Ben King (born 22 July 1984) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

guitarist, who joined

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

band

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...

in October 2005. He has gained popularity as a musician owing to his extensive technical ability of the guitar coupled with his young age upon entry to the Yardbirds at only 21 years old.

Development

Born to a musical family (his father having also been a professional guitarist) in 1984, King spent the majority of his life devoted to the guitar, growing up listening to the vast range of music provided by his parents. King developed an astute understanding of the guitar at a very early stage, garnering both a technical and philosophical approach alongside a head-down work ethic. Having spent time in various bands and gaining local notoriety for his talent, he moved to Guildford, Surrey where he enrolled at the Academy of Contemporary Music. King received a good amount of attention from the faculty with his talents, and gained the interest of ex-

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

guitarist

Pete Friesen Pete Friesen (born Peter Menno Friesen; 19 November 1965) is a Canadian guitarist who has recorded with such acts as Alice Cooper, The Almighty and Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson. Biography Pete Friesen was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchew ...

and Yardbirds bass guitarist

John Idan John Idan is an American guitarist and vocalist from Detroit, best known for his work with the Yardbirds, the McCarty Band, and his own bands, the John Idan Group and the Top Topham – John Idan Band. Career John Idan, who is originally fr ...

. Having completed his vocational studies, King was offered an audition by Idan, founding Yardbirds members

Jim McCarty James Stanley McCarty (born 25 July 1943) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Yardbirds and Renaissance. Following Chris Dreja's departure from the Yardbirds in 2013, McCarty became the only member of the band to featu ...

and

Chris Dreja Christopher Walenty Dreja (born 11 November 1945 in Surbiton, Surrey) is an English musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and bassist for rock band the Yardbirds for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. E ...

. Speaking of Idan's interest in King, McCarty commented: King was offered a role within The Yardbirds and replaced

Jerry Donahue Jerry Donahue (born September 24, 1946, Manhattan, New York City) is an American guitarist and producer primarily known for his work in the British folk rock scene as a member of Fotheringay and Fairport Convention as well as being a member of t ...

as lead guitarist in October 2005. The band booked a run of shows across England in that year before beginning to tour internationally in countries such as

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

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, Sweden,

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, Japan and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. King features on The Yardbirds' 2007 live release '' Live at B.B. King Blues Club'' (

Favored Nations Favored Nations Entertainment is a record label founded in 1999 by guitarist Steve Vai and Ray Scherr, former owner of Guitar Center. The first album released by the label was ''Coming to Your Senses'' by guitarist Frank Gambale in 2000. Soon af ...

). A clip of the song " I'm A Man", from this album was used by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

on the first episode of season 19 of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

''. He also performs on, co-produced, mixed, and art directed the band's 2014 live album and DVD ''

Making Tracks ''Making Tracks'' is an Asian American musical theater production by Second Generation, a New York-based theater company, with music by Woody Pak, lyrics by Brian Yorkey, and concept and book by Welly Yang. ''Making Tracks'' tells the story of ...

''.

References

External links

Ben King's Official Site

The Yardbirds Official Site

The Yardbirds US Fansite

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Ben 1984 births English rock guitarists Lead guitarists The Yardbirds members Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Musicians from London People from Guildford