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Albert King

2014-06-27

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'''Albert King''' (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992) was an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States American] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues blues] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitarist guitarist] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer singer], and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing. King was[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/posthumously posthumously] inducted into the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame Rock and Roll Hall of Fame] in May 2013.





==Contents==

 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King# hide]] *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#Life_and_career 1 Life and career]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#Instruments 2 Instruments]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#Discography 3 Discography]

**[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#Studio_albums 3.1 Studio albums]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#DVD_and_videos 4 DVD and videos]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#References 5 References]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#Sources 6 Sources]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#External_links 7 External links]





==Life and career[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albert_King&action=edit&section=1 edit]]==

One of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.B._King B.B. King] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_King Freddie King]), Albert King stood 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), some reports say 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) and weighed 250 pounds (110 kg)[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-russell-1 [1]] and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He was born '''Albert King Nelson''', on a cotton plantation in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianola,_Mississippi Indianola, Mississippi]. During his childhood he would sing at a family [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_music gospel] group at a church where his father played the guitar. One of 13 children, King grew up picking cotton on plantations near [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_City,_Arkansas Forrest City, Arkansas], where the family moved when he was eight.

He began his professional work as a musician with a group called In The Groove Boys in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osceola,_Arkansas Osceola, Arkansas].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-russell-1 [1]] Moving north to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary,_Indiana Gary, Indiana] and later [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis,_Missouri St. Louis, Missouri], he briefly played drums for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Reed Jimmy Reed]'s band and on several early Reed recordings. Influenced by blues musicians [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Lemon_Jefferson Blind Lemon Jefferson] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Johnson_(musician) Lonnie Johnson], the[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_guitar electric guitar] became his signature instrument, his preference being the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Flying_V Gibson Flying V] which he named "Lucy". King earned his nickname "The Velvet [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulldozer Bulldozer]" during this period as he drove one of them and also worked as a mechanic to make a living.

King moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary,_Indiana Gary, Indiana] in the early 1950s, then to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago Chicago] in 1953 where he cut his first single for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrot_Records_(blues_label) Parrot Records], but it was only a minor regional success.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-russell-1 [1]] He then went back to St. Louis in 1956 and formed a new band. During this period, he settled on using the Flying V as his primary guitar.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-russell-1 [1]] He resumed recording in 1959 with his first minor hit, "I'm a Lonely Man," written by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Milton Little Milton], who was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbin Bobbin] Records [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26R A&R] man, a fellow guitar hero, and responsible for King's signing with the label.

It was not until his 1961 release "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong" that King had a major hit,[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-russell-1 [1]] reaching number fourteen on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States U.S.] ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_(magazine) Billboard]'' R&B chart. The song was included on his first album ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Blues The Big Blues]'', released in 1962. He next signed with jazz artist Leo Gooden's Coun-Tree label. King's reputation continued to grow in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_United_States Midwest], but a jealous Gooden dropped him from the label.[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]''] By modern standards, ''The Big Blues'' feels completely generic with little of note except King's guitar, but in 1962 it was fresh and marked a new type of clean, sharp blues over the "dirty" sound that characterized the genre during the 1950s.

In 1966, King moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis,_Tennessee Memphis], where he signed with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stax_Records Stax] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_label record label].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-russell-1 [1]] Produced by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jackson,_Jr. Al Jackson, Jr.], King with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._%26_the_MGs Booker T. & the MGs] recorded dozens of influential sides, such as "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosscut_Saw_(song) Crosscut Saw]" and "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_The_Years_Go_Passing_By As The Years Go Passing By]". In 1967 Stax released the album ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_Under_a_Bad_Sign Born Under a Bad Sign]'', which was not technically a studio album, but a collection of all the singles King recorded at Stax.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-russell-1 [1]] The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_Under_a_Bad_Sign_(song) title track of that album] (written by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Jones Booker T. Jones] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bell_(singer) William Bell]) became King's best-known song and has been covered by many artists (from British rock group [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_(band) Cream], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rodgers Paul Rodgers], Canadian guitarist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Travers Pat Travers], American rock guitarist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix Jimi Hendrix] to cartoon character [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer_Simpson Homer Simpson]). The production of the songs was sparse, clean, and maintained a traditional blues sound while also sounding fresh and thoroughly contemporary. Almost as important as King himself was the "menacing" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_bass bass] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Dunn Donald Dunn], which at some points approached an early [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music metal] feel. ''Born Under A Bad Sign'' propelled Albert King to mainstream popularity at the comparatively late age of 44 and was one of the last albums recorded by an artist whose career began before the rock-and-roll era to be truly innovative, predictive of future music trends, and influential on young musicians of the era.

Another landmark album followed with ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Wire/Blues_Power Live Wire/Blues Power],'' from one of many dates King played at promoter [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Graham_(promoter) Bill Graham]'s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fillmore Fillmore Auditorium]. The album influenced musicians [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix Jimi Hendrix], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Clapton Eric Clapton], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Robertson Robbie Robertson], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Moore Gary Moore] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan Stevie Ray Vaughan].

