Albert
King
The Mississippi Writers and Musicians Project of Starkville High School
Albert
King
The Big Blues
Teaseling to California
Born Under a Bad sign
Live Wire/ Blues Power
Albert King Does the King Thing 
I’ll Play the Blues for You
Truckload of Lovin’
Albert
New Orleans Heat
The Pinch
Master Works
Blues for Elvis
San Francisco ‘83
I’m in a Phone Booth, Baby
I Wanna Get Funky
Blues at Sunrise
Door to Door
Laundromat Blues
Watt Stax
Years Gone By
Biography of Albert King: A
Mississippi Musician
by Bonita Garner (SHS)
Albert King (Albert Nelson) was born
on the 25 of April 1923 (some sources say 1924) in Indianola, Mississippi.
King is the son of Mary Blevins, a church singer, and the stepson of
Will Nelson, an itinerant preacher (LaBlanc 120). King moved from
Mississippi to Osceola, Arkansas, where he grew up on a farm (Swell
and Dwight 329).
King is a self-taught guitar player
who learned how to play on his one string “diddley-bow” (Tour Part 1).
At the age of six, King had only a cigar box guitar. Twelve years later
King got his first real guitar, which only cost him one dollar and
twenty-five cents. King had a unique playing style. He played upside-down,
so it was harder for him to learn his chords. In spite of this, King
kept on doing his thing. He was also strongly influenced by Elmore
James, Robert Nighthawk, and Howlin' Wolf . (LaBanc 119).
When King felt that he played well enough,
he performed with the Yancey’s Band, but he kept his day job as a
bulldozer driver. In addition to his performing with the Yancey’s
Band, he sat in with the the Grove Boys. Afterwards he moved
to South Bend, Indiana, and sang with the Harmony Boys. He next went
to Chicago, where he got an offer to play for Bluesman Jimmy Reed
as well as Brook Benton and Jackie Wilson (LaBlanc 119).
King talked the Parrot label owner
Al Benson into recording his songs. Some of his singles on this label
were Bad Luck Blues and Be on Your Merry Way. King
made little money ($14), so he left the label. Six years later King
signed with the Bobbin and King labels. With these labels, he had
over a dozen singles released. The song Don’t Throw Your Love
on Me So Strong, became number fourteen on the top twenty blues
hit list. He also had a minor hit I’m a Lonely Man.
King stayed with this label from 1959-1962. However, he also left
this label because he was under paid ($800). King's biggest success
came when he signed with Stax Records. He had a lot of records produced
and worked with many people. He became a major blues figure at
this time (Albert King-1). Many people such as Eric Clapton, Peter
Green, and the late Mike Bloomfield tried to figure out the secret to King’s
playing style. “He can take four notes and write a volume,” Bloomfield
said to guitar players (LaBlanc 120). 
When
King left Stax Records, he signed with Utopia Records. Here
his songs Truckload of Lovin’ and Albert
were produced. King made the best move for his career
when he signed with the Fantasy label. San Francisco ‘83 and
I’m in A Phone Booth, Baby are two blues classics released
while with them. (LaBlanc 120). King performed at the Filmore West
Concert in 1968, where King stole the show. After this performance
King was named “The most-imitated blues guitarist in the world.”
(Historical Tour Part 1).
King was one of the first Rhythm and
Blues singers to play with a symphony. He recorded with the St. Louis
Symphony and brought together blues and classical music (Albert
King-2). Albert King also performed on Sunday, January 28,
1973, at Jackson, Mississippi’s white First Baptist Church, where
several (Black) people were not allowed to attend the Sunday worship,
including the wife of the white civil rights attorney Frank Parken
(Swell and Dwight 329).
In 1983, Albert King was inducted
into the W. C. Handy International Blues Awards Hall of Fame (LaBlanc 120).
King won two Grammy-nominated songs: San Francisco
‘83 and I’m in A Phone Booth Baby. Both nominations
were in 1984 (LaBlanc 121). He was also inducted into the Blues Foundation
Hall of Fame in 1983. (Albert King, 2).
King died of a heart attack on December
21, 1992. Many musicians and fans mourned his death across the country
(The Ultimate C...). Even though King was sometimes looked over because
of the similarity of his name to B. B. King's, he was a great performer.
King proved his greatness with hard work and many accomplishments.
One critic has said of him: King was “one of the most influential
blues guitarist ever. One of the three Kings of the electric blues
guitar.” (Morgan 1) Another said, “Albert King was one of the
players who defined post -World War II electric blues.” (The ultimate C...)
1941: King purchased his first six-string guitar from a friend for only one dollar and twenty-five cents.
