Guy King (born 1977) is an Israeli-born blues and jazz guitarist and singer who now lives in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States. Guy King's playing style has been influenced by many

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musicians which include

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...

, and

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

Early life

King was born and raised in Israel. He was exposed

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

and

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

as a child. At age 7 King played the

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, and at 10 years old, he was part of a conservatory orchestra. When he was 13, he began playing guitar. At 16 he toured the United States with an Israeli singing group. King had to serve three years of compulsory military service in Israel. Just Twelve days after King was discharged from the military in 1999 (age 21), King moved to

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, Tennessee. After a short time in Memphis, King then moved to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

before settling in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Career

Willie Kent and His Gents

King was in Chicago blues singer

Willie Kent Willie Kent (February 24, 1936 – March 2, 2006) was an American Chicago blues singer, bassist and songwriter. Career Kent was born in Inverness, Sunflower County, Mississippi. Although he had played the bass guitar in Chicago's clubs since the ...

's band The Gents for six years, becoming Kent's bandleader. After Kent died, King for a time wanted to play less and declined an offer to lead the band. He subsequently began his solo career.

Solo career

King began his solo career in 2006. In 2009, King released his first solo album, ''Livin' It'', and two more albums, ''I Am Who I Am And It Is What It Is'' and ''By Myself''. In 2015, King signed with

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, Bob Koester released a recordi ...

and Delmark released his 2016 album ''

Truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs ...

''. In 2021 he released the studio album '' Joy Is Coming''.

Style and legacy

King is known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb. The way King holds his guitar and plucks the strings is similar to the jazz musician

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

. His style which has been described as "eclectic".

Musical equipment

Guitars

* 1982

Gibson ES-335 The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, sometimes known as semi-acoustic. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES (Electric Spanish) series in 1958, it is neither fully hollow nor ful ...

TDN * 1982

Amplifiers

* 1966

Fender Pro Reverb The Fender Pro Reverb is a high-end guitar amplifier made by Fender. It was in production from 1965 and was discontinued in 1982. The Pro Reverb is a 40-watt tube amplifier and has a pair of speakers; however, models later than 1976 were increas ...

* Two-Rock amplifier

Discography

* ''Livin' It'' (2008) * ''By Myself'' (2012 * ''I Am Who I Am and It Is What It Is'' (2012) * ''

'' (2016) * '' Joy Is Coming'' (2021)

Personal life

He is married to Sarah Marie Young.

References

External links

Guy King performing Drown in My Own Tears 2014Guy King Band 2016Guy King performing Happiness

King and Sarah Marie Young My Happiness duet 2016Guy King plays at Norman’s Rare Guitars 2017
1978 births Living people American male guitarists Progressive rock guitarists Musicians from Chicago American blues guitarists 20th-century American guitarists American blues singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers Jewish songwriters Blues guitarists Israeli emigrants to the United States {{authority control