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...)
