“The Velvet Bulldozer” Albert King.
Albert King was probably the first of the “Three Kings” I got into, it was after hearing his classic signature track “Born Under A Bad Sign”.
It was then a matter of trying to find this track, not such an easy thing in the blues free area I was living in, a trip to London not long after made it a little easier but the only disc I could find with the track was the 70s version from his Tomato recording “New Orleans Heat”. If I remember correctly it was on import so a little over the odds price wise.
When I heard it, with tracks like “Angel Of Mercy” and “I Get Evil” I was happy to pay the price and I wanted more, more funky blues.
So after much searching I came across his must have discs his 1969 release “Born Under A Bad Sign” his first album with Stax having the great house band Booker T. & The MGs backing him up. It has classic from one to eleven from the title track through “Crosscut Saw”, “Oh, Pretty Woman”, “The Hunter”, “Laundromat Blues”, “As The Years Go Passing By”, “The Very Thought Of You”. And then his live recording from his stints at the Filmore “Live Wire / Blues Power” – later followed up with Wednesday and Thursday Night In San Francisco.
A true giant in all senses and a sad loss in ’92, with his upside down korina Gibson Flying V or “Lucy” his custom made Dan Erliwine V with the “upside down” strings and funky tuning (C-F-C-F-A-D), he was an inspiration for a lot of blues players.