(person) by NothingLasts4ever Wed Jun 05 2002 at 13:17:22
"On the night I was born, my broke mama cried, she said "Lord have mercy with this man child"
The devil screamed and threw up both his hands, said this boy was born to be a bluesman."

Albert King (Albert Nelson)
born: April 25, 1923, Indianola, Mississippi
died: December 21, 1992, Memphis, Tennessee


King grew on a Mississippi plantation in the days of Jim Crow segragation with 12 brothers and sisters. Born to a religious family he sang in the local gospel choir.

He taught himself how to play on a homemade guitar. He is a self taught guitar player who played left-handed by holding his guitar upside down.

Before making music fulltime he was a bulldozer operator. He got his professional musical start in Osceola, Arkansas, with a group named In The Groove Boys. In 1953 he made his first records Bad Luck Blues and Be On Your Merry Way for the Parrot record label.

In 1959 he had his first hit with I´m a lonely man. In 1966 he signed with Stax Records and became a major blues figure in time for e the 1960s blues revival. Albert was the first blues artist to play the legendary San Francisco club the Fillmore West, sharing the stage opening night in 1968 with Jimi Hendrix and John Mayall. In 1983 King was inducted into the Blues Foundation´s Hall of Fame. He died of a heart attack in 1992, just prior to starting a major European tour.


Discography (not definitive):
Legends Collection (2001)
24-Carat (2000)
Rainin' In California (2000)
Blues At Sunset (2000)
Smokin' The Blues (2000)
In Session LIVE (1999)
Blues Power (1999)
Best Of-Truckload Of Lovin' (1999)
Very Best Of (1999)
Big Blues (1998)
Mean Mean Blues (1998)
Let's Have A Natural Ball (1997)
Tomato Years (1994)
Ultimate Collection (1993)
Crosscut Saw-San Francisco (1992)
Blues Don't Change (1992)
New Orleans Heat (1992)
Blues For Elvis (1991)
Thursday Night in San Francisco: Recorded Live at the Fillmore Auditorium LIVE (1990)
Wednesday Night in San Francisco: Recorded Live at the Fillmore Auditorium LIVE (1990)
Door to Door (With Albert King) (1990)
Lovejoy (1990)
I'll Play the Blues for You Rhino (1989)
Live (1989)
Blues at Sunrise: Live at Montreux LIVE (1988)
Jammed Together (1988)
The Best of Albert King, Vol. 1 (1986)
I'm In A Phone Booth, Baby (1984)
Years Gone By (1983)
Chronicle (With Little Milton) (1979)
Albert (1976)
I Wanna Get Funky (1974)
Blues at Sunset LIVE (1973)
Live At Montreaux (1973)
I'll Play the Blues for You Stax (1972)
Wanna Get Funky (1972)
I'll Play The Blues (1972)
Lost Session (1971)
Blues for Elvis: Albert King Does the King's Things (1970)
King of the Blues Guitar (1969)
Live Wire/Blues Power LIVE (1968)
Live Wire Blues (1961)
I like it! 1 C!