One of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B.B. King and Freddie King), Albert King stood 6' 4", weighed 250 lbs and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He was born Albert Nelson on a cotton plantation in Indianola, Mississippi. During his childhood he would sing at a family gospel group at a church. One of 13 children, King grew up picking cotton on plantations near Forrest City, Arkansas where the family moved when he was eight years old. He began his professional work as a musician with a group called In The Groove Boys in Osceola, Arkansas. He had also briefly played drums for Jimmy Reed's band and on several early Reed recordings. Influenced by blues musicians Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson, but also interestingly Hawaiian music, the electric guitar became his signature instrument, his preference being the Gibson Flying V, which he named "Lucy".
King was a left-handed "upside-down/backwards" guitarist. He was left-handed, but usually played right-handed guitars flipped over upside-down so the low E string was on the bottom. In later years he played a custom-made guitar that was basically left-handed, but had the strings reversed (as he was used to playing). He also used very unorthodox tunings (i.e., tuning as low as C to allow him to make sweeping string bends). Some believe that he was using open E minor tuning (C-B-E-G-B-E) or open F tuning (C-F-C-F-A-D). A "less is more" type blues player, he was known for his expressive "bending" of notes, a technique characteristic of blues guitarists.
He recorded his first record in 1953 for Parrot Records in Chicago, but it had no impact. His first minor hit came in 1959 with Lonely Man written by Bobbin Records A&R man and fellow guitar hero Little Milton, responsible for King's signing with the label. However, it was not until his 1961 release Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong that he had a major hit, reaching number fourteen on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart. In 1966 he signed with the Stax record label. Produced by Al Jackson, Jr., King with Booker T. & the MG's recorded dozens of influential sides, such as Crosscut Saw and As The Years Go Passing By, and in 1967 Stax released the album, Born Under a Bad Sign. The title track of that album (written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell) became King's best known songs and has been covered by many other artists.
Another landmark album followed in Live Wire/Blues Power from one of many dates King played at promoter Bill Graham's Fillmore venues. It had a wide and long-term influence on Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Robbie Robertson, and later Gary Moore and Stevie Ray Vaughan (Criminal World, on David Bowie's 1983 release Let's Dance, features a guitar solo copied note-for-note from his hero Albert King by young session musician Stevie Ray Vaughan).
In the 1970s, King was teamed with members of The Bar-Kays and The Movement (Isaac Hayes's backing group), including bassist James Alexander and drummer Willie Hall adding strong funk elements to his music. Adding strings and multiple rhythm guitarists, producers Allen Jones and Henry Bush created a wall of sound that contrasted the sparse, punchy records King made with Booker T. & the MG's. Among these was another of King's signature tunes with I'll Play the Blues For You in 1972.
Recorded in December 1983, In Session captures an in-concert jam between Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan
As he hit his mid-sixties King began to muse about retirement, not unreasonable given that he had health problems. Nevertheless, when near to death, he was planning yet another overseas tour.
King died on December 21, 1992 from a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee.
Answer To The Laundromat Blues
Albert King Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And dedicated to all of the women
From all of the men
You see you women have a good thing goin'
But we hip to ya now
You take two or three pieces
An' take ya eight hours to wash 'em
No good!
We gonna buy ya washers and dryers
And we're gonna put ya at home in the basement
And we gonna kick the door down that goes to the basement
While we can hear the washer when it stop
And baby, baby, baby, when that washer stop
You better be though
Or you better have a darn good explanation!
Don't you go get whupped all on the toenails
We're gonna raise your eye lashes and whup ya some
And if ya run fast enough
We're gonna whup ya on the bottom of the feet
Ain't that right men?
Speak up for yourself! (yeah, yeah)
There will be no more goin' to the laundromat
Puttin' your clothes in there
And gettin' your girlfriend keep her eye on it
While you step out the back door
You better take my advise
You might need it on your vacation this summer
I'd hate to see ya come up with a leg screwed off
Or a eye punched out
Yeah!
Whoa! yeah, yeah!
I know you don't know it babe (yeah, yeah, yeah)
But things look bad for you
Hey, I know you don't know it babe
But I'm gonna keep a close eye on you
Well, every time you go to the laundromat, baby
I want you to know, I want you to know
That I'll be there too!
