The Velvet Bulldozer!
If anyone can hold the title of string-bending champion it’s Mr. Albert King.
Standing in at a massive 6 ft 4″, The Velvet Bulldozer as he’s known, took to the stage with a flying V played upside down and a transistor amp, no valves here!
Unlike the other Kings (B.B. and Freddie), Albert wasn’t a major figure in blues until around the mid-60s, despite his debut release being as early as 1953.
Backed by Stax’s house band MD Booker T. Jones, who actually wrote his signature tune Born Under A Bad Sign, Albert rose to become a blues giant, not just literally!
Since its release in 1967, every blues guitarist/singer worth their salt has attempted to cover it, some even recorded it, including Cream, and Paul Butterfield.
Perhaps best known for his huge bends, achieved using a Flying V turned upside down, without bothering to change the strings around, Albert King can bend his high e string like no other as he bends down, not up.
Albert’s legacy can mainly be traced to Stevie Ray Vaughan with his wild bends, but also Freddie King must have looked to Albert, at least for the sound!
Albert King tunes | Related pages
Born Under A Bad Sign
| Db7 | Db7 | Db7 | Db7 (Gb G) |
Born under a bad sign, I’ve been down since I began to crawl.
| Ab7 | Gb7 | Db7 | Db7 |
If it wasn’t for bad luck, you know I wouldn’t have no luck at all.
Albert King on the web
