Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest reissue from Concord Music Group (April 2, 2013), Albert King 's Born Under A Bad Sign . With addition of liner notes by Bill Dahl, this release has a full spectrum picture of Kings work. Featuring the Stax "House Band"; Steve Cropper (guitar), Booker T Jones (piano), Isaac Hayes (piano), Donald "Duck" Dunn, and Al Jackson Jr, (also known as Booker T and the MG's)and Wayne Jackson, Andrew love and Joe Arnold (also known as the Memphis Horns); King has the backing that can deliver anything he may want. The release opens with one of King's most well know tracks, Born Under A Bad Sign . Yes, Eric Clapton and Cream didn't hurt any by covering it, but it was Albert King that really breathed the life into it and it was his gateway to stardom. King has a very distinctive guitar playing style often attributed to his playing left handed (although the guitar was strung right handed) giving it a unique sound but I personally think Al...

  ALBERT KING’S LATE ’60s BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN    ALBUM  ON STAX RECORDS  REISSUED APRIL 5 WITH PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED BONUS TRACKS   Release teems with King’s best-known songs: “Born Under a Bad Sign,” “Crosscut Saw,” “Oh, Pretty Woman” and “Laundromat Blues.” Steve Cropper, Booker T. & the MGs, the Memphis Horns and Stax’s songwriters help make it an all-time blues classic.   LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Any list of seminal 1960s electric blues albums is incomplete without Albert King ’s Born Under a Bad Sign positioned near the top. The Indianola, Mississippi-born “King of the Blues Guitar,” who cut his professional teeth as a resident of the St. Louis suburb of Lovejoy, Ill., cemented his legacy with his Stax Records debut album. While he’d recorded for labels like Vee-Jay, Parrot and Bobbin, it was his chemistry with the Stax team — label executives Al Bell, Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton,...

Albert King (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992) was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing. On December 11th, 2012, it was announced that King would be posthumously inducted into the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame One of the "Four Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B.B. King, Earl King and Freddie King), Albert King stood 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) (some reports say 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)) and weighed 250 pounds (110 kg) and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He was born Albert Nelson 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. He began his professional work as a musician with a group called In The Groove Boys in Osceola, Arkansas. Moving north to Gary, Indiana an...

I just received a copy of Trouble Up The Road , Volume 3 in a series of recordings from the career of Ike Turner . Volume 1 in this series, That Cat Sure Can Play 1951-1957 and Jack Rabbit Blues 1958 - 1960 were earlier released by Secret Records and this recording demonstrates that there is a wealth of material that is so important that Ike was involved with. Included along with the 26 track CD is a 9 page liner notes with a cool documentary section as well as a discography and some cool photos. Some of my favorites are I Idolize You (Ike and Tina Turner) with raw vocals and shimmering guitar work, Trouble Up The Road (Jackie Breston with Ike Turner & his Kings of Rhythm) a straight uptempo blues track and super vocals, My Man Rock Head (Eloise Carter), I Can't Believe (Jimmy and Jean with Ike Turner) getting into the R&B/rock fusion, I'm Hurtin' (Billy Gales), Poor Fool (Ike and Tina Turner) with the classic shout to start the lead vocal/backing vocal echo ...

Personnel Albert King : Electric Guitar, Vocals Stevie Ray Vaughan : Electric Guitar, Vocals only on Song 3 Tony Llorens : Piano, Organ Gus Thornton : Bass Michael Llorens : Drums Bassist Gus Thornton has lived a blues musician's dream. In the last 40 years he has traveled around the world recording and touring with blues greats such as Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Katie Webster. He has shared the stage with, and earned the respect of, every St. Louis Blues Musician he has played with. Gus Thornton is the epitome of St. Louis Blues. Thornton, like many rhythm musicians, is over looked by listeners who tend to get wrapped up in screaming guitars, monster harps and raspy vocals. Musicians, however, will readily agree that the key to any blues band is the rhythm section. "Every time one of my fingers moves, someone taps their foot or nods their head. Yeah, people pay attention to the guitar players and singers, but I have the audience attached to my fingers," sai...

Stax has done it now. They have unleashed the fury of Albert King and his classic I'll Play The Blues For You . This was initially an 8 song release but with remastering came 2 additional alternate tracks as well as 2 unreleased tracks. This recording really shows Albert at the top of his game matched with up with guitarist Michael Toles, bassist James Alexander and drummer Willie Hall from Bar-Kays/Movement. They are also joined by Memphis Horns featuring Wayne Jackson on trumpet and Andrew Love on tenor Sax. The title track is the opener and King's vocals are so smooth and his guitar is so stylistically Albert. No one has ever captured his spirit although many have copied his style. Albert had an uncanny ability to make the guitar bark without pulling it's leash. Breaking Up Somebody's Home is another absolutely terrific track and the blend of soul, funk and blues is just perfect. I'll Be Doggone is a real funky track that is outstanding in the blues world... n...

