ALBERT KING

'Albert King' (April 25 1923 – December 21 1992) was an influential American blues guitarist and singer.

Contents

Career

Discography

Albums

Posthumous releases

Recording footnotes

DVD and videos

Sources

External links

Career

One of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B.B. King and Freddie King), he stood at least 6' 4", weighed in at least 260 lbs (118 kg) and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He was born 'Albert Nelson' on a cotton plantation in Indianola, Mississippi. During his childhood he would sing at a family gospel group at a church. He began his professional work as a musician with a group called In The Groove Boys, in Osceola, Arkansas. He also briefly played drums for Jimmy Reed's band and on several early Reed recordings. Influenced by Blues musicians Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson, but also interestingly Hawaiian music, the electric guitar became his signature instrument, his preference being the Gibson Flying V, which he named "Lucy".
King was a left-handed "upside-down/backwards" guitarist. He was left-handed, but usually played right-handed guitars flipped over upside-down so the low E string was on the bottom. In later years he played a custom-made guitar that was basically left-handed, but had the strings reversed (as he was used to playing). He also used very unorthodox tunings (i.e., tuning as low as C to allow him to make sweeping string bends). A "less is more" type blues player, he was known for his expressive "bending" of notes, a technique characteristic of blues guitarists.
His first hit came with "I'm A Lonely Man" written by Bobbin Records A&R man and fellow guitar hero Little Milton, responsible for King's signing with the label. However, it was not until his 1961 release "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong" that he had a major hit, reaching number fourteen on the R&B charts. In 1966 he signed with the famous Stax record label. Produced by powerhouse drummer Al Jackson, Jr., King with Booker T. & the MGs recorded dozens of hugely influential sides, such as "Crosscut Saw" and "As the Years Go Passing By", and in 1967 Stax released the legendary album, ''Born Under A Bad Sign''. The title track of that album (written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell) became King's most well known song and has been covered by many artists (from Cream to Homer Simpson)
Another landmark album followed in ''Live Wire/Blues Power'' from one of many seminal dates King played at promoter Bill Graham's Fillmore venues.
In the 1970s, King was teamed with members of The Bar-Kays and The Movement (Isaac Hayes's backing group), including bassist James Alexander and drummer Willie Hall adding strong Funk elements to his music. Adding strings and multiple rhythm guitarists, producers Allen Jones and Henry Bush created a wall of sound that contrasted the sparse, punchy records King made with Booker T. & the MGs. Among these was another signature tune for King with "I'll Play the Blues For You" in 1972.
King influenced many later blues guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Mick Taylor, Mike Bloomfield, Gary Moore, and especially Stevie Ray Vaughan, who also covered many of King's songs. He also had a profound impact on contemporaries Albert Collins and Otis Rush. Clapton has said that his work on the 1968 Cream hit "Strange Brew" and throughout the album ''Disraeli Gears'' was inspired by King.
King died on December 21 1992 from a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee, but he played until the very end. Guitarist Joe Walsh spoke at his funeral, saying "Albert King could blow Eddie Van Halen away with his amp on stand-by." King has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Discography

Albums

★ 1962 ''The Big Blues'', King Records

★ 1967 ''Born Under a Bad Sign'', Stax Records

★ 1968 ''Live Wire/Blues Power'', Stax Records

★ 1969 ''Years Gone By'', Stax Records

★ 1969 ''King Of The Blues Guitar'', Atlantic Records

★ 1970 ''Blues For Elvis - King Does The King's Things'', Stax Records

★ 1971 ''Lovejoy'', Stax Records

★ 1972 ''I'll Play The Blues For You'', Stax Records

★ 1973 ''Blues At Sunset'', Stax Records

★ 1973 ''Blues At Sunrise'', Stax Records

★ 1974 ''I Wanna Get Funky'', Stax Records

★ 1974 ''Montreux Festival'', Stax Records

★ 1974 ''The Blues Don't Change'', Stax Records

★ 1974 ''Funky London'', Stax Records

★ 1976 ''Albert'', Tomato Records

★ 1976 ''Truckload Of Lovin' '', Tomato Records

★ 1977 ''I'll Play the Blues For You'', Tomato Records (with John Lee Hooker)

