Willie G. Moseley Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Ed King’s last gig You’ve heard Ed King’s guitar work. He’s the musician who did the crisp, kick-off guitar line on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s anthemic “Sweet Home Alabama,” a song that he co-wrote. Moreover, if you were a teenager in the Sixties, you also heard King in 1967. He was the lead guitarist for the Strawberry Alarm Clock, which had a Number One hit called “Incense and Peppermints.” Sporting Indian outfits and love beads in publicity photos, the S.A.C., an L.A.-based aggregation, epitomized the commercialization of so-called psychedelic music beyond the genre’s birthplace in San Francisco. King was in Lynyrd Skynyrd through that band’s first three albums, and returned for several years when the band reunited in the late Eighties. When he left again, health problems were cited. His battle with heart disease was public knowledge, and in 2011, he underwent a successful heart transplant. Retired and living in Nashville, King would occasionally make trips to the Delta area of Mississippi. Although he didn’t consider himself a blues player, he acknowledged and appreciated the birthplace of the blues as an important geographical area of American music history. And the last time Ed went to the Delta, a fellow guitarist who’d been in another notable Sixties rock band traveled with him. Mark Landon had played lead guitar for the Music Machine, a band that had a unique aesthetic—again, it helps to remember it was the Sixties—in that the members wore all black outfits (including black gloves on their right hands) and dyed their hair black…and they were supposed to dress this way not just onstage, but anytime they were out in public. The Music Machine had charted with “Talk Talk” a few months before “Incense and Peppermints” had been released. The two guitarists hooked up a half-century after they’d gotten to know each other during their initial success, traveling to an important site in the heartland of American music in 2017. They were accompanied on their sojourn by Ed’s wife Sharon, Austin guitarist Andrew Cohen, and Delta blues historian Scott Coopwood, who served as their guide. Among the places the musicians visited were Clarksdale’s Delta Blues Museum and the Ground Zero blues club, co-owned by Morgan Freeman. That town is also the home of the “traditional” Crossroads, a legendary intersection of Highways 61 and 49 where bluesman Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul. There’s also a dirt road elsewhere that some blues authorities consider to have been the real Crossroads, and the visitors made a pilgrimage to that site as well, where Landon was photographed kicking a bucket (since this was a “bucket list” trip for him). “Ed may not have used the term ‘bucket list’,” Landon averred, “but I sure did! I’d had a quadruple bypass last year; it kind of sharpened my focus.” Other sites included the B.B. King Museum and gravesite in Indianola, but it was a jam session at the Ground Zero club in Clarksdale that would ultimately become memorable for sorrowful reasons, as it would be the last time Ed King played in a public venue. Landon had played with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue following his stint in the Music Machine, and had gigged at a now-demolished club in Clarksdale. He recalled hearing gunfire on that occasion, noting “I could swear (a bullet) flew right past my left ear; I’ll never know for sure.” Accordingly, the ex-Music Machine guitarist considered the jam session to be a bit of a time warp experience. Moreover, Landon confirmed that King had an evocative-yet-not-necessarily-bluesy guitar style. “I don't think people realize how good a guitarist Ed really was,” he said. “He had terrific technique, and a great ear; he told me he wasn't a blues guitarist and yet I could hear the emotion in his playing. “Ed seemed in fine spirits and in good health considering what he had gone through a just a few years before,” said Landon. “I honestly had no inkling of any serious health issue. We all enjoyed each other's company and had a wonderful time making a lot of great memories and new friends.” Soon after the Delta pilgrimage, King was diagnosed with a malignancy. He passed away in late August of 2018. It’s ironic that the veteran guitarist’s last live collaboration was in an out-of-the-way club that featured the kind of music that he didn’t think he played too well. The occasion was, however, loose, fun and meaningful. Maybe that means the Ground Zero jam was a worthwhile venue for Ed King’s final performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakeboy Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 An excellent article, Willie G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie G. Moseley Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 Landon sent me some images from the sojourn but not surprisingly there's wasn't any room for an example to printed on the op-ed page w/ the commentary. Thought I'd post one from the Ground Zero jam and Landon's kick-the-bucket photo at the dirt/reportedly-authentic Crossroads here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alantig Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 Thanks, Willie. I really enjoyed Ed's segments in the Skynyrd documentary on Showtime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSII x 2 Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Thanks so much for posting! I always thought Ed was the best guitarist in LS. After he left the band, my interest in the band waned considerably... