Alvin K. Smith

b. August 8th, 1926 in Monroe (Louisiana)

d. January 21st, 1999 in Oakland (California)

COMPLETE RECORDINGS

Blue Eye blog (only on mp3)

1951 - 1998

Influencé par Jimmy Rushing et Louis Jordan, il se lance dans une carrière de chanteur - d'abord sous le nom d'Al Smith - après son service militaire. Al s'installe d'abord à Oakland puis à Los Angeles. Grâce au producteur John Dolphin, il peut graver son premier morceau, l'excellent "Homesick blues" en 1951 et chante avec les Savoys pour Combo, deux ans plus tard. Al enregistre aussi le superbe "On my way" avec la guitare de Johnny Heartsman. Revenu à Oakland, il travaille pour le producteur Bob Geddins et son label Irma puis s'associe avec la chanteuse Nettie pour une poignée de titres (dont le bon "Now you know" avec Jimmy Mac Cracklin et Johnny Heartsman). En 1964, il se renomme Al King et connait quelques années fastes gravant de superbes titres pour Shirley et Sahara dans la seconde partie des années 60. Il tentera brièvement de créer son propre label (Flag) mais l'aventure tournera court. Pour les frères Bihari, il enregistre pour Modern et Kent sous le supervision avisée de Maxwell Davis. En 1970, il propose quatre morceaux pour Ronn en particulier les excitants "I can't understand" et "High cost of living". Il semble ensuite tomber dans l'oubli durant les années 70. Heureusement, les hollandais de Diving Duck éditeront en 1983 une compilation qui attire à nouveau l'attention sur lui. Il faudra finalement attendre 1998 pour l'entendre à nouveau. Tous ces morceaux ont été réunis grâce à Gérard Herzhaft sur son blog Blue Eye.

Influenced by Jimmy Rushing and Louis Jordan, he launched a singing career — initially under the name Al Smith — after his military service. Al settled first in Oakland and then in Los Angeles. Thanks to producer John Dolphin, he was able to record his first track, the excellent "Homesick blues" in 1951 and sang with the Savoys for Combo, two years later. Al also recorded the superb "On my way" with Johnny Heartsman on guitar. Returning to Oakland, he worked for producer Bob Geddins and his Irma label, then teamed up with singer Nettie for a handful of tracks (including the good "Now you know" with Jimmy Mac Cracklin and Johnny Heartsman). In 1964, he renamed himself Al King and enjoyed a few successful years, recording superb tracks for Shirley and Sahara in the latter half of the 1960's. He briefly attempted to create his own label (Flag) but the venture was short-lived. For the Bihari brothers, he recorded for Modern and Kent under the expert guidance of Maxwell Davis. In 1970, he contributed four tracks for Ronn notably the exciting "I can't understand" and "High cost of living". He then seemed to fade into obscurity during the 1970's. Fortunately, the Dutch label Diving Duck released a compilation in 1983 that brought him back into the public eye. It wasn't until 1998 that he was heard again. All these tracks have been compiled thanks to Gérard Herzhaft on his Blue Eye blog.

BLUES MASTER : THE COMPLETE SAHARA & SHIRLEY RECORDINGS

Forevermore

March 1964 - 1968

En 1964, désormais sous le nom d'Al King, ce magnifique chanteur travaille pour Shirley et délivre de superbes blues West Coast enluminés par la guitare de Johnny Heartsman comme "Reconsider baby" et "Lingerin' love". Après avoir tenté de créer son propre label (Flag), il poursuit ensuite au sein du label Sahara avec "Think twice before you speak", "My money ain't long enough", "Everybody ain't your friend", "Playing on me", "Get lost". Cette belle période Shirley/Sahara a été intégralement reprise dans ce CD édité par Christopher Biehler.

In 1964, now under the name Al King, this magnificent singer worked for Shirley and delivered superb West Coast blues illuminated by the guitar of Johnny Heartsman as "Reconsider baby" and "Lingerin' love". After trying to create his own label (Flag), he then continued within the Sahara label with "Think twice before you speak", "My money ain't long enough", "Everybody ain't your friend", "Playing on me", "Get lost". This beautiful Shirley/Sahara period has been entirely covered in this CD issued by Christopher Biehler.

TOGETHER : THE COMPLETE KENT & MODERN RECORDINGS

Ace

1968 - 1969

Après les belles productions pour les labels Shirley et Sahara, Al King travaille pour les frères Bihari et leurs labels Kent et Modern. Sa superbe voix est bien entourée avec d'excellents sidemen comme Arthur Adams, Big Jay Mac Neely et Maxwell Davis (qui arrange les séances). On peut retenir les magnifiques "My name is misery", "Better to be by yourself", "It's getting late", "Bad understanding", "I still care for you", "Without a warning".

After the beautiful productions for the Shirley and Sahara labels, Al King worked for the Bihari brothers and their Kent and Modern labels. His superb voice is well surrounded with excellent sidemen like Arthur Adams, Big Jay Mac Neely and Maxwell Davis (who arranges the sessions). We can point out the magnificent “My name is misery”, “Better to be by yourself", "It's getting late", "Bad understanding", "I still care for you", "Without a warning".

IT'S ROUGH OUT HERE

Forevermore

1998

Grâce à Christopher Biehler et son label Forevermore, Al King trouve enfin l'opportunité d'enregistrer de nouveaux titres après presque 30 ans d'absence. En pleine forme, il délivre un épatant programme de blues californien entouré de musiciens compétents (le guitariste Ronnie Waters). On apprécie, en particulier, les morceaux "It's rough out here", "Peoples in the graveyard", "Sweet Jimmy's place", "My baby loves playing bingo" et "Better to be by yourself".

Thanks to Christopher Biehler and his label Forevermore, Al King finally finds the opportunity to record new songs after almost 30 years of absence. In great shape, he delivers an beautiful program of californian blues surrounded by competent musicians (guitarist Ronnie Waters). We particularly appreciate the songs "It's rough out here", "People in the graveyard", "Sweet Jimmy's place", "My baby loves playing bingo" and "Better to be by yourself".