In Albert King's "Answer To The Laundromat Blues," the singer dedicates this particular song to all of the women from all of the men. He acknowledges the fact that women have a good thing going with the laundromat, but the men are now hip to it. The men decide that they are going to buy the women washers and dryers and put them in the basement. They are confident that women will take less time to wash their clothes at home rather than at the laundromat. They want to hear the washer when it stops to make sure that the women are following through with their duties. If the washer stops, and the women are not finished, they better have a good explanation. The men in the song emphasize that there will be no more going to the laundromat and putting clothes in while their girlfriends keep an eye on it. They want to keep track of every load the women wash and dry. The singer warns the women that they better take his advice, or they might end up with a leg screwed off or an eye punched out. He finishes the song by saying that every time the women go to the laundromat, he will be there too. He wants to give a personal hand to button up their blouses and watch over them.
The lines in this song indicate that women had to spend a lot of time at the laundromat, and it was not convenient for them. However, men are portrayed as being rough and not giving women a chance to do anything quickly. The men want to monitor the women's household duties and intrude on their personal space. The lyrics portray a negative relationship between men and women, where men don't trust women and don't give them the freedom to make choices. The lyrics of the song seem to emulate the sexist and unfair behaviors that were prevalent during the time when this song was released.
Line by Line Meaning
This number's bein' especially played
This song is being played specifically for this message
And dedicated to all of the women
The song is dedicated to all women
From all of the men
The song is from all men
You see you women have a good thing goin'
Women have a good thing going on
But we hip to ya now
But we know what you're up to now
You take two or three pieces
You take a small amount of clothing
And go down to the laundromat
And go to the laundromat
An' take ya eight hours to wash 'em
And it takes you eight hours to wash them
No good!
That's not good enough
We gonna buy ya washers and dryers
We are going to buy you washers and dryers
And we're gonna put ya at home in the basement
And we will put them in your home basement
And we gonna kick the door down that goes to the basement
We'll kick the door down if you don't use them
While we can hear the washer when it stop
So we can hear it stop
And baby, baby, baby, when that washer stop
And when that washer stops
You better be though
You better be done
Or you better have a darn good explanation!
Or you better have a good reason why it's taking so long
Don't you go get whupped all on the toenails
Don't get beaten up
We're gonna raise your eye lashes and whup ya some
We'll beat you up badly
And if ya run fast enough
And if you run fast enough
We're gonna whup ya on the bottom of the feet
We'll beat you on the bottom of your feet
Ain't that right men?
Don't you agree men?
Speak up for yourself! (yeah, yeah)
Speak up if you agree
There will be no more goin' to the laundromat
There will be no more going to the laundromat
Puttin' your clothes in there
Putting your clothes in there
And gettin' your girlfriend keep her eye on it
And having your girlfriend watch it
While you step out the back door
While you sneak out the back door
You better take my advise
You should take my advice
You might need it on your vacation this summer
You might need it on your summer vacation
I'd hate to see ya come up with a leg screwed off
I wouldn't want you to get hurt
Or a eye punched out
Or lose an eye
Yeah!
Yeah!
Whoa! yeah, yeah!
Yeah!
I know you don't know it babe (yeah, yeah, yeah)
You don't realize it
But things look bad for you
Things aren't looking good for you
Hey, I know you don't know it babe
Hey, I know you don't realize it
But I'm gonna keep a close eye on you
But I'm going to watch you closely
Well, every time you go to the laundromat, baby
Every time you go to the laundromat
I want you to know, I want you to know
I want you to be aware
That I'll be there too!
That I'll be there watching you as well
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALBERT KING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mimmoleonardi8643
Albert King, king of blues 👌🌋🌹
@stephancoleman-prest2224
i learned how to play the blues listening to Albert king , howlin wolf ,muddy waters glad this style is alive and well thanx partially to stax for the recordings and you tube for making them available to listen or play too !
@JGLB2012
I play guitar. although the "playful" misogyny on this tune bothers me a bit, the guitar is just overwhelmingly awesome.
@JGLB2012
COME ON LUCY!
@IJR911
Yea……….Wooooo! The blues licks after “Yea” and “Woooo” are THE basis for blues licks forever. Just simply the greatest. Like Chuck Berrys the Father of Rock and Roll, well, Albert Kings the Father of the blues lick.
@charlesdavenport6094
Albert's the best; but BB King, Freddie King, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, T-Bone Walker, and more all brought the blues into the mainstream. Mainly BB and Muddy
@toughandgritty
Jimmy Reed had as much action on the pop charts as BB, but that fact has gotten lost somehow...
@jimhoover4060
And SRV helped revive
@the_wonderland194
Personally I feel Muddy Waters is overrated. Just my opinion 🤷