This Month in Music (1967): Albert King released the Born Under a Bad Sign album

Born Under a Bad Sign Albert King

Released: July 1967 Recorded: March 3, 1966 to June 9, 1967 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): 0.5 US Genre: blues

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Born Under a Bad Sign (8/26/67, #49 RB) Crosscut Saw (1/7/67, #34 RB) Kansas City Oh, Pretty Woman Down Don’t Bother Me The Hunter I Almost Lost My Mind Personal Manager Laundromat Blues (6/26/66, #29 RB) As the Years Go Passing By The Very Thought of You

Rating: 3.812 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings) Quotable: “One of the very greatest electric blues albums of all time” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Albert King recorded a lot in the early ‘60s, including some classic sides, but they never quite hit the mark. They never gained a large audience, nor did they really capture the ferocity of his single-string leads. Then he signed with Stax in 1966 and recorded a number of sessions with the house band, Booker T. & the MG’s, and everything just clicked.” STE They gave King “crossover appeal” WK with their “sleek, soulful sound,” WK “providing an excellent contrast to his tightly wound lead guitar, allowing to him to unleash a torrent of blistering guitar runs that were profoundly influential, not just in blues, but in rock & roll. STE Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan have acknowledged how King influenced them. WK Born Under a Bad Sign collected singles released in 1966 and 1967 as well as additional studio cuts. WK “The concentration of singles gives the album a consistency – these were songs devised to get attention – but, years later, it’s astounding how strong this catalog of songs is: Born Under a Bad Sign, Crosscut Saw, Oh Pretty Woman, The Hunter, Personal Manager, and Laundromat Blues form the very foundation of Albert King’s musical identity and legacy.” STE “The songs are exceptional and the performances are rich, from King’s dynamic playing to the Southern funk of the MG’s. It was immediately influential at the time and, over the years, it has only grown in stature as one of the very greatest electric blues albums of all time.” STE “It was the great divide of modern blues, the point at which the music was rescued from slipping into derivative obscurity.” WK Notes: In 1998, Sundazed Records reissued the album with two additional bonus tracks, both written by Albert King. Those tracks are the rare mono single B-sides Funk-Shun and Overall Junction, which originally appeared on the Stax singles ‘Laundromat Blues’ and ‘Oh, Pretty Woman,’ respectively.” WK

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Albert King STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia First posted 11/13/2008; last updated 3/18/2024.