Don's Tunes #blues #legends #shorts series.
Albert King (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992)
Albert King played guitar left-handed, without re-stringing the guitar from the right-handed setup; this "upside-down" playing accounted for his difference in tone, since he pulled down on the same strings that most players push up on when bending the blues notes. King's massive tone and totally unique way of squeezing bends out of a guitar string had a major impact. Many young White guitarists (especially rock & rollers) have been influenced by King's playing, and many players who emulate his style may never have heard of Albert King, let alone heard his music. His style is immediately distinguishable from all other blues guitarists, and he was one of the most important blues guitarists to ever pick up the electric guitar.
Throughout his career, Albert King almost exclusively used a Gibson Flying V, or a variation on the Flying V. He played 3 main guitars – a 1959 Gibson V, a bespoke made V nicknamed ‘Lucy’ and later a mid 1960s V. In doing so, he rejected the typical choices amongst bluesmen – the Gibson Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson ES-335/ES-345.
In an interview in 1982, King stated that he predominantly chose the V for its feel and playability, rather than for its tone. The choice also had something to do with the Flying V’s visual appeal. At around 6ft 4 (194cm) and 250 lbs (110kg) and with a personality that matched his size, King had a formidable presence on stage. And the Flying V certainly added to his image.
King used his 1959 Gibson Flying V up until the late 1960s, when he gambled it away in a game of craps. He then replaced it with another very similar Gibson model that was manufactured in the mid 1960s. King was left handed, and both of these were standard V models. So he turned the guitar upside down and played with his high E string at the top of the neck. It was only ‘Lucy’ – the flying V made for him by Dan Erlwine in the early 1970s that was designed for a left handed player. And even still, the normal string order was reversed to account for King’s style.