Albert King

Albert King
Albert King at the Liri Blues fest., Italy, in 1989
Background information
Birth name	Albert Nelson
Born	(1923-04-25)April 25, 1923 Indianola, Mississippi, United States
Died	December 21, 1992(1992-12-21) (aged 69) Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Genres	Blues
Occupation(s)	Songwriter, musician, producer
Instruments	Guitar, drums, vocals
Years active	1949–1992
Labels	Stax, Parrot, King, Atlantic
Notable instruments
Gibson Flying V

Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known professionally as Albert King, was an American blues guitarist and singer, whose playing influenced many other blues guitarists. One of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B.B. King and Freddie King), he is perhaps best known for the 1967 single "Born Under a Bad Sign".

King stood taller than average, with sources reporting 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) or 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), and weighed 250 pounds (110 kg) and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer" because of his smooth singing and large size.

In May 2013, King was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He was born on a cotton plantation in Indianola, Mississippi. During his childhood he would sing at a family gospel group at a church where his father played the guitar. One of 13 children, King grew up picking cotton on plantations near Forrest City, Arkansas, where the family moved when he was eight.

King was famed for his powerful string-bending style as well as for his soulful, smoky vocals. King often said he was born in Indianola and was a half-brother of B.B. King, although the scant surviving official documentation suggests otherwise on both counts. King carved his own indelible niche in the blues hierarchy by creating a deep, dramatic sound that was widely imitated by both blues and rock guitarists.

Albert King’s readily identifiable style made him one of the most important artists in the history of the blues, but his own identity was a longtime source of confusion. In interviews he said he was born in Indianola on April 25, 1923 (or 1924), and whenever he appeared in Indianola at Club Ebony, the event was celebrated as a homecoming. He often claimed to be a half-brother of Indianola icon B.B. King, citing the fact that B.B.'s father was named Albert King. But when he applied for a Social Security card in 1942, he gave his birthplace as “Aboden” (most likely Aberdeen), Mississippi, and signed his name as Albert Nelson, listing his father as Will Nelson. Musicians also knew him as Albert Nelson in the 1940s and '50s. But when he made his first record in 1953–when B.B. had become a national blues star–he became Albert King, and by 1959 he was billed in newspaper ads as “B.B. King's brother.” He also sometimes used the same nickname as B.B.–“Blues Boy”–and named his guitar "Lucy" (B.B.'s instrument was named "Lucille"). B.B., however, claimed Albert as just a friend, not a relative, and once retorted, “My name was King before I was famous.”