Song:Born Under A Bad Sign
Album:The Very Best of Albert King
Albert King is one of the all time blues greats. He is best known for his late 60s Stax recordings. Though it wasn't his biggest hit single, Born Under A Bad Sign is considered to be his signature song. He was born Albert Nelson Apr. 25, 1923 in Indianola, MS and her grew up in Forest City, AR. He sang in the family gospel group. He took the name Albert King so he could claim to be the half brother of Indianola native B.B. King. But they were not related. He played guitar left handed but the guitar was not restrung which accounts for King's unique sound. And his signature guitar was the Gibson Flying V. Because of his size and he worked in construction in his younger days, King was known as The Velvet Bulldozer. His smooth vocal style was influenced by The Mills Brothers. King moved to Gary, IN and recorded the 1954 single Bad Luck Blues for Parrot Records. He moved to St. Louis and recorded for Bobbin Records where Little Milton was A&R man. His 1961 single Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong was a top 15 R&B hit. And he recorded an album for King Records. He moved to Memphis and signed with Stax in 1966. And that's where King had most of his success working with Booker T & The MGs with Al Jackson Jr. and Steve Cropper producing. He had several Stax hits including Laundromat Blues, Crosscut Saw and Cold Feet. But the best known of those songs is Born Under A Bad Sign probably because it was covered by the popular group Cream. The song was written by Stax legend Booker T. Jones. He got William Bell to help him with the lyrics. King continued to have success at Stax until they closed in 1975. You can get all his Stax hits on this comp. King recorded for Utopia, Tomato and Fantasy. He did a 1983 TV show In Session with Stevie Ray Vaughan that was very popular. This was taped at CHCH in Hamilton and aired on PBS in the US. You can watch this show in its entirety on Youtube. Vaughan, Eric Clapton and Joe Walsh all cited King as an influence. Despite failing health, King continued to tour until his death from a heart attack on Sept. 21, 1992 at age 69. Albert King was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013. Here's Albert King performing Born Under A Bad Sign in 1981. The second guitar solo is by Claude Marrow.
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