Before I go into the tribute to Albert for today, his birthday, I will say that I was fortunate enough to see Albert once prior to his demise. It was in a very small club in Phoenix, AZ called the Mason Jar (which is long gone). Albert at this time was known to have a little bit of an edge. Three distinct things that I remember about the performance were Albert's absolute command of the room, Albert smoked a pipe and wore glasses and somewhat laid back during the performance and Albert was cantankerous. It also brings to mind a bootleg lp that I bought as a kid of Little Feat. Lowell George tells the story of playing a concert with Albert and when it is time for Albert to go on, they can't locate his guitar. Lowell runs up to Albert (his hero) and enthusiastically offers his. Albert turns to him and says "Hey Kid... F*** Off". Thirdly, movie karate man Steven Segal own I believe it is 3 of Albert's flying V's. Fourth, the guitar shown in this video was made e...

CONCORD MUSIC GROUP RELEASES ALBERT KING’S I’LL PLAY THE BLUES FOR YOU AS PART OF ITS STAX REMASTERS SERIES 2012 release date marks 40 th anniversary of landmark blues recording. LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Concord Music Group will release Albert King’s I’ll Play the Blues for You as part of its Stax Remasters series on May 22, 2012. Enhanced by 24-bit remastering by Joe Tarantino, four previously unreleased bonus tracks, and newly written liner notes by music journalist and roots music historian Bill Dahl, the reissue not only spotlights one of the most entertaining and influential blues recordings of the 1970s, but also underscores the album’s enduring nature four decades after its original release. In addition to King’s brilliant guitar and vocal work, the album also features a rhythm section made up of members of the Bar-Kays and the Movement — the former a new lineup following the tragic Otis Redding plane crash that wiped out most of the original band, and the latter ...

This is a great recording with Albert King and John Mayall's band including Mick Taylor....enjoy!! John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is a pioneering English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His musical career spans over fifty years, but the most notable episode in it occurred during the late 1960s. He was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and, as a gifted talent-scout, has been influential in the careers of many instrumentalists, including Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor, Aynsley Dunbar, Hughie Flint, Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser, Johnny Almond, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, and Buddy Whittington.

Albert King (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992) was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing. One of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B. B. King and Freddie King), Albert King stood 6' 4" (192 cm) (some reports say 6' 7") and weighed 250 lbs (118 kg) and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He was born Albert Nelson on a cotton plantation in Indianola, Mississippi, also the birthplace of B.B. King. Although the two were not related, Albert occasionally referred to himself as "B.B. King's half brother". 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. He began his professional work as a musician with a group called In The Groove Boys in Osceola, Arkansas. Moving north...

Father and son.... no question that SRV was heavily influenced by Albert King. I actually bought this cd a few years back and was not overly impressed. I think it has to do with two super stars trying to play together for one time that just doesn't rock my boat. Typically neither has the chance to really do his thing. In this case, I actually had the opportunity to watch the DVD which was released recently. It is a very good watch. Albert actually does a nice nod to SRV for having technically surpassed his own playing...actually playing the blues like a "real blues player' if you know what I mean. Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE

Albert King is the King of the modern Texas blues guitar players. Always a pleasure to watch him! For reference he's playing a Gibson v in this video. Oh Yeah...you bet SRV was listening! Albert King (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992) was an American blues guitarist and singer.One of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B. B. King and Freddie King), Albert King stood 6' 4" (192 cm) (some reports say 6' 7") and weighed 250 lbs (118 kg)and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He was born Albert Nelson on a cotton plantation in Indianola, Mississippi. During his childhood he would sing at a family gospel group at a church. One of 13 children, King grew up picking cotton on plantations near Forrest City, Arkansas, where the family moved when he was eight. He began his professional work as a musician with a group called In The Groove Boys in Osceola. He also briefly played drums for Jimmy Reed's band and on several early Reed ...

A nice opportunity to see 3 giants on stage together and not just play over each other like a cluster bomb in the concert videos so common. John Mayall, Mick Taylor later of the Stones of course and actually with Albert playing his signature Flying V but not the Gibson but his custom made v made by Dan Erlewine...yeah the Stew Mac guy. Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE

Raw and rough but hey... it's tough to find good old footage of Albert at his best. Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE Enjoy!

Albert King was the real deal. He was warm and vibrant but he was also cantankerous. I remember seeing him in a small club called the Mason Jar just a short time before he passed. He hadn't slowed down, just riffin away and smokin his pipe. He's the father of the Texas style of guitar... oh yeah this song was written by the backing band Booker T and the MG's (Green Onions)but made a huge crossover for Albert and then a great hit for the Cream. Albert playing left handed and upside down had a lot to do with his style and how his guitar sounded. The meat in his bends. Stevie Ray Vaughn, of course one of our best contemporary blues players drew a lot of influence from Alberts style. Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE