Al King

about

Al King Was a Blues Master Born August 8, 1926 in Monroe, LA Died January 22, 1999 "Telling these guys named Al King apart is like looking for a specific dune in the desert," a research assistant griped to his boss, vintage R&B blaring on a jukebox in the background. "That's a good image," the clever musicologist snapped, "because the guy you are looking for used to record for a label called Sahara!" Indeed, that is surely a better way of keeping track of this particular Al King than to think up some connection with Shirley, the name of another indie label that likewise put out his sides in the '60s and '70s. The collected Shirley and Sahara singles were reissued in 1996 on the Forever More imprint on a collection entitled Blues Master. "My Name is Misery" and "Think Twice Before You Speak" indicate some of King's range as a performer, in this case from the pathetic to the threatening. "My Money Ain't Long Enough" and "Blue Shadows" are other King titles mixing compelling and common imagery. It has been three decades since Al King briefly flirted with chart success with his evocative Think Twice Before You Speak. Frustrations with the record industry led the Louisiana native to foreswear recording, although he has obviously had a change of heart. The Rochester, New York Forevermore label has just issued his first new recordings in near thirty years, It‘s Rough Out There, which follows up the label‘s 1996 compilation of many of King‘s classic recordings, Al King Blues

top songs

albums

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Together: The Complete Kent And Modern Recordings

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Atlantic Blues Guitar

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New Breed R&B

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Atlantic Blues: Guitar

Texas Guitar: From Dallas To L.A.

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Shattered Dreams - Funky Blues 1967-1978

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Shattered Dreams - Funky Blues 1967-78

It's Rough out Here

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For Connoisseurs Only Vol 3

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For Connoisseurs Only Vol. 3

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At the Juke Joint Vol. 2

Blues Master

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