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22 Apr 03 - 06:01 AM (#937647) Subject: Obit: Earl King From: Brian Hoskin More bad news I'm afraid April 21, 2003 Earl King, New Orleans Bluesman, Dies at 69 By JON PARELES New York Times Earl King, the New Orleans rhythm-and-blues guitarist and singer who wrote songs that became Mardi Gras standards, died on Thursday in New Orleans, his lawyer said. He was 69. The cause was complications related to diabetes, according to the lawyer, Greg Eveline. Mr. King, who lived in New Orleans, was a flamboyant performer, singing with bluesy ease and playing guitar solos that curled and sliced across the rolling New Orleans beat. He recorded hundreds of songs that were rooted in both the 12-bar blues and New Orleans lore, with lyrics that could tell wry, compressed stories or come up with wild-eyed imagery. "Whatever gymnastics jump through my head, I write about it," he once said. While Mr. King performed widely, his songs also traveled by way of other musicians: Jimi Hendrix, who recorded Mr. King's "Come On" as "Let the Good Times Roll" on "Electric Ladyland"; the Meters and Robert Palmer, who recorded Mr. King's "Trick Bag"; and Professor Longhair, who played piano and had the performer credit on the original 1964 version of Mr. King's "Big Chief," although it featured Mr. King's vocals and whistling. The Professor Longhair recording and remakes of "Big Chief" by performers including Allen Toussaint and Dr. John are still heard every year at Mardi Gras time. Mr. King was born Earl Silas Johnson IV in New Orleans in 1934. He started performing as a gospel singer but then turned to the blues, at first singing with the band led by Huey (Piano) Smith. He made his first single as Earl Johnson in the early 1950's, playing guitar in a style strongly influenced by Guitar Slim (Eddie Jones). When he signed with Specialty Records, the label's owner, Art Rupe, persuaded him to bill himself as King Earl, but the typesetter reversed the names. As Earl King he had a regional hit, "A Mother's Love," and then, after he moved to Ace Records, a national one with "Those Lonely, Lonely Nights," which sold a reported 250,000 copies. His own recording of "Trick Bag" was a Top 20 rhythm-and-blues hit in 1962. Mr. King was signed to Motown Records in the early 1960's, but Motown never released any of his recordings. Back in New Orleans, he revived the career of Professor Longhair, a revered New Orleans pianist, with "Big Chief" in 1964, and his songs were also recorded by other New Orleans musicians, including Lee Dorsey, Fats Domino and the Dixie Cups. Hendrix recorded "Let the Good Times Roll" for the 1968 album "Electric Ladyland," which provided significant royalties through the years for Mr. King; Stevie Ray Vaughan also recorded the song. During the 1980's and 90's, Mr. King made albums for Black Top Records, including a 1986 collaboration with the band Roomful of Blues, "Glazed," which was named because he made a Tastee Donuts shop his regular office and hangout. "Glazed" was nominated for a Grammy Award. Mr. King followed it with "Sexual Telepathy" in 1990, "Hard River to Cross" in 1993 and "New Orleans Street Talkin' " in 1997. Although declining health limited his performing in recent years, collections of his songs were released on Westside, Fuel 2000 and Charly Records. |
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22 Apr 03 - 04:40 PM (#938002) Subject: RE: Obit: Earl King From: PoppaGator Amen. Earl was a one-of-a-kind musical entrepreneur, performer, and writer. He probably doesn't fit most definitions of "folk music," which is why I'm a little surprised to see his passing acknowledged here, but certainly anyone with an understanding of the blues would do well to give a listen to his amazing body of work. I'm sure that the New Orleans Jazz Festival, which opens day after tomorrow for its annual two week run, will feature many heartfelt tributes to this great man. |
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23 Apr 03 - 03:18 AM (#938295) Subject: RE: Obit: Earl King From: fat B****rd When I log off I shall play my Dave Bartholomew CD and feature Mr. King. RIP MR. K. |
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24 Apr 03 - 09:21 AM (#939155) Subject: RE: Obit: Earl King From: Brian Hoskin PoppaGator, It might not always be evident, but the Mudcat covers both folk and blues, which is why I posted the obit. All the best Brian |
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24 Apr 03 - 09:46 AM (#939164) Subject: RE: Obit: Earl King From: Roger the Skiffler Right on, Dave. We gotta keep these folkies in their place! From the admittedly unscientific basis of my own attendance at live gigs "Let the Good Times Roll" seems to have taken off as the most popular set ending song recently for a variety of bands. RtS (and yes, I do join in the responses!) |
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24 Apr 03 - 12:02 PM (#939254) Subject: RE: Obit: Earl King From: PoppaGator Little known fact: Earl King's most widely-known (and most lucrative) tune, featuring the refrain "let the good times roll," is actually entitled "Come On." There are of course other tunes whose lyrics encorporate the same phrase, both in English and in French ("Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez"). Shirley & Lee recorded one of them in New Orleans during the 50s, using the obvious title, which explains why Earl would know that the first-choice title for his composition was already spoken for. Earl was unique among his contemporaries in that he was always sure to control his intellectual property, i.e., publishing rights to all his songs. It's said that he never showed up at a session with a new tune until he had first secured the rights to his work. Early in his career, Earl went on the road "impersonating" his friend and mentor Guitar Slim; that type of substitution was common back in the days before music videos, and before most black artists even had their pictures appear on record sleeves. Since then he has always performed Slim's classic "Things That I Used to Do" as part of his set, along with his own tunes. Also, the Professor Longhair recording of Earl's composition "Big Chief," a big favorite in New Orleans but little-known elsewhere, actually features Earl on vocals and whistling. Earl's vocal was originally intended as a demo from which Fess was supposed to learn the words and then sing on the record, but for whatever reason, that never happened. Fess' piano playing is wonderful, prominently featured in the mix, and critical to the recording's success, but it really should have been sold as an Earl King record, since Earl wrote the music and lyrics, played the guitar part, sang lead, and contributed another "instrumental" part with a great chorus or two of whistling. |