Albert King - Biography
By J Poet
Albert King if one of the great Blues Kings - Freddie, B.B., and Earl are the others – but Albert has the most individual style of the four, famous for his bent note technique, all played by the left handed musician on a guitar stringed “backwards.” One of the few blues men to crossover to pop; his Born Under a Bad Sign (1967 Stax) is one of the best blues albums ever made and the title track is considered a blues classic. In the mid-80s he said he was retiring, but he continued to tour and record until he died of a heart attack in1992. He was Inducted into the Blues Awards Hall of Fame in 1983.
King was born into a life of hard farm work around 1924. He grew up in Osceola, Arkansas and started playing on a single string home made instrument when he was six. When he was 12 he got his first real guitar, and took informal lessons from Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf and Robert Nighthawk, somewhat hampered by his up side down stringing and left hand approach. He knew he had to develop his own style and concentrated on melody lines with long sustained notes. He played in a few blues bands and sang with a gospel group before moving to Chicago in the late 40s. A strong drummer as well as a guitarist, King got session work on the skins with Jimmy Reed, Brook Benton and Jackie Wilson.
King made his first singles for Parrot records in 1953. “Walking From Door To Door” and “Lonesome In My Bed” were substantial hits, but King received a flat fee for the session – $14.00. Between 1959 until 1962 he made a stream of singles including “Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong,” a Top 20 R&B hit. Once again he was paid a flat rate and never collected royalties. Some of these early sides are collected on The Big Blues (1962 King).
In 1966, King signed with Stax and had six hits. They made up half the tracks on Born Under a Bad Sign (1967 Stax) one of the best blues albums ever made. Backed by Booker T and the MG's its blend of blues and funk made it a crossover smash. He was a star, but still was underpaid, despite being one of the label’s best selling artists.
Live Wire/Blues Power (1968 Stax) cut live at a three-night stand at San Francisco’s Fillmore West introduced king to the hippie generation. The album was another rock crossover success. His work at Stax, most with Booker T. & the MG’s - Years Gone By (1969 Stax), Blues for Elvis: Albert King Does the King's Things (1970 Stax, 2001 Stax), Lovejoy (1961 Stax), The Lost Session (1971 Stax, 2002 Stax), produced in a jazzy style by John Mayall, I'll Play the Blues for You (1972 Stax), I Wanna Get Funky (1974 Stax), and Montreux Festival (1974 Stax) – helped redefine the role of blues guitar and bring plenty of soul and funk into the genre without diluting its down home roots.
Dissatisfied with his treatment at Stax, King signed with Tomato and made Albert (1976 Tomato), an odd attempt at disco with over busy backing tracks, Truckload of Lovin’ (1976 Tomato, 1992 Rhino), King Albert (1977 Tomato, 1992 Rhino), another basic blues outing, New Orleans Heat (1978 Tomato, 1992 Rhino), produced by Allen Toussaint with a touch of Nawlins fonk, and Albert Live (1979 Tomato, 1992 Rhino) one of his best live albums.
In 1983 King moved on to Fantasy and cut two more studio classics San Francisco '83 (1983 Fantasy) and I'm In A Phone Booth, Baby (1984 Fantasy, 2005 Stax) featuring a strong performance of the Robert Cray penned title track. King stayed on the road until he died, but didn’t cut any more albums. Since his death most of his best stuff has been reissued, as well as some noteworthy music from the vaults like: Wednesday Night in San Francisco: Recorded Live at the Fillmore Auditorium (2001 Stax) and Thursday Night in San Francisco: Recorded Live at the Fillmore Auditorium (2001 Stax) the complete sets from his Live Wire/Blues Power gigs at the Fillmore West, Funky London (1994 Stax) nine out takes from his early Stax albums and Live (Tomato 2005) six extended jams recorded in 1969 at The Cue in Madison, WI, including a 17 minute plus version of “Please Come Back to Me.”