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shankyboy Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 On 1/5/2019 at 8:02 AM, Willie G. Moseley said: Landon sent me some images from the sojourn but not surprisingly there's wasn't any room for an example to printed on the op-ed page w/ the commentary. Thought I'd post one from the Ground Zero jam and Landon's kick-the-bucket photo at the dirt/reportedly-authentic Crossroads here. Now that I see the picture, I just put two and two together. Mark Landon lives here in the Austin area and is a regular at the jams around town. I had heard that he was "somebody" back in the day but had no idea he was really "SOMEBODY". This is cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakeboy Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Very cool. I love the delta! You can just feel the blues everywhere there....In some ways it is like stepping back in time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie G. Moseley Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 RE Landon: He was an award-winning makeup artist in L.A. for decades, and when he retired he moved to Austin. Here's a not-so-large image of the Music Machine that shows off their collective aesthetic. Landon's on the right w/ a Guild thinline single-cut. The bass player with the Eko violin-style instrument is Keith Olson, who went on to become a mega-producer/sound engineer for the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy, the Grateful Dead and many others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARM OF HAMER Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Great article! I understand most if not all of Ed Kings guitar collection that was for sale at Carter's Vintage Guitars has been sold......................the "BIG BURST", Kings "REDEYE" 1959 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst was bought by Jason Isbell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biz Prof Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 I've said it for years...the two best musicians in Skynyrd, by a mile or more, were the interloping third wheels: Ed King and Steve Gaines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortious Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 On 1/7/2019 at 4:34 PM, ARM OF HAMER said: Great article! I understand most if not all of Ed Kings guitar collection that was for sale at Carter's Vintage Guitars has been sold......................the "BIG BURST", Kings "REDEYE" 1959 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst was bought by Jason Isbell. There's still some left. Buy! Buy! Buy!! https://cartervintage.com/collections/ed-king-collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Haynie Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Yikes! $450,000 for the Sweet Home Alabama Strat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Steve Haynie said: Yikes! $450,000 for the Sweet Home Alabama Strat! Dang. What does that break down to? $1k per note? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Haynie Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 $150,000 per chord! (We will ignore the sparsely placed F chord.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizanski Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 17 hours ago, Tortious said: There's still some left. Buy! Buy! Buy!! https://cartervintage.com/collections/ed-king-collection There are several Left Nut guitars in that collection. I wonder what the '59 'Burst went for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Yep. Ol’ Ed had great taste in gear. Dig the 10w Marshall Popular combo. WTF is the story on that little gem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARM OF HAMER Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 5 hours ago, kizanski said: There are several Left Nut guitars in that collection. I wonder what the '59 'Burst went for. They were asking 650K! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Haynie Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Ed King had a Les Paul that was stolen and recovered. Was that the $650K guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARM OF HAMER Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 3 hours ago, Steve Haynie said: Ed King had a Les Paul that was stolen and recovered. Was that the $650K guitar? Yes! It was, Billionaire "BURST" collector DIRK ZIFF had it in his collection......................and it was returned to King after it was proved it was his stolen guitar. Ziff bought it legit..................he did not know it was "HOT" in more ways than one. Don't worry...................Dirk has a few left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizanski Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 9 hours ago, ARM OF HAMER said: Dirk has a few left. Fuck him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomteriffic Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Thought Ed was a goner after this one: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFunk Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Here’s the whole version of that episode that i’m sure many of us have already viewed. Ed can’t even keep a straight face... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Haynie Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 At the end Ed talks about the value of the Redeye Les Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldskoolrulz Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 From what I understand Jason Isbell purchased Redeye, did not hear what he paid for it though. here's a recent video of Jason playing the Sweet Home strat at Carter Vintage here in Nashville... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Haynie Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Those three screw necks were generally looked down upon. If that one had not been used on such an iconic song it would not be so expensive. So, one has to wonder about what someone would pay if the guitar used for that recording was a Japanese guitar made in 1973. The mandolin played by Ray Jackson on Rod Stewart's Maggie May was a Japanese-made "Columbus" acoustic-electric mandolin with a metal adjustable bridge and a flat back. If it ever went up for sale, how much would the asking price be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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