Albert King

[TeleHawg]

Every so often, I put the flatpick away and try to play along with this man's music, and I'm invariably humbled. Every song is a lesson in economy and phrasing -- and that tone!

I'll never match his timing. But there's something so viscerally satisfying about snapping those strings with my bare fingers!

I was lucky enough to see him perform in a small club one rainy night in San Francisco. Truly a giant in every way, one of those rare players whom you can identify with one note.

[Cassady]

Almost 30 years ago, I saw him from a few feet away (I got there early and sat in the front row) in a small place and it was flat out amazing. It was one of the great privileges of my life to sit that close to one of the greatest players ever.

That big old thumb playing a righty-strung guitar left handed made some of the best guitar sounds ever.

Albert King was truly one of the greats.

Cassady

[tiktok]

I saw him at Antone's about twenty years ago. Great, great show. As I recall he tuned to some Dm chord.

[sidneystreet]

Listening to Albert King is an enlightening experience. As much as I love his guitar playing, it is his singing voice that always floors me. The man could captivate the listener with soulful vocals, and then knock them out with wailing/crying blues guitar. Truly a master.

[justatwanging]

One of the great Kings, Freddie-Albert-and BB [musically speaking of course]

[justatwanging]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_King

[MMJeronimo]

<<<<


Definitely one of the greats. I wish I could have seen him live.

[brokenjoe]

Saw him a bunch of times, always a treat. The thing that struck me the most about his playing was that he always had great pitch for his crazy bends.

He had that uncanny ability to bend one fretted note and get five different notes out of it -and always in tune!

Plus, he was known for such great tone -and he played through a transistor amp.

[Noodler]

Awesome musician.

It'd be the shallow end of the pool for his fans, but I'll Play the Blues for You and Blues Power are such lovely songs. He's so warm, real and encouraging. Love it when he says, "EVERYBODY understands the blues. Can you dig it?" Yeah, man, I can dig it!

Time and time again I'd take along licks and things to learn and my guitar teacher would say, "that's an Albert King lick." Kind of discovered that I loved his music because so many other people use his licks.

You'll know you're playing it right when you're making big guitar face and breaking strings, hehe. Like the OP said, love those great big bends, snapping the strings back with your finger. Never realised the blues was going to be such a physical workout.

Yeah, very cool customer.

[ne4tt]

While his STAX output brought him more fans, I like his early Bobbin/King sides.

Great compilation of early Albert;
"Let's Have A Natural Ball" (Modern Blues Recordings; MBR-723)
recorded between 1959 and 1963 for Bobbin Records and King Records.

[Noodler]

ne4tt, I didn't know Cadillac Assembly line, so thanks for posting it. Oh, f*** yeah! Love the horn players too. The coolest.

This is my fave. Sorry no video, but he plays it differently every time and this is so powerful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z20yA...eature=related

And everyone should know this one:

[sonserve]

One night when Antones was on 6th across from the Driscoll Hotel Jimmy got Albert to let Stevie sit in, unusual for Albert. Man what a night! A bunch of us were standing on the dance floor cause we knew what was comming... They really ripped it up after Stevie did his humble I'll stay in my place thing. Albert egged him on and off they went. After a long time of just mind blowing back and forth jamming Albert held his V behind the back curtain for a sec and said into the mike "my guitar is scared of Stevie Ray Vaughan! Jimmy was standing next to his amp where Albert liked the back up players to be, and just smiled. Little brother had arrived on the national blues scene...

[Mike Eskimo]

My least favorite of the "Kings" but still a cool cat.

I think it's because I've heard so many bad "blooze" guitarists cop his stuff that I just can't enjoy Live Wire like I used to.

I do like the Booker T / MG's record he did though.

[tiktok]

I remember a story about SRV having a gig in Austin the same night that Albert was in town, and cutting his set short at The Rome Inn or somewhere (back before he was "discovered") and telling the audience "I'm heading out now to see Albert King play, and if you've got any sense, you will too!" And then he left.

[sonserve]

Yeah, I am pretty sure that was the night. Austin was a great place to be in those days.

[bluetele54]

Originally Posted by sonserve

One night when Antones was on 6th across from the Driscoll Hotel Jimmy got Albert to let Stevie sit in, unusual for Albert. Man what a night! A bunch of us were standing on the dance floor cause we knew what was comming... They really ripped it up after Stevie did his humble I'll stay in my place thing. Albert egged him on and off they went. After a long time of just mind blowing back and forth jamming Albert held his V behind the back curtain for a sec and said into the mike "my guitar is scared of Stevie Ray Vaughan! Jimmy was standing next to his amp where Albert liked the back up players to be, and just smiled. Little brother had arrived on the national blues scene...

...a friend and I were part of a band that opened up for Albert...we played our set and got to hang with him for a while backstage...I couldn't help myself and I brought my copy of "Born Under A Bad Sign" for him to sign...understand,Albert wasn't to good at reading and writing,but he signed with his usual scrawl and I still have the album...

