Albert Nelson KING (FAMOUS)

Albert King

American Blues Guitarist

April 25, 1923-December 21, 1992

Albert “King” Nelson, one of 13 children, was born in Indianola, Mississippi. His father was Will Nelson. In 1931, his family moved to Osceola, Arkansas where he grew up picking cotton on the plantations around Osceola. His family sang as a group in their church. He would learn the guitar from his father. He spent hours trying to copy the sounds of some of the famous guitar players listening to the records in his home. He used a guitar made from a cigar box. He obtained his first guitar in 1942 and was fascinated by the sounds of people like, Elmore James and Robert Nighthawk. He determined that this was his life’s calling, to play the blues. He grew to be a very large and imposing man at 6 ft 4 inches and 250 pounds. He was left handed and taught himself to play the guitar up-side down, while using the strings strung for a right handed player and used his thumb instead of a pick. His first entry into the performance business was with a group called The Groove Boys, in Osceola, Arkansas. He also briefly played drums for Jimmy Reed’s band and on several early Reed recordings.
To make ends meet as he was beginning his career, he worked as bulldoze driver in construction. Becoming known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He moved several times to try to find a better place for his type of music to be appreciated, Saint Louis, Gary, Indiana and a short period in Chicago where he cut his first release on the Parrot label in 1953. He found moderate regional success but little return money wise. He then returned to Saint Louis in 1956. There was a popular Blues area and he began his ascent into the Blues world with the single, “Don’t Throw You Love On Me So Strong”. Which was released in 1961, From this he found national recognition as the record reached #14 on the Rhythm and Blues charts. He began to use a Gibson Flying V model guitar which would become his lifelong trademark instrument and named it “Lucy”. He appeared on the Coun-Tree label. As his reputation began to grow King was dropped from that label due to jealousy from the owner of the label. He moved back to Memphis in 1955 and signed with a new soul label, Stax, and immediately released a handful of successful singles. King began to play with other famous musicians and appeared in venues around the world. He stayed with Stax until it’s demise in the mid 1970’s. He was the first Blues performer to perform with a symphony orchestra in a concert, the St Louis Symphony. His prolific career took him around the world. He was inducted into The Blues Foundation and into their Hall of Fame. But his biggest honor was the love and respect of so many of his peers. Stevie Ray Vaughan would call him “Daddy”, B B King, John Lee Hooker and so many more.
King played his final concert in Los Angeles on December 19, 1992. He died two days later at home in Memphis after suffering a sudden heart attack. After his funeral, a procession was led down Beale Street in true New Orleans-style Jazz tradition. As the Hearse bearing King’s body was led by the Memphis Horns played, “When The Saints Go Marching In”, he was laid to rest across the Mississippi River in the Paradise Gardens Cemetery in Edmondson, Arkansas, not far from where he spent his childhood. BUT, Albert Nelson “King” lives on every time a blues guitarist or combo grinds into "Born Under A Bad Sign" or "Crosscut Saw", his influence will be shining true.
IMD

Inscription on gravestone:
April 25, 1923 - December 21, 1992

"Born under a bad sign in the Mississippi delta, Albert King rose to greatness as a true giant of blues music.

With his commanding presence, powerful voice and stinging single note guitar style, Albert King played the blues for the world, and forever changed the way the world would play the blues."

Contributed on 11/24/10 by pam_don202
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Record #: 416998

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