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_King_1968.jpg][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_King_1968.jpg]Albert King playing at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fillmore_East Fillmore East] in October 1968 with his Gibson Flying V guitar. Photo: Grant GouldonIn 1969, King performed live with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis_Symphony_Orchestra St. Louis Symphony Orchestra]. That same year, he released a follow-up album to ''Born On A Bad Sign'', ''Years Gone By''. During the early 1970s, he recorded an album ''Lovejoy'' with a group of white rock singers, an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley Elvis Presley] tribute album, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues_for_Elvis_%E2%80%93_King_Does_the_King%27s_Things Albert King Does The King's Things]'', and a cameo on an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Brooks Albert Brooks] comedy album ''A Star is Bought''. The above-mentioned album was a collection of Elvis's 1950s hits reworked and re-imagined in Albert King's musical sound, although critics felt the results of it were mixed. ''Lovejoy'' introduced no really new musical innovations over King's previous two Stax albums, although it notably includes a cover of the Rolling Stones' hit ''Honky Tonk Woman''.

According to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Graham_(musician) Bill Graham], "Albert was one of the artists I used many times for various reasons. He wasn't just a good guitar player; he had a wonderful stage presence, he was very congenial and warm, he was relaxed on stage, and he related to the public. Also he never became a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuckin%27_and_jivin%27 shuck-and-jiver]. One of the things that happened in the '60s – it's not a very nice thing to say, but it happens to be true – was that blues musicians began to realize that white America would accept anything they did on stage. And so many of them became jive. But Albert remained a guy who just went on stage and said 'Let's play.'"[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]'']

On June 6, 1970, King joined [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doors The Doors] on stage at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Coliseum Pacific Coliseum] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver,_Canada Vancouver, Canada]. He lent his distinctive guitar to blues cuts such as “Little Red Rooster,” “Money,” “Rock Me” and “Who Do You Love.”{Released on Rhino records as 'The Doors Live in Vancouver 1970' in 2010}

Like many older artists, King wanted to remain relevant and on the charts, and so he eagerly embraced the new sound of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk funk]. King was teamed with members of[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Isaac_Hayes_Movement_(album) The Movement] ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Hayes Isaac Hayes]'s backing group), including bassist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Alexander_(musician) James Alexander] and drummer [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Hall_(drummer) Willie Hall] adding strong funk elements to his music. Adding strings and multiple rhythm guitarists, producers [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Jones_(record_producer) Allen Jones] and Henry Bush created a wall of sound that contrasted with the sparse, punchy records King made with Booker T. & the MGs. Among these was another of King's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signature_song signature tunes] "I'll Play the Blues For You" in 1972. The new instrumental arrangements added a renewed freshness to King's guitar licks; in addition it worked well for The Bar-Kays since funk was still a young genre and most such groups had yet to work with a competent guitarist.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_King_1978.jpg][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_King_1978.jpg]Albert King in 1978After ''I'll Play The Blues For You'', King recorded another album with the Bar-Kays, ''I Wanna Get Funky'' (1974). The record skillfully mixed standard blues licks with the latest in hot funk (although a few traditional-style blues tracks were also included) and it is considered his last strong album.

In 1975, King's career took a turn downward when Stax Records filed for bankruptcy, after which he moved to the small Utopia label. His next two albums, ''Albert'' and ''Truckload Of Lovin''' (1976), devolved into generic 1970s pop music and the third album with Utopia, ''King Albert'' (1977), while somewhat more subdued, still lacked any standout material and King's guitar took a backseat to the background instruments.

The last recording King did with Utopia was ''Live Blues'' in 1977, performed at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreux_Jazz_Festival Montreux Jazz Festival] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland Switzerland]. As the audience here were knowledgeable jazz and blues fans who disliked experimentation, he played it safe and conservative, although ''As The Years Go Passing By'' is noteworthy for his duet (and even dueling) with Irish guitarist[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Gallagher Rory Gallagher].

In 1978, King moved to a new label, Tomato Records, where he recorded the studio album ''New Orleans Heat''. The label paired him up with R&B producer [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Toussaint Allen Toussaint], who had been responsible for scores of 1960s-1970s hits in that genre, but was a novice at working with blues artists. The album was a mix of new songs (including Toussaint's own "Get Out Of My Life, Woman") and rerecordings of old material such as "Born Under A Bad Sign". Keeping with Toussaint's quality standards, production values were high, but the backing instruments were uninspired (if competent).

King took a four-year break from recording after the disappointing results of his late 1970s efforts. During this period, he fully re-embraced his roots as a blues artist and abandoned any arrangements except straight 12-bar guitar, bass, drums, and piano. In 1983, he finally cut a new live album with Fantasy Records, ''Crosscut Saw: Albert King In San Francisco''. By the early 1980s, a blues revival movement was in effect, but one with strictly amateur musicians who performed in bars and clubs. The backing musicians on ''Crosscut Saw'' certainly fit that description, lacking anything like the talent needed to complement King properly.