...I was still playing with Elvin Bishop at the time,and I told Albert that,and in his most paternal voice (with a questioning look in his eyes),he asked how Elvin was doing (Elvin had at the time just recently stopped drinking,a major change in life,believe me)...I told Albert he was doing Great!!!...he asked again,"really???"...yes sir,he's doing fine...

...anyway,later on in Albert's performance,Neal Schon sat in and,um,that didn't work at All...

[Cheesehead]

Originally Posted by sonserve

One night when Antones was on 6th across from the Driscoll Hotel Jimmy got Albert to let Stevie sit in, unusual for Albert. Man what a night! A bunch of us were standing on the dance floor cause we knew what was comming... They really ripped it up after Stevie did his humble I'll stay in my place thing. Albert egged him on and off they went. After a long time of just mind blowing back and forth jamming Albert held his V behind the back curtain for a sec and said into the mike "my guitar is scared of Stevie Ray Vaughan! Jimmy was standing next to his amp where Albert liked the back up players to be, and just smiled. Little brother had arrived on the national blues scene...

Wow!

I love Albert...

[jjkrause84]

I actually cant stand his tone but I LOVE his playing. In any case I'm a fan and think he's great!

[chezdeluxe]

Originally Posted by Mike Eskimo

My least favorite of the "Kings" but still a cool cat.

I think it's because I've heard so many bad "blooze" guitarists cop his stuff that I just can't enjoy Live Wire like I used to.

I do like the Booker T / MG's record he did though.

And yet his tone and phrasing was a singular influence on some of his contemporaries in the late 1960's.
Check out the sound of greats like Buddy Guy and Otis Rush and see if you don't find a big change post Albert's early Stax releases.

[charlie chitlin]

Man...I used to wonder how he could stretch both high strings so far with one finger!
It was years before I saw him and found out he played upside down!
I had a similar experience with Otis Rush.
Went out to see him one night, thinking "I'm gonna get there real early, get a seat down in front and find out how he DOES that!"
When he came out with that upside down guitar, I thought, "I guess I'll kick back and dig the show...I'm not stealing any licks tonight!"
I'll never forget Albert, though...
First time I ever saw a musician play while smoking a pipe!
He was a bad, bad man on that guitar!

[Geoff738]

Originally Posted by charlie chitlin

Man...I used to wonder how he could stretch both high strings so far with one finger!
It was years before I saw him and found out he played upside down!
I had a similar experience with Otis Rush.
Went out to see him one night, thinking "I'm gonna get there real early, get a seat down in front and find out how he DOES that!"
When he came out with that upside down guitar, I thought, "I guess I'll kick back and dig the show...I'm not stealing any licks tonight!"
I'll never forget Albert, though...
First time I ever saw a musician play while smoking a pipe!
He was a bad, bad man on that guitar!

Funny you should mention the pipe.

I did a road trip in the mid-80s with a buddy of mine and we stayed in Memphis for a couple of days. When we were driving around, we saw an older black gentleman driving a Corvette, and smoking a pipe. I said to my buddy - hey, that's Albert King. And, I'm convinced it was him. My buddy doesn't think so, to this day.

Anybody know if Albert drove a 'vette?

Only got to see him once - a free show down at Harbourfront in Toronto. Colin James was the opener.

Cheers,
Geoff

[henryp]

Originally Posted by sidneystreet

Listening to Albert King is an enlightening experience. As much as I love his guitar playing, it is his singing voice that always floors me.

I saw Buddy Guy at the BB King club in NYC a few years ago. I was close enough to see the time on his wristwatch. As marvelous as his playing was everyone I was with commented on his vocals and in particular on how he never got close enough to the mic to kiss it. I think mouth-mic distance is underrated in terms of vocals.

[bluetele54]

Originally Posted by chezdeluxe

And yet his tone and phrasing was a singular influence on some of his contemporaries in the late 1960's.
Check out the sound of greats like Buddy Guy and Otis Rush and see if you don't find a big change post Albert's early Stax releases.

...by saying Buddy and Otis were pretty well formed way before Alberts' "Born Under A Bad Sign" was released...I saw/heard both Albert and Buddy in the early '70's and they certainly had very personal voices...Buddy gives more of a nod to B.B. than Albert,although I'm sure he heard his early Chess and subsequent King and Stax recordings...

...Otis has a unique voice to my ears as well,even though they share the same technique of playing a guitar strung right-handed left-handed and upside down...

[chezdeluxe]

Originally Posted by bluetele54

...by saying Buddy and Otis were pretty well formed way before Alberts' "Born Under A Bad Sign" was released...I saw/heard both Albert and Buddy in the early '70's and they certainly had very personal voices...Buddy gives more of a nod to B.B. than Albert,although I'm sure he heard his early Chess and subsequent King and Stax recordings...

...Otis has a unique voice to my ears as well,even though they share the same technique of playing a guitar strung right-handed left-handed and upside down...

I was listening to Buddy Guy and Otis Rush before I heard Albert King and they both had highly developed individual styles and instantly recognisable tones.

