Earl King, was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter, most active in blues music. King was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He died when Earl was nonetheless a child, and Earl was introduced up by his mother. His father was a piano participant. A composer of blues requirements similar to “Come On” (coated by Jimi Hendrix, Freddie King, Stevie Ray Vaughan) and “Big Chief” (recorded by Professor Longhair), he was an vital determine in New Orleans R&B.

With his mom, he started going to church at an early age. In 1954, Slim was injured in an automobile accident (proper around the time he had the #1 R&B hit “The Issues That I Used To Do”), and King was deputized to continue a tour with Slim’s band, representing himself as Slim. In his youth he sang gospel music, but he took the recommendation of a pal to change to blues to make a better residing. King started imitating Slim, and his presence had a giant influence on his musical course. At one such membership he met his idol, Guitar Slim. King began to play the guitar on the age of 15. Quickly he started entering talent contests at local clubs, including the Dew Drop Inn.

After succeeding in this position, King grew to become an everyday at the Dew Drop Inn. He continued to record for Ace for the subsequent five years. 7 on the Billboard R&B chart. As Earl Johnson, he launched a 78-rpm file, “Have you Gone Loopy” b/w “Beggin’ at Your Mercy”, for Savoy Information. In 1955, King signed with Vincent’s label, Ace Data. Throughout that point, he also he started writing songs for other artists, comparable to Roland Stone and Jimmy Clanton.

In 1960, Dave Bartholomew invited King to record for Imperial Records. It was at this label he recorded his signature songs “Come On” and “Trick Bag”. In classes for that label, he was backed by a bunch of musicians, including Bob French, George French, James Booker, and Wardell Quezergue. Freddie King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Anson Funderburgh. The latter has additionally been extensively covered, with versions by Johnny Winter, the Meters and Robert Palmer.

King co-wrote quite a lot of songs with Bartholomew, both beneath his own identify or below the pseudonym “E.C. King”. King recorded for Imperial until 1963. He went with no recording contract for the remainder of the 1960s. During this time, he principally focused on producing and songwriting for the native labels Nola and Watch. His compositions from this period embrace “Big Chief”, recorded by Professor Longhair; “Teasin’ You”, recorded by Willie Tee; and “Do-Re-Mi”, recorded by Lee Dorsey.

He went to Detroit for an audition with Motown Data and recorded a few tracks within the mid-1960s. The title observe was launched as a single on the Kansu label on the time, but the remaining lay unreleased until 1981, when the album was issued by Charly Data in the UK. Atlantic Information initially showed interest in releasing it however ultimately declined. In 1972, he was joined by Allen Toussaint and the Meters to record the album Street Parade.

The primary album Glazed, on which he was backed by Roomful of Blues, was launched in 1986. This particular album was nominated for a Grammy Award. George Porter Jr., David Torkanowsky, and Herman V. Ernest III. In December of the same year, he toured Japan. In 2001, King was hospitalized for an illness throughout a tour of latest Zealand, but that didn’t stop him from performing. A second album, Sexual Telepathy, launched in 1990, featured Snooks Eaglin on two tracks and backing by Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters on some tracks.

New Orleans till his dying. Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who’s Who of Blues (Second ed.). Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. His funeral was held on April 30, in the course of the festival, and many musicians attended it, including Dr. John, Leo Nocentelli and Aaron Neville. New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Invoice Dahl. “Earl King | Biography”. Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. His Imperial recordings, which had long been out of print, have been reissued on CD soon after he died. The June 2003 challenge of OffBeat, an area music magazine, paid tribute to King with a collection of articles on him.

OffBeat, June 2003, “The Legacy of Earl King”. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-revenue group. This web page was last edited on 25 May 2025, at 01:30 (UTC). By utilizing this site, you conform to the Phrases of Use and Privacy Coverage. Textual content is out there underneath the Artistic Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.Zero License; additional terms could apply. Doc Rock. “The Useless Rock Stars Membership 2003 January to June”.