New Orleans Heat

Born in Indianola, Mississippi in 1923, little Albert Nelson was raised in Forrest City, Arkansas, and taught himself how to play guitar when he was just a child, building his first instrument out of a cigar box. After hearing 78s by such luminaries as Lonnie Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson, the young guitarist decided to pursue a career in blues. He moved to Gary, Indiana where he recorded his first disc for Parrot Records, and in 1956 relocated to Missouri where he began playing his signature Gibson Flying V electric guitar, which he named "Lucy". In 1959 he signed to the Bobbin label racking up a num-ber of regional hits before joining Stax Records in the mid-60s and becoming an international star. Following the label's demise, he joined Utopia and later Tomato Re-cords in 1976. Albert stayed at Tomato for seven years releasing the funk and soul-tinged New Orleans Heat in 1978 produced by NOLA legend Allen Toussaint at his Sea-Saint Studios. Leading New Orleans session musi-cians give the songs - which include updates of several of King's earlier classics such as 'Born Under a Bad Sign' and 'I Get Evil' - a real flavour of the Crescent City. Albert King continued to play concerts and festivals throughout America and Europe right up until his sud-den, premature, death after suffering a fatal heart attack in December 1992.