Albert King
Albert King, born Albert Nelson in 1923 in the Mississippi Delta, was a towering figure in the world of electric blues. Growing up in a musically-inclined family, he transitioned from gospel to blues in his teenage years, influenced by artists like Elmore James. King, who was known for his unique left-handed guitar style—where he played a right-handed guitar flipped over—developed a distinctive sound characterized by sparse, single-string notes and a soulful voice. His 1967 album, *Born Under a Bad Sign*, marked a significant turning point in his career, establishing him as a key player in rhythm-and-blues and rock music.
Throughout his life, King faced numerous challenges, but his talent shone through with hits such as "Crosscut Saw" and "I'll Play the Blues for You." His influence extended beyond his own recordings, impacting a generation of rock and blues musicians, including Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Known for his powerful performances, King left a lasting legacy in the music world before his death in 1992. His work is celebrated for blending Delta blues with the soul sounds of Memphis, making him one of the three "kings" of electric blues guitar.
Albert King
- Born: April 25, 1923
- Birthplace: Indianola, Mississippi
- Died: December 21, 1992
- Place of death: Memphis, Tennessee
American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter
King was one of the more elemental and unique of electric blues musicians. Left-handed, he played his signature right-handed guitar in reverse but with dexterity and force. His singing had a plaintive, soulful quality. King made seminal recordings in the 1960’s that influenced leading blues-rock guitarists.
The Life
Albert King was born Albert Nelson in the Mississippi Delta in 1923. His mother, Mary Blevins, and his stepfather, Will Nelson, performed in church. King had little schooling and worked on a sharecropping farm. After his father’s death, his family moved to Osceola, Arkansas. Constructing his first one-string instrument out of a cigar box, he later played for the gospel groups the Groove Boys and the Harmony Kings. As a teenager, he switched from gospel to blues music, under the influence of musicians Elmore James and Robert Nighthawk, whom he saw performing in West Memphis, Arkansas. He also took the last name King.
A physically imposing man (about six feet, four inches tall and weighing 250 pounds), King supported himself as a bulldozer operator while playing guitar in nightclubs and on the radio. In search of commercial success, he began making occasional recordings, moving successively to St. Louis, Missouri; Gary, Indiana; and Lovejoy, Illinois. He achieved prominence with his 1967 album Born Under a Bad Sign and became a regular on the rhythm-and-blues and rock circuit. King died of a heart attack in 1992 while preparing for a European tour.
The Music
King was left-handed, but he did not restring his guitar from its right-handed format. He simply flipped his guitar over and played the strings in reverse. Although this method slowed his playing, it also imparted a unique sound to his trademark Gibson Flying V electric guitar as he bent the strings to squeeze out blue notes. King used his bare fingers instead of a guitar pick. His guitar tunings and time signatures were often idiosyncratic. Perhaps because he played the guitar in reverse, King favored single strings over chords and a well-placed, spare selection of notes rather than long, complicated licks. The guitarist Mike Bloomfield said of King’s minimalist technique: “He can take four notes and write a volume.” Adding to the large tone and dynamism of his guitar playing was his voice, which was somber but also soft, almost feminine at the edges.
Born Under a Bad Sign. King had only sporadic success in the 1950’s. His 1958 release “I’m a Lonely Man” and 1961 release “Don’t Throw Your Love on Me So Strong,” both on the Bobbin label, were minor hits. The following years were frustrating until his monumental Born Under a Bad Sign album was released by Stax Records in 1967. All eleven songs on the album feature King’s hard-driving and soulful electric blues, and Rolling Stone magazine would later list the album as one of the five hundred greatest of all time. King benefits from the Memphis soul sound supplied by the excellent house band Booker T. and the MGs, including Booker T. Jones and Isaac Hayes on piano and the insistent Memphis Horns section of Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love, and Joe Arnold. The title song of the album remains one of the more popular of electric blues songs. Supported by a pulsating electric bass playing a blues scale riff and by a steady drum tattoo, King’s lead guitar is piercing, twanging, and bell-like. It is the perfect accompaniment to his mournful lyric:
Born under a bad sign
King sings with a sad, soulful intensity. The song’s sophisticated mix of major and minor keys adds to the baleful effect.
The up-tempo “Crosscut Saw” and “Laudromat Blues” are popular cuts from the album Born Under a Bad Sign. King’s own composition, “Down Don’t Bother Me” tells a woeful tale, picking up where “Born Under a Bad Sign” left off. In “Personal Manager,” King’s blazing guitar solo is punctuated by the blaring Memphis Horns.
