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He was born in Indianola, Mississippi on a cotton plantation
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He began his professional work as a musician with a group called In The Groove Boys in Osceola, Arkansas
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King moved to Chicago where he cut his first single for Parrot Records, but it was only a minor regional success.
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He resumed recording in 1959 with his first minor hit "I'm a 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,[1] reaching number fourteen on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart
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In 1966, he went to Memphis and signed with the Stax record label
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In 1967 Stax released the album, Born Under a Bad Sign. The title track of that album became King's best known song and has been covered by many artists. The success of the album made King nationally known for the first time and began to influence white musicians.
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In 1969, King performed live with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
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In the 1970s, King was teamed with members of The Bar-Kays and The Movement, including bassist James Alexander and drummer Willie Hall adding strong funk elements to his music
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On June 6, 1970, King joined The Doors on stage at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada
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By the late 1980s, King began to muse about retirement, not unreasonable given that he had health problems.
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His final album, Red House, was recorded in 1992 and named for the Jimi Hendrix song that he covered on it
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King died on December 21, 1992 from a heart attack in his Memphis, Tennessee home. His final concert had been in Los Angeles two days earlier.
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