Blues Artist of the Week - Albert King

A blues player I’m currently enjoying is Albert King. Albert King (1923-1992) was the stage name for Albert Nelson. By some accounts, he was born in Indianola, Mississippi, and others (his Social Security application) Aberdeen, Mississippi.

Albert was known as the Velvet Bulldozer given his towering size (6’4” and over 250 LBS) coupled with the fact he drove a bulldozer early in life.

He played a big triangular Gibson Flying V-shaped like a rocket ship named Lucy. He played it upside down, left-handed and didn’t reverse the strings. His style is described as powerful string-bending, with soulful, smoky vocals.

He is a member of both the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

A great album to start enjoying Albert with is considered his trademark album - Stax singles “Born Under a Bad Sign. Also, Live Wire/Blues Power, recorded at the Fillmore in San Francisco, and the,” “Cross Cut Saw,” “The Hunter,” and “I’ll Play the Blues for You” albums are great.