I'll Play The Blues For You: The Albert King Story

  Alongside the other blues "Kings", B.B. and Freddie, Albert King forged a style that is one of the most easily identified and widely copied in blues. His singular guitar sound has been a major influence on electric guitarists from the early 60's to the present. His style has influenced both blues and rock players including Otis Rush Robert Cray, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan, just a few of the well-known musicians who borrowed heavily from Albert's bag of tricks. His style is immediately distinguishable from all other blues guitarists leaving a major mark on modern blues guitar and marking him as one of the most important blues guitarists to ever pick up the instrument.

 King (born Albert Nelson) was born in Indianola, MS in 1923 and moved to Forrest City, AR at an early age. King taught himself how to play guitar when he was a child, building his own instrument out of a cigar box. At first, he played with gospel groups, most notably the Harmony Kings, but after hearing Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lonnie Johnson, and several other blues musicians, he focused solely on blues. In 1950, he met MC Reeder, who owned the T-99 nightclub in Osceola, AR. King moved to Osceloa shortly afterward, joining the T-99's house band, the In The Groove Boys. The band played several local Arkansas gigs besides the T-99, including several shows for a local radio station achieving some regional renown.

  King moved to Gary, IN, in 1953, joining a band that featured Jimmy Reed and John Brim. Both Reed and Brim were guitarists, which forced King to play drums in the group. At this time, he adopted the name Albert King, which he assumed after B.B. King's "Three O'clock Blues" became a huge hit. Albert met Willie Dixon shortly after moving to Gary, who helped King set up an audition at Parrot Records. King cut his first session late in 1953. Five songs were recorded during the session and only one single, "Be On Your Merry Way" / "Bad Luck Blues," was released; the other tracks appeared on various compilations over the next four decades. Although it sold respectably, the single didn't gather enough attention to earn him another session with Parrot. In early 1954, King returned to Osceola and rejoined the In the Groove Boys; he stayed in Arkansas for the next two years.

 In 1956, Albert moved to St. Louis and eventually began headlining several clubs in the area. By 1958, Albert was quite popular in St. Louis, which led to a contract with the fledgling Bobbin Records in the summer of 1959. In 1959 he had his first hit with "I´m a Lonely Man" as well as cutting seminal early sides like Let´s Have A Natural Ball" and "I've Made Nights By Myself." King's records for Bobbin sold well in the St. Louis area and were leased to the larger King Records. King released "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong" nationally late in 1961 and it became a hit, reaching number 14 on the R&B charts. King Records continued to lease more material from Bobbin,including a full album, "The Big Blues", which was released in 1963, but nothing else approached the initial success of "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong." Bobbin also leased material to Chess, which appeared in the late '60s.

 Albert King left Bobbin in late 1962 and recorded one session for King Records in the spring of 1963 and within a year he cut four songs for Countree label which were very popular within St. Louis. In 1966 King signed with Stax Records where he emerged from a regional celebrity to a blues superstar. Michael Bloomfield summarized Albert's success with Stax in a Guitar Player interview in 1977: "Between Al Jackson´s productions, the Booker T. and the MG´s rhythm section, the choice of material, the Memphis Horns, and Albert´s playing, he was the only bluesman I know of who had a completely comfortable synthesis with modern black music - R&B, so to speak - and sold copiously to a black audience as well as the white audience. He was the only singer who had clever, modern arrangements that would fit in with the black radio market and with the white market and in no way compromised his style."

 All of his '60s Stax sides were recorded with the label's house band, Booker T. & the MG's, which gave his blues a sleek, soulful sound giving King major crossover appeal. This was evidenced R&B hits such as "Laundromat Blues" (1966) and "Cross Cut Saw" (1967) both went Top 40, while "Born Under a Bad Sign" (1967) charted in the Top 50. Furthermore, King's style was appropriated by several rock & roll players, most notably Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, who copied Albert's "Personal Manager" guitar solo on the Cream song, "Strange Brew." Albert King's first album for Stax, 1967's Born Under a Bad Sign, was a collection of his singles for the label and became one of the most popular and influential blues albums of the late '60s. Beginning in 1968, Albert King was playing not only to blues audiences, but also to crowds of young rock & rollers. He frequently played at the Fillmore West in San Francisco and he even recorded an album, "Live Wire/Blues Power", at the hall in the summer of 1968.

 In 1969, King recorded "Years Gone By", his first true studio album. Later that year, he recorded a tribute album to Elvis Presley ("King Does the King's Things") and a jam session with Steve Cropper and Pops Staples ("Jammed Together"). For the next few years, Albert toured America and Europe, returning to the studio in 1971, to record the "Lovejoy" album and "I'll Play The Blues for You" in 1972.

 By the mid-70's Stax was succumbing to financial problems so King left the label for Utopia, a small subsidiary of RCA Records cutting two records for the label. Albert didn't return to the recording studio for the next five years, but he continued to tour constantly. King signed with Tomato Records in 1978 switching to Fantasy in 1983, releasing two albums for the label. In the mid-'80s, Albert King announced his retirement, but it was short-lived — Albert continued to regularly play concerts and festivals throughout America and Europe for the rest of the decade. King continued to perform until his sudden death in 1992, when he suffered a fatal heart attack on December 21.

Essential Listening

The Ultimate Collection (Rhino): This 38 song, 2-CD retrospective makes a fine introduction to King's music. This collection gives short thrift to his early work in favor of his better known Stax period.

More Big Blues of Albert King (Ace): Superb collection of King's recordings for the Bobbin label spanning 1959-1963. Includes early gems like "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong", "I Get Evil" and "Let's Have a Natural Ball."

Born Under A Bad Sign (Stax): The classic 1967 album drawn from his early Stax hits. "Born Under a Bad Sign," "Crosscut Saw," "Oh Pretty Woman," "The Hunter," "Personal Manager," and "Laundromat Blues" are songs that formed the bedrock of King's reputation.

Years Gone By (Stax): This 1969 album is another strong outing including classics like "Wrapped up in Love Again", "Killing Floor", "Drownin' on Dry Land" and "Heart Fixing Business."

Live Wire/Blues Power (Stax): Recorded live at the Fillmore Auditorium in 1968 this finds King at the peak of his powers..

I'll Play The Blues For You (Stax): This 1972 combination of members of the Bar-Kays, the Isaac Hayes Movement, and Memphis Horns resulted in a funky, soulful blues album. Highlights include "'ll Play the Blues for You, Pts. 1 & 2", "Breaking up Somebody's Home" and "Angel of Mercy."