to be quite amazing. However, the two are also coming to State College for another reason.

"Mr. King will be performing Friday night at 8 p.m. as a way to kick off the festivities for Martin Luther King Jr. day," said Bernie Punt, marketing manager at the Bryce Jordan Center.

King's list of achievements and awards is a long one since he put out his crossover debut in 1970 with "The Thrill is Gone." King has released more than 50 albums and performs at least 250 concerts each year.

If you're skeptical about whether a blues legend will do well in a college town, don't be.

"I think it's really cool that B.B. King is coming to State College," Dawn Gashgarian (junior-psychology) said. "He's a legend that has been around influencing so many different artists and I think it's great that a legend is making a stop at our school. The concert on Friday is sure to be a huge success and one amazing show."

King himself has even won an MTV Video Music Award and has collaborated with such artists as U2 and Eric Clapton.

"Mr. King has played over 90 countries in his career," said Tina France, vice president of Lieberman Management, which manages King.

"His audience covers every generation. We play many college towns all over the country. This is not unusual for him," France added.

King, whose latest album "More" was released last week, has been doing a lot of press to get the album noticed. He appeared on David Letterman earlier this week to talk about his CD release and his tour.

"Mr. King is currently traveling around right now from New York City to all over Pennsylvania and we're looking forward to him coming to the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday," Punt said.

The tour, which kicked off in Philadelphia yesterday, will not be a long one. It concludes Jan. 20 in New Jersey.

As always with any show that King puts on, you can expect his hit songs to be played.

And, of course, anyone with the name Lucille will get half-off the ticket price -- with proper ID of course.

What better way to pay tribute to that fight, back in 1950, that has made King and his guitar's famous?