Moira tohiri biography of albert king

Albert King, a blues guitarist standing at six feet four inches tall and weighing pounds, towers above countless guitarists who have made their mark in the development of post-war blues.

Albert King was one of the most distinctive, innovative, and influential blues guitarists of the postwar era. He was one of the only blues players to sell records and play for white audiences without losing his traditional black following. King was an imposing figure—standing 6 [. His muscular guitar tone and economical use of notes was sustained by a raw power nearly impossible to copy.

Albert King, American blues musician who created a unique string-bending guitar style that influenced three generations of musicians.

A left-handed player, King played his Gibson Flying-V guitar upside down and backwards, so rather than fret notes quickly up and down the neck, King was forced to use his strength to bend notes, producing a strikingly vocal quality. King was born in Indianola, Mississippi, not far from fellow blues guitarist B. King, who was about 18 months younger.

Albert would often joke that they were brothers, but the two didn't meet until both were famous. While B. As a child, King built his own guitar from a cigar box and whisk broom wires. He spent the next 15 years picking cotton, working construction, driving a bulldozer, and developing his beefy musical style. In the early s while living in Oceana, Arkansas, King formed the In the Groove Boys, his first band, with some friends.

King soon moved to Gary, Indiana, where he began playing drums for Jimmy Reed. King's next recordings were for the Bobbin label in St. Louis in Here he adopted a big band swing style, led by Johnnie Johnson , the pianist who played on many of Chuck Berry 's greatest recordings.