King of Blues released from hospital

Blues musician BB King was “back to his old self” after being discharged from a hospital today, a spokeswoman for his management agency said.

The 81-year-old bluesman was “feeling fabulous”, said Tina France, vice president of Lieberman Management of New York.

King had been treated for a low-grade fever following a bout with the flu. He was admitted to the hospital shortly before he was scheduled to perform at the Grand Opera House in Galveston.

King plans to perform Tuesday in Fort Worth, France said.

The acclaimed musician, who has a history of diabetes, had a fever which required monitoring because of his age, said France.

Doctors treated him with antibiotics, she said. King had been kept in the hospital’s elderly acute care unit as a precaution, said John Koloen, a spokesman for the hospital.

King, who won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, has become a spokesman in the fight against diabetes. In December, US president George Bush awarded King the Presidential Medal of Freedom.