Al King

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Al King (actually Alvin K. Smith , born August 8, 1926 in Monroe (Louisiana) , † January 21, 1999 in Oakland , California ) was an American singer-songwriter of the West Coast Blues .

Live and act

Smith began his music career in the postwar years in the San Francisco Bay Area ; The first recordings were made in Los Angeles in 1951 for the Hollywood Records label ( Homesick Blues ). Two years later he recorded again with a vocal group, the Savoys, for the Combo label. Further recordings were made in Oakland in 1954 for Music City, in 1957 for Irma Records under the band name Alvin Smith and The Angels and, at the end of the decade, duets with singer Nettie for the Christy and Art-Tone labels.

Under the pseudonym Al King he recorded for the Atlantic sub-label Shirley in 1964 . He also wrote several blues songs in the following years, in which he a. a. also dealt with family issues, such as in Think Twice Before You Speak , Everybody Ain't Your Friend and Don't Put Off For Tomorrow , which he recorded for Sahara. Think Twice Before You Speak was his only hit (# 36) on the American R&B charts. He also covered a number of Lowell Fulson songs such as Reconsider Baby (1964) and Blue Shadows . His recordings were made between 1964 and 1968 for the local labels Shirley ( On My Way , # SH-117), Flag and Sahara, from 1968 also for Modern and Kent Records , produced by Maxwell Davis . Guitarist Johnny Heartsman was one of his accompanists . After two last, also by Maxwell produced singles for the label Ronn, which appeared in 1970, Al King continued his career at the local level; he has performed in clubs and festivals in the Oakland area.
King died in early 1999 of complications from blood poisoning.

Discographic notes

Singles

A side B side Label number Year of
publication
Reconsider baby On my way Shirley Records SH-117 1964
Playing on me Don't Put Off for Tomorrow Sahara 116 1966
Think Twice Before You Speak The winner Sahara 111 1966
My Money Ain't Long Enough Blue shadows Sahara 113 1966
My name is misery Better to Be By Yourself Modern 5xM 1046 1967
Ain't givin 'up nothing The Thrill Is Gone Kent K 498 1968
Get Lost Without a warning Modern 45xM 1051 1968
I can't understand What you're looking for Ronn R 38 1968
The World Needs Love It's getting late Kent K 509 1969
High cost of living Nosey Neighbors Ronn RONN 42 1970
Everybody Ain't Your Friend This Thing Called Love Sahara 114 ?

Compilations

  • On My Way (Diving Duck Records, ed. 1983)
  • Blues Master: The Complete Sahara & Shirley Recordings (Forevermore Music & Records, ed. 1996)
  • It's Rough Out Here (ed. 1998)
  • Al King & Arthur Adams: Together - The Complete Kent and Modern Recordings (Ace, ed. 2010)

Lexical entry

  • Robert Ford: A Blues Bibliography . Routledge Music Bibliographies, 2008, p. 577
  • Encyclopedia of the Blues , edited by Edward Komara. Routledge, 2006

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Living Blues - Issues 143-148 1999 - page 54 “AL KING Blues vocalist and songwriter Al King (Alvin K. Smith) died of blood poisoning on January 21, 1999, in Oakland, California. ... of additional 45s during the '60s that were released on Triad, Shirley, Flag (King's own production company), Sahara,. "
  2. ↑ https://rockinsteve.wordpress.com/category/los-angeles-blues/
  3. ↑ With the line: I ain't no dentist / But I'll get your teeth out free
  4. ↑ http://www.rootsandrhythm.com/roots/BLUES%20&%20GOSPEL/blues_k2.htm
personal data
SURNAME King, Al
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smith, Alvin K. (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer-songwriter of the West Coast blues
DATE OF BIRTH August 8, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Monroe (Louisiana)
DATE OF DEATH January 21, 1999
Place of death Oakland , California