1940’s: King played guitar with Yancy’s Band and the In the Grove Boys; he was a singer with the gospel group The Harmony Boys; he also worked as a drummer for Jimmy Reed, Brook Benton, and Jackie Wilson.
1953: First songs recorded Walking From Door to Door, Lonesome in My Bed, and Bad Luck Blues.
1959-1962: Over a dozen singles were released on the Bobbin and King labels.
1961: Don’t Throw Your Love on Me so Strong was a Top Twenty Rhythm and Blues hit
1966: King signed with Stax Records
1967: Born Under a Bad Sign was his debut album
with Stax.
1968: Performed at the San Francisco Filmore West. He opened for John Mayal and Jimmy Hendrix.
1969: King became the first blues guitarist to perform with a symphony. He also took night classes in music theory.
1983: After a five-year recording drought King signed with the Fantasy label. He got two Grammy nominations and was inducted into the W. C. Handy International Blues Awards Hall of Fame.
1983-1992: King recorded many songs.
1992: King died before he was going to go on tour in Europe.
During
the 1940's King played the guitar with Yancy's Band and the Groove Boys.
As a result of this King got his first taste of the recording industry
in 1953 with Parrot owner, Al Benson. King's first top hit was
King did not receive many awards. The only
known one was induction into W.C. Handy International Blues Awards Hall
of Fame in 1983 (Lablanc, 119-121). "Although it has been over five
years since King's last album, his sound has been kept alive through constant
touring" (Stone, Contemporary Musicians, Volume Two). However,
before King's next tour, he died in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1992, of a heart
attack (Larkin, 2309). Albert King was called "the most-imitated
blues guitarist in the world" (http://www.st-louis.mo.us/st-louis/walkofame/inductees/king.html).
Stax Records
Born Under a Bad Sign, 1967
Live Wire/Blues Power, 1968
Albert King does the King Thing, 1968 
I play the Blues for You, 1972
The Pinch, 1978
Blues for Elvis, 1983
I wanna get Funky, 1987
Blues at Sunrise, 1988
Watt Stax
Years Gone By
Utopia Records
Truckload of Lovin', 1976
Albert, 1977
Fantasy Records
San Francisco '83, 1983
I'm in a Phone Booth Baby, 1984
The Lost Session, 1986
1923 or 1924? Albert King (Albert Nelson) was born in Indianola, Mississippi, and raised in Osceola, Arkansas.
1940's: Albert King worked as a bulldozer driver. During
that time he also was learning to play guitar and played
with the Yancy's Band and the Groove Boys.
Early 1950's: King worked with a group called the Groove
Boys before migrating north and ending up in Gary,
Indiana.
1953: King got his first taste of recording industry entered the record company Parrot by Al Benson.
1956: King moved to Lovejoy, Illinois
1959: Had a minor hit on Bobbin with 'I'm a Lonely Man'
1959-1962: King with Bobbin label released over a dozen singles
1961: Made it to number fourteen on R&B charts
1966: King signed with Stax Records, and he became a major blues figure.
1968: King was offered $16,000 for three-night stand at San Francisco's Fillmore West.
1969: The first blues guitarist to perform with a symphony and even took night classes.
1970s: Played to rock and soul crowds
1974: King left Stax Records for Tomato and Fantasy Labels.
1976: King declared war.
1980's to early 1990's: King continued touring, playing festivals and concerts.
1983: King received a W.C. Handy International Blues Awards Hall of Fame.
1983: His five-year recording famine ended.
1990: King was guest on guitarist Gary Moore's 'back-to-the-roots collection'
1992: King died of a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee.
This web site includes the life span and career of Albert King.
Albert King Historical Tour Part 1. http://www.st- louis.mo.us/st-louis/walkofame/inductees/king.html. April 24,1998.
Albert King. http://www.blueflamecafe.com/Albert_King.html. April 24,1998.
Erlewine, Daniel. "All Music Guide". Volume 1. n. pag.
Feature Artist- Albert King: The Ultimate C. http://www.rhino.com/features/71268.html. April 24,1998.
Lablanc, Michael. Contemporary Musicians. Volume 2. 1990.
119-121.
LaBlanc, Michael L. Contemporary Musicians. Vol.
6. United States, 1990. 
Larkin, Colin. The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. New York: Stockton Press, 1990.
Larkin, Colin. "Popular Music". The Guinness Encyclopedia. 1995. Volume 3. 2308-2309.
Morgan, John. http://www.hub.org/bluesnet/artist/albert.king.html.
Stone, Calen D. Contemporary Musicians. December 1989. Volume 2.
Swell, George A. and Margaret L. Dwight. United States, 1984
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