Few guitar players can say they were major influences and admired by artists the calibre of Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Well, Albert King was one of them and he left a deep footprint in the world of blues, rock and modern guitar music in general.
Born in a plantation in Indianola, Mississippi, a few miles from B.B. King’s hometown, his real name was Albert Nelson. It was until 1953 he became Albert King after the release of his first single: "Be On Your Merry Way/Bad Luck Blues".
In the late 50’s he became famous in the St. Louis area and played in several minor hits. But it was until 1967, when he released Born Under a Bad Sign that he earned the international recognition he worked very hard for.
Guitar Style
He was left-handed, but played an unaltered right-handed guitar, therefore the high E string would be at the top. He would play finger style as well, which shows in his sound if you listen carefully. The way he attacks the strings with his left thumb (remember he was left-handed) is very distinctive of his playing.
Albert King’s string bending is one of his trademarks. He would even sometimes tune down his guitar (occassionally as low as C), to make bending easier.
His phrasing is based mostly on the minor pentatonic blues scale. You wouldn’t hear him play too many major pentatonic scales or mixolydian modes several blues guitar players in the 60’s took from B.B. King.
When listening to his phrasing, it’s clear he favours the usage of few notes. Silence is important too (ask Albert Collins) and the notes are very expressive. In terms of timing, his playing is somehow linear when compared to Stevie Ray Vaughan or Albert Collins. By this, I mean his phrasing doesn’t have as many variations in how the notes are timed (i.e. a slow note followed by four very fast ones and then a slow note again). Instead, the difference between fast and slow notes is less explosive and it follows a more constant flow according to the rhythmic pattern of the song.
Listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan, you can hear Albert King in the use of the minor pentatonic. SRV’s style is more aggressive and with much more notes but it has the essence of Albert King’s music.
Albert King’s axe is a 1958 Gibson Flying V, which he named "Lucy". The Flying V was released in 1958, discontinued in 1960 and then brought back in 1967.
Having such a long music career, he experimented with different amps. However, his most common setting is known to be a Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus. I own one of these amps and the sound is quite clean, even at high volumes. The humbuckers make the Gibson Flying V a very "hot" guitar, so the JC-120 brings some balance to deliver his nice clean sound with a "bite". He was known to use also an Acoustic 270 with Acoustic Cabinet, which is a similar amp to the JC-120. The combination of a high gain guitar and a clean amp is the secret to Albert King’s sound.
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He occasionally used a MXR Phase 90 pedal too, mainly for live performances and set to a very mild speed (the only control this pedal has). He used this pedal mostly in the 80’s, towards the end of his career. The first MXR Phase 90 pedals were released in 1972 and were made famous by Eddie Van Halen in the early 80’s.
Album Highlights
While he built his name and reputation in the 1950’s, mainly in the St. Louis area, Albert King didn’t reach international fame until 1967, with the release of Born Under a Bad Sign.
Born Under a Bad Sign is one of the most important albums in blues history, being a big influence for many artists, ranging from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Led Zeppelin or Robert Cray.
Born Under a Bad Sign. The importance of this album starts with the freshness and groove of this track, which was a big blues innovation at the time. This song being such a big hit, it brought great attention to Albert King’s style, present in the other songs as well.
Crosscut Saw
Kansas City
Oh, Pretty Woman
Down Don’t Bother Me
The Hunter
I Almost Lost My Mind
Personal Manager
Laundromat Blues
As The Years go Passing By
The Very Thought Of You
Live Wire / Blues Power. Recorded in 1968, one year after Born Under a Bad Sign, this live album is a classic. Recorded at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco.
Watermelon Man. A song by Herbie Hancock released in his legendary album Head Hunters, it became a favourite in Albert King’s repertoire. He would open his concerts playing this tune.
Blues Power. As Albert King was one of the pioneers on opening the blues to white audiences, the statement "Everybody understands the blues…and everybody’s had the blues" in this song is remarkable. His guitar playing shows the great bluesman he was. It’s noticeable how some licks became influential on guitar players such as Albert Collins.
Night Stomp
Blues at Sunrise. One of my favourite slow blues performances. Featured in a historic album, it is a reference a blues guitar player can’t miss.
Please Love Me
Look Out
This album, In Session with Stevie Ray Vaughan is an instant favourite. Recorded in 1983, the same year Stevie Ray Vaughan reached stardom status with the release of Texas Flood. This album was recorded as part of a live TV show in Ontario, Canada. It shows a legend sharing the studio with who became the most notorious blues guitar talent from a new generation.
Apparently, King refused initially to go ahead with this project since he wasn’t ready to share the studio with a "nobody", as he didn’t know who SRV was. After some convincing, he accepted and showed due respect to the rising guitar legend.
Albert King is the main influence in SRV’s style and this album clearly shows it. It’s a great way to see the similarities between these two great guitar players and how Stevie was ready to take his turn in the history of blues music.
This is the type of album guitar lovers listen to over and over for weeks.
Videos
Born Under a Bad Sign – Live in Sweden, 1980. You can hear the MXR 90 Phaser in this live performance. He wouldn’t use this effect a lot in the studio recordings, though. I personally like the warmth it adds to the guitar sound.
Blues Power. Well, the title couldn’t be more self-descriptive. This is a great slow blues performance, the original one in Live Wire/Blues Power is a classic in blues history. Albert King’s bare and tasteful phrasing at its best. It’s amazing where the blues can take us by only using a simple 3-chords, 12-bar progression and a minor pentatonic scale.
Why Are You So Mean To Me. A moderate speed blues shuffle, it shows Albert King’s phrasing on a mid-tempo song. At any speed, he doesn’t depart much from his less-is-more phrasing approach.
As The Years Go Passing By. This is Albert King making a very tasteful use of dynamics. When the time is right, he would play at a very low volume and then build enough tension to go back to his more intense tone. This song is a sad, slow blues in a minor key released originally in Born Under a Bad Sign. His vocals are outstanding too.
