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.
Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven
Albert King Lyrics
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Ah, but nobody wants to cry
I say everybody wants to laugh
But nobody wants to cry
Everybody wants to go to heaven
But nobody wants to die
But yet, everybody wants to tell a lie
I say everybody wants to hear the truth
But still they all want to tell a lie
Oh everybody wants to go to heaven
But nobody wants to die
Everybody want to know the reason
Without even askin' why
Oh, everybody want to know the reason
Oh, without even askin' why
You know everybody want to go to heaven
But nobody wants to die
The song "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven" by Albert King deals with the universal desire for a better life, framed by the ultimate and inevitable event that leads to it - death. The song is introspective and speaks to the human condition of wanting one thing, while being reluctant to face the consequences that come with it.
The first two lines call attention to the paradoxical nature of human emotions. Laughing and crying are both fundamental emotions that people experience, yet there is often a reluctance to embrace the latter. The next two lines, however, suggest that this is only a part of a larger, more universal issue. The desire for a happy afterlife, to enter heaven is a common theme, yet when faced with the event that leads to it - death - there is a natural reluctance.
The second verse addresses the desire for truth, and the accompanying aversion to dealing with the consequences that come with it. People are often intimidated by hearing the truth, preferring instead to hear lies that tell them what they want to hear. In searching for the truth, however, people ultimately come face to face with the same fear of death that they had attempted to avoid.
The song concludes with a repeated chorus that ties together the preceding themes. Everyone wants to go to heaven - this is a universal desire - but the means to get there involves a confrontation with death, one of the few certainties in a world where we are met with conflicting hopes and fears.
Line by Line Meaning
Everybody wants to laugh
Everyone desires joy and happiness in their life.
Ah, but nobody wants to cry
However, nobody wants to experience pain and sorrow.
I say everybody wants to laugh
I reiterate that everyone desires joy and happiness in their life.
But nobody wants to cry
Yet, nobody wants to experience pain and sorrow.
Everybody wants to go to heaven
Everyone desires to attain the ultimate state of happiness and contentment.
But nobody wants to die
However, no one is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice required for it.
Everybody want to hear the truth
Everyone wishes to know the reality and facts of a situation.
But yet, everybody wants to tell a lie
However, contradictory to this, everyone seeks to deceive and manipulate others by hiding the truth.
I say everybody wants to hear the truth
I emphasize that everyone wishes to know the reality and facts of a situation.
But still they all want to tell a lie
Yet, everyone seeks to deceive and manipulate others by hiding the truth.
Oh everybody wants to go to heaven
Oh, everyone desires to attain the ultimate state of happiness and contentment.
But nobody wants to die
However, no one is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice required for it.
Everybody want to know the reason
Everyone desires to understand the motive or cause behind events or situations.
Without even askin' why
However, without making any effort to investigate or seek answers for it.
Oh, everybody want to know the reason
Oh, everyone desires to understand the motive or cause behind events or situations.
Without even askin' why
However, without making any effort to investigate or seek answers for it.
You know everybody want to go to heaven
You are aware that everyone desires to attain the ultimate state of happiness and contentment.
But nobody wants to die
However, no one is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice required for it.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DON NIX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind