Eddie King

Life and career King was born Edward Lewis Davis Milton in Talladega, Alabama. His parents were both musical: his father played the guitar, and his mother was a gospel singer. King learned basic guitar riffs from watching from outside the window of local blues clubs. He was inspired by the playing of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Walter.

He relocated to Chicago in 1954, and his diminutive stature and the influence of B.B. King led to his being referred to as Little Eddie King. Given a break by Little Mack Simmons, He then played guitar backing Koko Taylor, a role he undertook for two decades. He formed Eddie King & the Kingsmen in 1969. King moved to Peoria, Illinois, in the early 1980s. After the early 1990s, his backing ensemble was known as the Swamp Bees, and his music incorporated Chicago blues, country blues, blues shouter, and soul music. In October 2012, the Killer Blues Headstone Project, a nonprofit organization, placed a headstone on his previously unmarked grave at the Lutheran Cemetery in Peoria.

Discography

With Sonny Boy Williamson The Real Folk Blues (Chess, 1947–64 )