ALBERT KING

This month Phil Short explores the sound of a blues guitarist who used minimal notes but maximum feel to create unforgettable music.

- Phil Short

Not many players earn the title 'king of the blues', but then not many players have been as influential as the great Albert King. One of the leading players of his generation alongside fellow blues Kings, BB and Freddie, Albert was central to the 60s wave of electric blues. Without Albert and his fellow bluesmen, BB and Freddie, we wouldn't have many of the household names we know today. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan were all admirers of Albert's work, and that's just to name a few.

But what was it about Albert that inspired a whole generation of now legendary players? With regards to his guitar playing, it was his wonderful vocal quality, singing sustain, expressive vibrato and powerful string bending. Albert favoured huge bends, often pushing strings a tone-and-a-half to create those screaming, crying notes.