“As the Years Go Passing By.” Another cut from the Born Under a Bad Sign album, “As the Years Go Passing By,” would play its own role in rock-and-roll history. King plays the song as a slow, haunting ballad, with a penetrating guitar solo midsong and soft vocal moaning at the end. In 1970, Eric Clapton’s Derek and the Dominos, with guest guitarist Duane Allman, recorded the rock love song “Layla.” Allman apparently derived Layla’s famous first-section riff (a repeated musical figure) from King’s vocal melody on “As the Years Go Passing By.” Allman takes King’s verse “There is nothin’ I can do/ If you leave me here to cry” and turns it into a driving pentatonic lick.
Although Born Under a Bad Sign was the highlight of King’s career, he later recorded popular blues songs such as “I’ll Play the Blues for You.” He also recorded songs with funky, disco, and multiple rhythms.
“Stormy Monday.” Despite his unique style, King could excel in playing blues and jazz standards. His muted versions of the classics “Kansas City” and “I Almost Lost My Mind” were standouts on his Born Under a Bad Sign album. On December 6, 1983, King recorded a version of the blues classic “Stormy Monday” at the CHCH studios in Hamilton, Ontario. The television videotape of this session shows the power of King’s performance. Drenched in sweat, shaking his head, hollering and whooping, King sings of his usual bad luck: “They call it stormy Monday/ But Tuesday’s just as bad/ You know Wednesday’s worse/ Lord and Thursday’s also sad.” His voice husky and muffled, King pauses for cutting guitar runs. This recording, which would be released in 1999 on the In Session album, demonstrates King’s importance as a mentor and bridge to the white blues rockers of the 1970’s and 1980’s. Stevie Ray Vaughan shares guitar lead with King. A remarkable guitarist in his own right, Vaughan seems captivated by King’s presence and pours forth a deft but rollicking guitar accompaniment. The two guitarists sympathetically jam together throughout the eight-minute session.
Musical Legacy
With B. B. King and Freddie King, Albert King was one of the three “kings” of the electric blues guitar. With his left-handed, upside-down guitar style on his signature Gibson Flying V electric guitar, his muted but soulful voice, and authentic personality, King was a commanding presence in the blues world. His spare, single-string guitar playing was the bedrock of a gritty electric blues style, accented with plaintive tales of bad luck.
Born Under a Bad Sign is ranked as one of the seminal postwar blues albums, representing a bridge from the Delta blues of the 1940’s to the rhythm-and-blues and Memphis soul music of the 1960’s. The title song, “Born Under a Bad Sign,” is one of the more memorable of all electric blues recordings.
King’s distinctive guitar style had an almost unrivaled influence on such modern blues-rockers as Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Mark Knopfler, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Fellow left-handed guitarist Hendrix learned from King and featured him as an opening act, and King was perhaps the foremost influence on the talented 1980’s guitarist Vaughan.
Bibliography
Bogdanov, Vladimir, Chris Woodstrata, and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, eds. All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues. 3d ed. San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2003. A section on King includes a complete, annotated discography.
Clapton, Eric. The Autobiography. New York: Random House, 2007. Clapton recounts the influence of the Delta bluesmen, especially Robert Johnson, on his music. Clapton also describes the influence of Albert King’s music on Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Dicaire, David. Blues Singers: Biographies of Fifty Legendary Artists of the Early Twentieth Century. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1999. The chapter on King emphasizes his guitar virtuosity.
Principal Recordings
albums:The Big Blues, 1962; Born Under a Bad Sign, 1967; Travelin’ to California, 1967; Live Wire/Blues Power, 1968; Years Gone By, 1969; Blues for Elvis: Albert King Does the King’s Thing, 1970; The Lost Session, 1971; Lovejoy, 1971; I’ll Play the Blues for You, 1972; Blues at Sunset, 1973; I Wanna Get Funky, 1974; Montreux Festival, 1974 (with Chico Hamilton and Little Milton); Albert, 1976; Truckload of Lovin’, 1976; I’ll Play the Blues for You, 1977 (with John Hooker); King Albert, 1977; Live, 1977; The Pinch, 1977; New Orleans Heat, 1978; Albert Live, 1979; San Francisco ’83, 1983; I’m in a Phone Booth, Baby, 1984; Laundromat Blues, 1984; Great King Albert, 1988; Vintage Blues, 1989; Wednesday Night in San Francisco: Recorded Live at the Fillmore Auditorium, 1990 (recorded 1968); Thursday Night in San Francisco: Recorded Live at the Fillmore Auditorium, 1990 (recorded 1968); Masterworks, 1991; Roadhouse Blues, 1991; The Blues Don’t Change, 1992; In Session, 1999 (with Stevie Ray Vaughan).