In 1984, King recorded ''I'm In A Phone Booth, Baby'', which turned out to be his last studio album. The recording included a redo of "Truckload Of Lovin'" and two ancient [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmore_James Elmore James] tunes, "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_My_Broom Dust My Broom]" and "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sky_Is_Crying_(song) The Sky Is Crying]". Fantasy Records tried to recreate the sparse instrumentals of King's Stax years and not drown him out.

King influenced others such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Taylor Mick Taylor], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Trucks Derek Trucks], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Haynes Warren Haynes], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Bloomfield Mike Bloomfield] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Walsh Joe Walsh] (the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gang James Gang] guitarist spoke at King's funeral). He also had an impact on contemporaries [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Collins Albert Collins]and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Rush Otis Rush]. He was often cited by Stevie Ray Vaughan as having been his greatest influence. Clapton has said that his work on the 1967 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_(band) Cream] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hit_record hit] "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Brew_(song) Strange Brew]" and throughout the album ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disraeli_Gears Disraeli Gears]'' was inspired by King.

King's health problems led him to consider retirement in the 1980s, but he continued regular tours and appearances at blues festivals, using a customized [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhound_Lines Greyhound tour bus] with "I'll Play The Blues For You" painted on the side.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-russell-1 [1]] Shortly before his death, he was planning an overseas tour.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-russell-1 [1]] His final album, ''Red House'' – named after the Jimi Hendrix song – was recorded in 1992. The album was largely ignored because of bad production quality, and original copies of it are scarce.

King died on December 21, 1992, from a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myocardial_infarction heart attack] in his [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis,_Tennessee Memphis, Tennessee] home. His final concert had been in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles Los Angeles] two days earlier. He was given a funeral procession with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Horns Memphis Horns] playing "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_The_Saints_Go_Marching_In When The Saints Go Marching In]" and buried in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmondson,_Arkansas Edmondson, Arkansas] near his childhood home. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.B._King B.B. King] eulogized him by stating: "Albert wasn't my brother in blood, but he was my brother in blues."

On December 11, 2012, it was announced that King would be posthumously inducted into the 2013 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame Rock and Roll Hall of Fame].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-americanbluesscene.com-2 [2]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Clark_Jr. Gary Clark Jr.], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mayer John Mayer], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T_Jones Booker T Jones] performed King's "Born Under A Bad Sign" at the induction ceremony.

King also has a star on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis_Walk_of_Fame St. Louis Walk of Fame].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-3 [3]]

==Instruments[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albert_King&action=edit&section=2 edit]]==

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_King.jpg][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_King.jpg]Photo of Albert King in Chicago, 1981.King's first instrument was a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diddley_bow diddley bow]. Next, he built himself a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigar_box_guitar cigar box guitar], before buying a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_Guitar_Company Guild] acoustic. The instrument he is usually associated with is a 1958 Gibson Flying V. In 1974 he began using a Flying V built by Dan Erlewine, and after 1980 also one built by Bradley Prokopow.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-gress-4 [4]]

King was left-handed, but usually played right-handed guitars flipped over upside-down. He used a dropped [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_scale minor tuning], reportedly C♯-G♯-B-E-G♯-C♯. He never used the sixth string.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-gress-4 [4]]

For amplification, King used a solid-state [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_Control_Corporation Acoustic] amplifier, with a speaker cabinet with two 15" speakers and a horn ("which may or may not have been operative"). Later in his career he also used a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MXR_Phase_90 MXR Phase 90].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King#cite_note-gress-4 [4]]

==Discography[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albert_King&action=edit&section=3 edit]]==

Main article: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King_discography Albert King discography]===Studio albums[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albert_King&action=edit&section=4 edit]]===

*''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Blues The Big Blues]'' (1962)

*''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_Under_a_Bad_Sign Born Under a Bad Sign]'' (1967)

*''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Years_Gone_By Years Gone By]'' (1969)

*''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues_for_Elvis_-_King_Does_the_King%27s_Things Blues for Elvis - King Does the King's Things]'' (1970)

*''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovejoy_(album) Lovejoy]'' (1971)

*''The Lost Session'' (1971, released in 1986)

*''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ll_Play_the_Blues_for_You I'll Play the Blues for You]'' (1972)

*''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wanna_Get_Funky I Wanna Get Funky]'' (1974)

*''Albert'' (1976)

*''Truckload of Lovin''' (1976)

*''King Albert'' (1977)

*''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blues_Don%27t_Change The Pinch aka The Blues Don't Change]'' (1977)

*''New Orleans Heat'' (1978)

*''Crosscut Saw: Albert King in San Francisco'' (1983)

*''I'm in a Phone Booth, Baby'' (1984)

*''Red House'' (1992)

==DVD and videos[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albert_King&action=edit&section=5 edit]]==

*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

*2010 ''In Session...Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan'', Stax, Concord Music Group, Inc.

[[Category:1923 births]]

[[Category:1992 deaths]]