★ 1977 ''King Albert'', Tomato Records

★ 1979 ''New Orleans Heat'', Tomato Records

★ 1979 ''Chronicle'', Stax Records (with Little Milton)

★ 1983 ''Crosscut Saw: Albert King In San Francisco'', Stax Records

★ 1984 ''I'm In A Phone Booth, Baby'', Stax Records

★ 1986 ''The Best Of Albert King'', Stax Records

★ 1986 ''The Lost Session'', Stax Records (with John Mayall)

★ 1989 ''Let's Have A Natural Ball'', Modern Blues Recordings

★ 1989 ''Live'', Rhino Records

★ 1990 ''Door To Door'', Chess Records

★ 1990 ''Wednesday Night In San Francisco'', Stax Records

★ 1990 ''Thursday Night in San Francisco'', Stax Records

★ 1991 ''Red House'', Essential

★ 1992 ''Roadhouse Blues'', RSP Records

Posthumous releases

★ 1993 ''The Ultimate Collection'', Rhino Records

★ 1993 ''So Many Roads'', Charly Blues Masters

★ 1994 ''The Tomato Years'', Tomato Records

★ 1994 ''Funky London'', Stax Records

★ 1994 ''Chicago 1978'', Charly Records

★ 1995 ''Mean Mean Blues'', King Records

★ 1995 ''Live On Memory Lane'', Monad Records

★ 1996 ''Hard Bargain'', Stax Records

★ 1997 ''Born Under A Bad Sign & Other Hits'', Flashback Records

★ 1998 ''Rainin' In California'', Wolf Records

★ 1999 ''Blues Power'', Stax Records

★ 1999 ''Live In Canada'', Charly Records

★ 1999 ''The Very Best Of Albert King'', Rhino Records

★ 1999 ''A Truckload Of Lovin': The Best Of Albert King'', Recall Records (UK)

★ 1999 ''In Session'', Stax Records (with Stevie Ray Vaughan)

★ 2001 ''Guitar Man'', Fuel 2000 Records

★ 2001 ''I Get Evil: Classic Blues Collected'', Music Club Records

★ 2001 ''More Big Blues Of Albert King'', Ace Records

★ 2001 ''Godfather Of The Blues: His Last European Tour'', P-Vine Records

★ 2002 ''Blue On Blues'', Fuel 2000 Records

★ 2003 ''Talkin' Blues'', Thirsty Ear Records

★ 2003 ''Blues From The Road'', Fuel 2000 Records

★ 2003 ''Live '69'', Stax Records

★ 2004 ''The Complete King & Bobbin Recordings'', Collectables Records

★ 2006 ''Stax Profiles'', Stax Records

★ 2007 ''Heat Of The Blues'', Music Avenue

Recording footnotes

★ Despite the same title, the 1972 and 1977 albums ''I'll Play The Blues For You'' differ in content, and the later one is a collection of previously released songs by King and John Lee Hooker.

★ ''In Session'' (1999) was actually recorded in 1983 with Stevie Ray Vaughan. An outtake from the sessions not used for the 1999 CD, "Born Under A Bad Sign", appears on Stax Records' compilation ''Albert King: Stax Profiles''.

★ ''Talkin' Blues'' (2003) was recorded live in February 1978, and includes interviews with King.

★ King played guitar, and sang on the Finnish rock and blues guitarist, Albert Järvisen's solo 1990 album, ''Braindamage or Still Alive?''.

DVD and videos

★ 1995 ''Maintenance Shop Blues'' (VHS), Yazoo

★ 2001 ''Godfather Of The Blues: His Last European Tour'' DVD, P-Vine Records

★ 2004 ''Live In Sweden'', Image Entertainment

Sources

★ Bowman, Rob (1997) ''Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records'', Schirmer Books. ISBN 0825672279

★ Discography at Lycos Music

External links

★ Albert King, Greg Johnson, ''BluesNotes'', September 1999

★ Albert King at Rolling Stone