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Albert King is truly a "King of the Blues," although he doesn't hold that title (B.B. does). Along with B.B. and Freddie King,
Albert King is oneof the major influences on blues and rock guitar players. Without him, modern guitar music would not sound
as it does -- his style hasinfluenced both black and white blues players from Otis Rush and Robert Cray to Eric Clapton and
Stevie Ray Vaughan. It's important tonote that while almost all modern blues guitarists seldom play for long without falling
into a B.B. King guitar cliché, Albert King never does --he's had his own style and unique ...read more
Albert King is truly a "King of the Blues," although he doesn't hold that title (B.B. does). Along with B.B. and Freddie King,
Albert King is oneof the major influences on blues and rock guitar players. Without him, modern guitar music would not sound
as it does -- his style hasinfluenced both black and white blues players from Otis Rush and Robert Cray to Eric Clapton and
Stevie Ray Vaughan. It's important tonote that while almost all modern blues guitarists seldom play for long without falling
into a B.B. King guitar cliché, Albert King never does --he's had his own style and unique tone from the beginning.
Albert King plays guitar left-handed, without re-stringing the guitar from the right-handed setup; this "upside-down" playing
accounts for hisdifference in tone, since he pulls down on the same strings that most players push up on when bending the
blues notes. King's massive toneand totally unique way of squeezing bends out of a guitar string has had a major impact.
Many young white guitarists -- especially rock &rollers -- have been influenced by King's playing, and many players who
emulate his style may never have heard of Albert King, let aloneheard his music. His style is immediately distinguishable from
all other blues guitarists, and he's one of the most important blues guitariststo ever pick up the electric guitar.
Born in Indianola, MS, but raised in Forrest City, AR, Albert King (born Albert Nelson) taught himself how to play guitar when
he was a child,building his own instrument out of a cigar box. At first, he played with gospel groups -- most notably the
Harmony Kings -- but after hearingBlind Lemon Jefferson, Lonnie Johnson, and several other blues musicians, he solely played
the blues. In 1950, he met MC Reeder, whoowned the T-99 nightclub in Osceola, AR. King moved to Osceola shortly
afterward, joining the T-99's house band, the In the Groove Boys.The band played several local Arkansas gigs besides the T-
99, including several shows for a local radio station.
After enjoying success in the Arkansas area, King moved to Gary, IN, in 1953, where he joined a band that also featured
Jimmy Reed andJohn Brim. Both Reed and Brim were guitarists, which forced King to play drums in the group. At this time, he
adopted the name Albert King,which he assumed after B.B. King's "Three O'Clock Blues" became a huge hit. Albert met Willie
Dixon shortly after moving to Gary, and thebassist/songwriter helped the guitarist set up an audition at Parrot Records. King
passed the audition and cut his first session late in 1953.Five songs were recorded during the session and only one single, "Be
on Your Merry Way" / "Bad Luck Blues," was released; the othertracks appeared on various compilations over the next four
decades. Although it sold respectably, the single didn't gather enough attentionto earn him another session with Parrot. In
early 1954, King returned to Osceola and re-joined theIn the Groove Boys; he stayed inArkansas for the next two years.
In 1956, Albert moved to St. Louis, where he initially sat in with local bands. By the fall of 1956, King was headlining several
clubs in thearea. King continued to play the St. Louis circuit, honing his style. During these years, he began playing his
signature Gibson Flying V, whichhe named Lucy. By 1958, Albert was quite popular in St. Louis, which led to a contract with
the fledgling Bobbin Records in the summer of1959. On his first Bobbin recordings, King recorded with a pianist and a small
horn section, which made the music sound closer to jumpblues than Delta or Chicago blues. Nevertheless, his guitar was
taking a center stage and it was clear that he had developed a unique,forceful sound. King's records for Bobbin sold well in
the St. Louis area, enough so that King Records leased the "Don't Throw Your Love onMe So Strong" single from the smaller
label. When the single was released nationally late in 1961, it became a hit, reaching number 14 onthe R&B charts. King
Records continued to lease more material from Bobbin -- including a full album, Big Blues, which was released in 1963-- but
nothing else approached the initial success of "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong." Bobbin also leased material to
Chess, whichappeared in the late '60s.
Albert King left Bobbin in late 1962 and recorded one session for King Records in the spring of 1963, which were much more
pop-orientedthan his previous work; the singles issued from the session failed to sell. Within a year, he cut four songs for the
local St. Louis independentlabel Coun-Tree, which was run by a jazz singer named Leo Gooden. Though these singles didn't
appear in many cities -- St. Louis, Chicago,and Kansas City were the only three to register sales -- they foreshadowed his
coming work with Stax Records. Furthermore, they were verypopular within St. Louis, so much so that Gooden resented King's
success and pushed him off the label.
Following his stint at Coun-Tree, Albert King signed with Stax Records in 1966. Albert's records for Stax would bring him
stardom, bothwithin blues and rock circles. All of his '60s Stax sides were recorded with the label's house band, Booker T. &
the MG's, which gave hisblues a sleek, soulful sound. That soul underpinning gave King crossover appeal, as evidenced by his
R&B chart hits -- "Laundromat Blues"(1966) and "Cross Cut Saw" (1967) both went Top 40, while "Born Under a Bad Sign"
(1967) charted in the Top 50. Furthermore, King'sstyle was appropriated by several rock & roll players, most notably Jimi
Hendrix and Eric Clapton, who copied Albert's "Personal Manager"guitar solo on the Cream song, "Strange Brew." Albert King's
first album for Stax, 1967's Born Under a Bad Sign, was a collection of hissingles for the label and became one of the most
popular and influential blues albums of the late '60s. Beginning in 1968, Albert King wasplaying not only to blues audiences,
but also to crowds of young rock & rollers. He frequently played at the Fillmore West in San Franciscoand he even recorded
an album, Live Wire/Blues Power, at the hall in the summer of 1968.
Early in 1969, King recorded Years Gone By, his first true studio album. Later that year, he recorded a tribute album to Elvis
Presley (Bluesfor Elvis: Albert King Does the King's Things) and a jam session with Steve Cropper and Pops Staples (Jammed
Together), in addition toperforming a concert with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. For the next few years, Albert toured
America and Europe, returning to thestudio in 1971, to record the Lovejoy album. In 1972, he recorded I'll Play the Blues for
You, which featured accompaniment from the Bar-Kays, the Memphis Horns, and the Movement. The album was rooted in the
blues, but featured distinctively modern soul and funk overtones.
By the mid-'70s, Stax was suffering major financial problems, so King left the label for Utopia, a small subsidiary of RCA
Records. Albertreleased two albums on Utopia, which featured some concessions to the constraints of commercial soul
productions. Although he had a fewhits at Utopia, his time there was essentially a transitional period, where he discovered
that it was better to follow a straight blues directionand abandon contemporary soul crossovers. King's subtle shift in style
was evident on his first albums for Tomato Records, the label hesigned with in 1978. Albert stayed at Tomato for several
years, switching to Fantasy in 1983, releasing two albums for the label.
In the mid-'80s, Albert King announced his retirement, but it was short-lived -- Albert continued to regularly play concerts
and festivalsthroughout America and Europe for the rest of the decade. King continued to perform until his sudden death in
1992, when he suffered a fatalheart attack on December 21. The loss to the blues was a major one -- although many
guitarists have tried, no one can replace King'sdistinctive, trailblazing style. Albert King is a tough act to follow. « hide |
Similar Bands: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Freddie King, Howlin Wolf Contributors: DikkoZinner, rockandmetaljunkie, rattlehead42147, mdixon335, rockandmetaljunkie,
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