As the years went by the long sustained note element of Alberts playing seemed to influence almost everyone including Buddy and Otis . Maybe it's because they were playing LOUDER on record than they had previously.

I seem to recall Buddy Guy saying that his 50s and 60s recordings were not particularly representative of his live sound but that is belied by his sound on the Chess album recorded live at Big Bill's Copa Cabana in July 1963 which is just like his recorded studio sound.

[Blazer]

I used to be a poster on the Charvel Jackson forum and I used to tell all those widdly players there that Albert King could cold smoke any of the guys that they worshipped with his amp on stand-by.

Last year, I decided to express my love for bBlues and the only way I could do it was by playing my favorite Albert King tune.


While recording the drums I actually dropped a stick and you hear me skipping a beat while quickly reaching for another.

[bluetele54]

Originally Posted by chezdeluxe

I was listening to Buddy Guy and Otis Rush before I heard Albert King and they both had highly developed individual styles and instantly recognisable tones.

As the years went by the long sustained note element of Alberts playing seemed to influence almost everyone including Buddy and Otis . Maybe it's because they were playing LOUDER on record than they had previously.

I seem to recall Buddy Guy saying that his 50s and 60s recordings were not particularly representative of his live sound but that is belied by his sound on the Chess album recorded live at Big Bill's Copa Cabana in July 1963 which is just like his recorded studio sound.

...was a very important record for me,but it was actually a re-issue of an earlier album released as "Folk Festival of the Blues" on Chess's Argo subsidiary...
...all you need to do is find "I Was Walking Through the Woods" which is a Chess re-issue from the late '60's that has recordings from 60/61,plus,the Vanguard releases "A Man And The Blues" and "This Is Buddy Guy" along with the Jr. Wells recording "It's My Life Baby"...I wouldn't wish to disagree with BG's assessment of his own playing,but the tape don't lie,and he sounds pretty powerful and fully formed in those early recordings...

...when I heard him in 1971 at the "Keystone Korner" in San Francisco,Buddy performed some of the most electrifying guitar of any style I've ever experienced...

...as a member of Elvin Bishop's band,we once shared a tour with Buddy...at the time he would occasionally use an over saturated tone in order to explain that he could play like Hendrix,Clapton etc.,but one night I came walking into the Town Pump in Vancouver BC and saw Elvin standing in the hallway watching Buddy...I said "he's on!?!?!?" to Elvin,he smiled and nodded,"yeah!"...we both stood there absolutely mesmerized by Buddy...it was STUNNING!!!...his tone was clean,his voice strong,and the performance nothing but heart...

[Cheesehead]

Originally Posted by bluetele54

...as a member of Elvin Bishop's band,we once shared a tour with Buddy...at the time he would occasionally use an over saturated tone in order to explain that he could play like Hendrix,Clapton etc.,but one night I came walking into the Town Pump in Vancouver BC and saw Elvin standing in the hallway watching Buddy...I said "he's on!?!?!?" to Elvin,he smiled and nodded,"yeah!"...we both stood there absolutely mesmerized by Buddy...it was STUNNING!!!...his tone was clean,his voice strong,and the performance nothing but heart...

Do you still play with Elvin? I saw him a few years ago at the Paramount Blues Festival in Grafton, WI. Great show! Are you his Tele wielding guitarist?

[bluetele54]

Originally Posted by Blazer

I used to be a poster on the Charvel Jackson forum and I used to tell all those widdly players there that Albert King could cold smoke any of the guys that they worshipped with his amp on stand-by.

Last year, I decided to express my love for bBlues and the only way I could do it was by playing my favorite Albert King tune.


While recording the drums I actually dropped a stick and you hear me skipping a beat while quickly reaching for another.

...was that it was recorded in the key of Db,so that the lowest note of the line (the minor 3rd) was a ringing low "E"...a wonderfully dark sounding key...

...Al Jackson's powerfully creative,minimalistic drumming on the record is an added bonus throughout...

[bluetele54]

Originally Posted by Cheesehead

Do you still play with Elvin? I saw him a few years ago at the Paramount Blues Festival in Grafton, WI. Great show! Are you his Tele wielding guitarist?

...that was Mike Schermer... http://mightymike.com/ ...he's now with Marcia Ball...

...I played with EB from '84 thru '91...I'm on "Big Fun" and "Don't Let The Bossman Get You Down",both on Alligator Records...

[Blazer]

Originally Posted by bluetele54

...was that it was recorded in the key of Db,so that the lowest note of the line (the minor 3rd) was a ringing low "E"...a wonderfully dark sounding key...

Yup, I wanted to give this one a little more grid, I recorded the guitar parts using a telecaster for the doubling of the bassline and my beloved 1989 Squier strat "The veteran" for the lead tracks, I recorded both by DI and used the marshall model of my Line6 recording software.

Originally Posted by bluetele54

...Al Jackson's powerfully creative,minimalistic drumming on the record is an added bonus throughout...

Well I'm not a good drummer, I can do a little but I'll never be great at it.