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Track from the album Born Under A Bad Sign (Mono Version) (1967). Find Albert King’s Born Under A Bad Sign wherever you buy or stream music: Subscribe to Albert King on YouTube: Subscribe to Stax Records on YouTube: Listen to the “Stax Classics” playlist: Shop the Stax Online Store for #vinyl, exclusive collectible items and more: Any list of seminal 1960s electric blues albums is incomplete without Albert King’s Born Under a Bad Sign positioned near the top. The Indianola, Mississippi-born “King of the Blues Guitar,” who cut his professional teeth as a resident of the St. Louis suburb of Lovejoy, Ill., cemented his legacy with his Stax Records debut album. While he’d recorded for labels like Vee-Jay, Parrot and Bobbin, it was his chemistry with the Stax team — label executives Al Bell, Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton, songwriters Booker T. Jones and William Bell, and backing from Booker T. & the MGs and the Memphis Horns — that put King on the blues map. King was influenced by pre-World War II bluesmen Lonnie Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson, and post-war artists T-Bone Walker and Howlin’ Wolf. He came to Stax by way of Al Bell, a Little Rock native who’d met King when he played shows in the area. King’s first Stax recording was “Laundromat Blues,” included on this album, backed by Booker T. Jones on piano; Duck Dunn, bass; and Al Jackson, Jr., drums; plus the Memphis Horns (Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love) and Raymond Hill (sax player on Jackie Brenston’s “Rocket 88”). The song had come by way of an unsolicited songwriting demo that Stax co-founder Estelle Axton correctly believed could be a hit for King. “Crosscut Saw” is one of King’s best-known recordings as yet dated back to 1941 when Delta bluesman Tommy McClennan recorded it for Bluebird, and Willie Sanders & the Binghamton Boys cut it in ’63. A.C. “Moohah” Williams, a veteran DJ at Memphis R&B station WDIA-AM, brought it to King’s attention. Booker T. Jones and Stax soul singer William Bell came up with the thundering bass riff that defined the title track “Born Under a Bad Sign.” The song notched #49 on the R&B chart in 1967, and was covered in short order by Cream on its 1968 Wheels of Fire album. Soon King himself was playing venues like the Fillmore Auditorium to young white rock audiences. Another one of the signature tracks, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” written by WDIA DJ Williams, required the steady presence of Steve Cropper’s rhythm guitar to augment King’s lead licks. King received songwriting help from David Porter, on leave from his usual collaboration with Isaac Hayes, on “Personal Manager,” which was the B-side of the title track single. Born Under a Bad Sign was also notable for its selection of covers. King gave the Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller R&B standard “Kansas City” an urban blues treatment. He’s right at home with Fenton Robinson’s “As the Years Go Passing By.” Ivory Joe Hunter’s “I Almost Lost My Mind” is a rare King ballad with countrypolitan overtones and jazz flute, an unlikely showcase for his rich baritone. *About Stax Records* Stax Records, now owned by Concord/Craft Recordings, was founded by Jim Stewart in 1957 in Memphis, Tennessee. It rose from a small, family-operated company to become one of the most influential soul music record labels in the world, helping create “The Memphis Sound” and launching the careers of icons such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, the Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, Rufus and Carla Thomas, The Bar-Kays, and dozens of other artists who helped change popular culture forever. In all, Stax placed 167 hit songs in the Top 100 in Pop and 243 hits in the Top 100 in R&B. Stax Records works closely with the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, the Stax Music Academy, and The Soulsville Charter School, all operated by the Soulsville Foundation and all located on a vibrant campus at the original site of Stax Records in Memphis, TN. The Soulsville Foundation perpetuates the soul of Stax Records by preserving its rich cultural legacy, educating youth to be prepared for life success, and inspiring future artists to achieve their dreams. Follow Stax Records: Website: Newsletter: YouTube: Instagram: Facebook: Twitter: Follow Craft Recordings: Website: Newsletter: YouTube: Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: Spotify:
