Willie Earl King

b. March 18th, 1943 in Prairie Point (Mississippi)

d. March 8th, 2009 in Memphis (Alabama)

WALKIN' THE WALK TALKIN' THE TALK

?

1999

Fils de métayers, Willie grandit dans le Mississippi et surtout dans l'Alabama. Encore jeune, il se met à la guitare et joue occasionnellement dans les juke-joints. Il exerce de nombreux métiers en même temps que la musique. Actif au sein du mouvement des droits civiques, il fonde en 1982 la Rural Members Association, une organisation caritative à but non lucratif venant en aide aux personnes de la région. Willie a aussi crée le Freedom Creek Festival et apparait régulièrement au Black Roots Festival. Il enregistre ce premier avec son ami d'enfance "Birmingham" George Conner grâce au soutien de Rick Tomlinson et Matt Kimbrell. Influencé par Howlin' Wolf et Jimmy Reed, Willie propose un bel album de blues terrien composé de longs morceaux profonds et introspectifs.

The son of sharecroppers, Willie grew up in Mississippi and especially in Alabama. While still young, he picked up the guitar and occasionally played in juke joints. He worked many jobs alongside his music. Active in the civil rights movement, in 1982 he founded the Rural Members Association, a non-profit charity organization helping people in the community area. Willie also founded the Freedom Creek Festival and regularly appeared at the Black Roots Festival. He recorded this first festival with his childhood friend "Birmingham" George Conner thanks to the support of Rick Tomlinson and Matt Kimbrell. Influenced by Howlin' Wolf and Jimmy Reed, Willie offers a nice album of down-home blues composed of long, deep and introspective pieces.

I AM THE BLUES

Rural Members Association

2000

Voici encore un intéressant opus de blues terrien et excitant, clairement influencé par Howlin' Wolf, que Willie publie à travers sa Rural Members Association. Il est ici accompagné de son groupe régulier. Malgré des tempos parfois répétitifs, on peut retenir "Betty's place", "Crawlin'", "All tied up".

Here is another interesting down-home and exciting blues opus, clearly influenced by Howlin' Wolf, which Willie released through his Rural Members Association. He is accompanied here by his regular band. Despite the sometimes repetitive tempos, we can point out "Betty's place", "Crawlin'", "All tied up".

FREEDOM CREEK

Rooster

February 2000

LIVING IN A NEW WORLD

Rooster

February 2002

Dans ce second album pour Rooster, dans lequel Willie a composé tous les morceaux, on trouve des moments intenses de blues comme sur "Living in a new world", "The stomper", "America", "You got to have love", "Is it my imagination", "Terrorized". Derrière Willie, on apprécie ses musiciens attentifs et plein de feeling : Willie Lee Halbert (second vocaliste), Aaron "Hardhead" Hodge (guitare), Robert Corbett (basse), Willie James Williams (batterie), Kevin Hayes (saxophone), Henry Smith (piano, orgue).

This second album for Rooster, for which Willie composed all the tracks, features intense blues moments such as "Living in a new world", "The stomper", "America", "You got to have love", "Is it my imagination", "Terrorized". Behind Willie, we appreciate his attentive and full of feeling musicians : Willie Lee Halbert (second vocalist), Aaron "Hardhead" Hodge (guitar), Robert Corbett (bass), Willie James Williams (drums), Kevin Hayes (saxophone), and Henry Smith (piano, organ).

JUKIN' AT BETTIE'S

Freedom Creek Music

May 2004

Voici un disque live qui donne une bonne vision d'un concert de blues dans un juke-joint rural. Willie délivre sur cette scène son blues profond et attachant avec feeling : "Jukin' at Bettie's", "That's what the blues is all about", "The real deal", "Systematic train".

Here is a live album that gives a good vision of a blues concert in a rural juke joint. Willie delivers his deep and moving blues with feeling on this stage : "Jukin' at Bettie's", "That's what the blues is all about", "The real deal", "Systematic train".

ONE LOVE

Freedom Creek Music

2006

Après une première tournée européenne en 2005, Willie reprend le chemin des studios pour un nouvel album de blues campagnard, brut et excitant avec ses musiciens habituels. Un programme encore une fois intense avec "Sweet potato man", "Like it like that", "Writing in the sky", "One love", "Mama killed the chicken". En 2007, les néerlandais Saskia Rietmeijer et Burt Drolenga réalisent un documentaire intitulé "Down in the woods" consacré à Willie King.

After his first european tour in 2005, Willie returned to the studio for a new album of raw and exciting country blues with his regular musicians. Another intense program featuring "Sweet potato man", "Like it like that", "Writing in the sky", "One love", "Mama killed the chicken". In 2007, dutch filmmakers Saskia Rietmeijer and Burt Drolenga made a documentary about Willie King entitled "Down in the woods".