Earl King

This article is about the R&B musician. For the union member unjustly convicted of murder, see Earl King, Ernest Ramsay, and Frank Conner. For the poem by Goethe, see Erlkönig.

Earl King
King at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1997
King at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1997
Background information
Birth nameEarl Silas Johnson IV
Born(1934-02-07)February 7, 1934
OriginNew Orleans, Louisiana, United States
DiedApril 17, 2003(2003-04-17) (aged 69)
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active1953–2001
Labels

Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),[1][2] known as Earl King, was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter, most active in blues music. A composer of blues standards such as "Come On" (covered by Jimi Hendrix, Freddie King, Stevie Ray Vaughan) and "Big Chief" (recorded by Professor Longhair), he was an important figure in New Orleans R&B.[3]

  1. ^ Bill Dahl. "Earl King | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  2. ^ [1] Archived January 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 162. ISBN 1-904041-96-5.