Ben King (guitarist)

For other people named Ben King, see Ben King (disambiguation).

Ben King
King playing alongside Chris Dreja in Basingstoke, England in September 2008
Background information
Born	(1984-07-07) 7 July 1984
Genres	Blues rock, hard rock, psychedelic rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Guitar
Associated acts	The Yardbirds (2005-2014)
Website	Ben King's Official Site The Yardbirds Official Site

Ben King (born 7 July 1984) is a British guitarist, who joined English band The Yardbirds in October 2005. He has gained popularity ^[1]^[2] as a musician owing to his extensive technical ability of the guitar coupled with his young age upon entry to the Yardbirds at only 21 years old.

Development

King playing alongside Chris Dreja in Basingstoke, 2008 (Marc Lacaze)

Born to a musical family (his father having also been a professional guitarist) in 1984, King spent the majority of his life devoted to the guitar, growing up listening to the vast range of music provided by his parents. King developed an astute understanding of the guitar at a very early stage, garnering both a technical and philosophical approach alongside a head-down work ethic.

Having spent time in various bands and gaining local notoriety for his talent, he moved to Guildford, Surrey where he enrolled at the Academy of Contemporary Music.^[3] King received a good amount of attention from the faculty with his talents, and gained the interest of ex-Alice Cooper guitarist Pete Friesen and Yardbirds bass guitarist John Idan.

Having completed his vocational studies, King was offered an audition by Idan, founding Yardbirds members Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja. Speaking of Idan's interest in King, McCarty commented:

Idan met Ben and [he] happened to be best guitar[ist] there. John recommended him. He was great. We were looking for someone who could create some of the sounds we were used to.
— Jim McCarty, 2006^[4]

King was offered a role within The Yardbirds and replaced Jerry Donahue as lead guitarist in October 2005.^[5] The band booked a run of shows across England in that year before beginning to tour internationally in countries such as Germany, France, Sweden, Canada and the United States.

King features on The Yardbirds' recent live release Live At B.B. King's Blues Club (2007; Favored Nations).^[6] A clip of the song "I'm A Man", from this album was used by 20th Century Fox on the first episode of season 19 of The Simpsons.^[7]

References

↑ "About.com's Dave's Classic Rock Blog article". Retrieved 2008-01-18.
↑ "Praise following the release of Live at B.B. King's Blues Club: Amazon.com". Retrieved 2008-01-18.
↑ "ACM - Students in to Industry". Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
↑ Guidry, Nate (2006-07-20). "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - 'Pittsburgh Blues Festival Preview: Yardbirds fly with yet another gifted guitarist'". Retrieved 2008-01-18.
↑ "Theyarbirds.com announces King's arrival".
↑ "Live At B.B. King's Blues Club on Favored Nations". Retrieved 2008-01-18.
↑ "Favored Nations MySpace page confirms The Yardbirds' 'I Am A Man' to appear on The Simpsons". Retrieved 2008-01-18.

External links

The Yardbirds

Original members (1963–68) Keith Relf Jim McCarty Chris Dreja Paul Samwell-Smith Top Topham Eric Clapton Jeff Beck Jimmy Page Later members (since 1992) John Idan Gypie Mayo Alan Glen Jerry Donahue Ben King

Albums	For Your Love Having a Rave Up with The Yardbirds Yardbirds/Over Under Sideways Down/Roger the Engineer Little Games Birdland

Live albums	Five Live Yardbirds Sonny Boy Williamson and The Yardbirds Live Yardbirds! Featuring Jimmy Page BBC Sessions Live! Blueswailing July '64 Live at B.B. King Blues Club

Compilations	The Yardbirds Greatest Hits Shapes of Things Cumular Limit Ultimate!

Bootlegs	Golden Eggs More Golden Eggs

Singles	"I Wish You Would" "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" "For Your Love" "Heart Full of Soul" "Evil Hearted You" "I'm a Man" "Shapes of Things" "Boom Boom" "Over Under Sideways Down" "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" "Ten Little Indians"

Other songs	"Let It Rock" "Who Do You Love" "Talkin' 'Bout You" "You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover" "Too Much Monkey Business" "Smokestack Lightning" "Five Long Years" "The Sky Is Crying" "My Girl Sloopy" "Train Kept A-Rollin'" "Spoonful" "The Stumble" "Dust My Blues" "White Summer" "Stealing Stealing" "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" "Dazed and Confused" "Knowing That I'm Losing You" "I'm Waiting for the Man"

Related articles	Discography Members Giorgio Gomelsky Simon Napier-Bell Mickie Most Peter Grant Cream The Jeff Beck Group Led Zeppelin Renaissance Box of Frogs ARMS Charity Concert Immediate All-Stars

Media

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