Albert King
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Albert King
(April 25, 1923 - December 21, 1992)
Albert King with his trademark
Gibson Flying V
Albert King was one of the founding fathers of Electric Blues. He's affectionately known
as one of the "three kings" of the Blues because of his last name. The other two kings are
B.B. King and Freddy King. Albert was a Mississippi native. Like
nearly all Mississippi Bluesmen born at the time, he was born into picking cotton.
King, like many other Bluesmen from the area, made his own first guitar to learn to play.
He was quickly caught up into the Blues and traveled away from home to pursue the music.
After ending up in Indiana, he played with
Jimmy Reed before cutting his
first record, which was of no success. Afterwards, he traveled about, cutting several other
records of various popularity in Saint Louis before signing with Memphis-based
Stax Records in 1966.
Stax Records, now a rebuilt Museum,
where Albert King made his biggest hits.
Click for a larger image.
At Stax, King's popularity begain skyrocketing. Stax Records had recorded
several popular Bluesmen, though none so successful as King, and the label was well known
for it's unique sound and it's pioneering influence in Soul music, which is felt in
King's work. Albert, along with the famous house band Booker T. and the MGs, cut many
of Kings biggest hits. His string bending, interesting tuning methods and using an
electric guitar were all rather progressive at the time, which gave Albert a unique,
trademark sound. In the late 1960s he pumped out hit after hit, such as "Crosscut Saw",
"I'll Play the Blues for You" and his biggest hit "Born Under a Bad Sign". Many of King's
songs continue to be timeless Blues classics. His association with Stax lasted throughout
his long and successful career, with the majority of his records coming under the Stax
name.
Albert King, in 1969, was the debut act at the legendary Fillmore West with Jimi Hendrix.
Already a Blues giant, he went on to regularly play at large venues like the Fillmore,
and enjoyed a long and successful career, playing with other household Blues names at
festivals and recording regularly. His massive influence can be felt in a number of heavily
Blues influenced rock groups today. Stevie Ray Vaughan, who played with King during
one recorded session, cited King as a major influence on his playing, as did Eric Clapton and
Gary Moore, who had King guest star on his major hit album Still Got The Blues. Over
his lifetime, he recorded dozens of records, and in 1983 he was inducted into the Blues
Hall of Fame. Albert King continued to recorded strenuously, right up until his death in
Memphis, Tennessee from heart failure in 1992.
Notable songs by Albert King
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