Alabama Bluesman Willie King, R.I.P.

Award-winning Alabama bluesman Willie King died at his Old Memphis, Alabama home from a massive heart attack on Sunday, March 8, 2009 at the age of 65 years. Although King wasn't very well known by the blues world at large, his influence as both a blues artist and a social activist loom large in the South, particularly in his home state.

King had been playing his unique brand of what he called "struggling blues" for over 30 years at the time of his big league debut, the 2000 Rooster Blues album Freedom Creek. He would release four more albums during the decade, including 2006's One Love, his last recording.

Through the years, King would become as well-known for his work in the community as for his roughhouse juke-joint blues and socially-conscious lyrics. The founder of The Rural Members Association, which provided educational and outreach services to the rural region on the Alabama/Mississippi border, King also worked with local youth through a blues education program.

King launched the Freedom Creek Festival in 1997, a two-day event held on the musician's farm that would come to attract some of the biggest names in the blues to perform. King had already planned the 12th Annual Freedom Creek Festival for late May, with Kenny Neal and the duo of Cedric Burnside and Lightnin' Malcolm confirmed to appear. Details on a King memorial service, and the fate of this year's festival, will be posted on the Willie King website.

The popular bluesman will be missed by his family, fans, and the community that he gave so much of his time and energy to improve.

Related Content: Willie King profile

Photo courtesy Joel Beeson