Willie King
Willie\u2019s first recording was a local production with Alabama bluesman \u201cBirmingham\u201d George Conner, titled Walkin\u2019 the Walk, Talkin\u2019 the Talk. This CD created an unexpected amount of interest, and promoted reviewer Gordon Baxter to state, \u201cNo label, no catalog number, and definitely no doubt about it, Walkin\u2019 The Walk Talkin\u2019 The Talk will feature in my top 10 albums of 2000.\u201d\n\nI Am the Blues, Willie\u2019s next CD, was a solo project, produced by Willie King in collaboration with the Alabama Blues Project. Again, despite being independently produced and initially only locally distribute, this album gained a lot of critical acclaim. This CD was a \u201cTop 10 Album of 2000\u201d for Niles Frantz, host to Chicago Public Radio\u2019s Comin\u2019 Home program. He described it as \u201cHowlin\u2019 Wolf meets B.B. King in the Alabama backwoods. The real deal . . . brilliant.\u201d\n\nJim O\u2019Neal eventually caught up with Willie King to record Freedom Creek, Willie King\u2019s debut album on Rooster Blues Records. With international distribution, this was King\u2019s powerful introduction into the wider music and blues world. Not only was the album acclaimed by critics worldwide, it also received awards from Living Blues Magazine for Best Male Blues Artist (2001), Best Blues Album (2000) and Best Contemporary Blues Album (2000). \n\n\nhttp://www.willie-king.com/