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Albert King

Biography

Albert King (né Nelson; April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), was an American guitarist and singer, who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps best known for his popular and influential album Born Under a Bad Sign (1967) and its title track. B. B. King, Freddie King, and he, all unrelated, were known as the "Three Kings of the Blues". The left-handed Albert King was known for his "deep, dramatic sound that was widely imitated by both blues and rock guitarists".

King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1983. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2023, he was ranked number 22 on Rolling Stone's 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

King began his professional work as a musician with a group called the Groove Boys in Osceola, Arkansas. During this time, he was exposed to the work of many Delta blues artists, including Elmore James and Robert Nighthawk.

In 1953, he moved north to Gary, Indiana, where he briefly played drums in Jimmy Reed's band and on several of Reed's early recordings. In Gary, he recorded his first single ("Bad Luck Blues" backed with "Be On Your Merry Way"), for Parrot Records. The record sold a few copies, but made no significant impact, and Parrot did not request any follow-up records or sign King to a long-term contract. In 1954, he returned to Osceola and rejoined the Groove Boys for two years.

In 1956, he moved to Brooklyn, Illinois, just across the river from St. Louis, and formed a new band. He became a popular attraction around the St. Louis nightclub scene, alongside Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm and Chuck Berry. He signed to Little Milton's Bobbin label in 1959, releasing a few singles, but none of them charted. He did catch the attention of King Records, however, which released the single "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong" in November 1961. The recording featured musician Ike Turner on piano and became King's first hit; peaking at number 14 on the Billboard rhythm and blues (R&B) chart. The song was included on his first album The Big Blues in 1962. King left Bobbin in late 1962 and recorded one session for King Records. In 1963, he signed with jazz artist Leo Gooden's Coun-Tree label and cut two records for them, but these failed to chart.

With no apparent career prospects other than touring the club circuit in the South and Midwest, King moved to Memphis, where he signed with the Stax Records label. Produced by Al Jackson Jr., King with Booker T. & the MGs recorded dozens of influential sides, such as "Crosscut Saw" and "As the Years Go Passing By". In 1967, Stax released the album Born Under a Bad Sign, a collection of the singles King recorded at Stax. The title track of that album (written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell) became King's best-known song and has been covered by several artists (including Cream, Paul Rodgers, and Jimi Hendrix). The production of the songs was sparse and clean and maintained a traditional blues sound, while also sounding fresh and thoroughly contemporary. The key to King's success at Stax was giving his songs an upbeat, slick R&B feel that made the songs more appealing and radio-friendly than the slow, traditional blues sound.