Born Under a Bad Sign

Born Under a Bad Sign is the second studio album by Albert King released in 1967. The album became "one of the most popular and influential blues albums of the late '60s" and has been acknowledged by the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, and Rolling Stone magazine.

Background

Born Under a Bad Sign was the first album by Albert King for Stax Records and his second album overall. It is composed of singles released by King recorded between March 3, 1966 and June 9, 1967, with additional studio tracks. Providing accompaniment to Albert King, who sang and played lead guitar, were the Stax in-house recording session band, Booker T. and the MGs, featuring the Memphis Horns.

Style and influence

The release of Born Under a Bad Sign in 1967 "would change the face of American music, modernizing the blues". "'It was the great divide of modern blues, the point at which the music was rescued from slipping into derivative obscurity'". Part of the album's success has been attributed to Booker T. and the MGs who "gave his blues a sleek, soulful sound [which] gave King crossover appeal". Four of the album's songs became modern blues classics: "Born Under a Bad Sign", "Oh Pretty Woman", "The Hunter", and "Crosscut Saw" (although an older song, it was given a new treatment by King). Together with "Personal Manager" and "Laundromat Blues", they "form the very foundation of Albert King's musical identity and legacy". The title track was one of the last songs by Stax to feature the imprint "Produced by Staff"; future songs were later attributed to the writers.

Albert King

Albert King Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known professionally as Albert King, was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing. One of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B.B. King and Freddie King), he is perhaps best known for the 1967 single "Born Under a Bad Sign".

King stood taller than average, with sources reporting 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) or 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), and weighed a hefty 250 pounds (110 kg) and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer" due to his smooth singing and large size.

In May 2013, King was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Life and career

He was born on a cotton plantation in Indianola, Mississippi. During his childhood he would sing at a family gospel group at a church where his father played the guitar. One of 13 children, King grew up picking cotton on plantations near Forrest City, Arkansas, where the family moved when he was eight.

King was famed for his powerful string-bending style as well as for his soulful, smoky vocals. King often said he was born in Indianola and was a half-brother of B.B. King, although the scant surviving official documentation suggests otherwise on both counts. King carved his own indelible niche in the blues hierarchy by creating a deep, dramatic sound that was widely imitated by both blues and rock guitarists.

Born

Born may refer to:

Places

In music

Organisation Name

Sign

A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or medical symptoms signify a disease. A conventional sign signifies by agreement, as a full stop signifies the end of a sentence; similarly the words and expressions of a language, as well as bodily gestures, can be regarded as signs, expressing particular meanings. The physical objects most commonly referred to as signs (notices, road signs, etc., collectively known as signage) generally inform or instruct using written text, symbols, pictures or a combination of these.

The philosophical study of signs and symbols is called semiotics; this includes the study of semiosis, which is the way in which signs (in the semiotic sense) operate.

Nature

Booker T

Booker T may refer to