Background
Saunders Samuel King was born in Staple, Louisiana, United States. He was the son of a preacher, and sang in his father"s church while growing up in Oakland, California.
Saunders Samuel King was born in Staple, Louisiana, United States. He was the son of a preacher, and sang in his father"s church while growing up in Oakland, California.
As a youngster he learned to play piano, banjo and ukulele, but did not pick up guitar until 1938. At the end of the 1930s he sang with the Southern Harmony Four on National Broadcasting Company radio, and decided to begin playing blues music He released the tune "South.K. Blues" in 1942, which became a major nationwide hit.
The tune featured electric blues guitar, one of the earliest recordings to do southern
The lyrics tell of the singer"s dissatisfaction with his bald-headed girlfriend:
"I did more for my baby than the good lord ever done (2X)"
"I went downtown and bought her some hair and the good lord never gave her none"
This verse proved particularly popular and has come to be considered a traditional blues lyric. The song concludes on a theme of violence toward women:
"Give me back that wig I bought you, and let your head go bald (2X)"
"you keep on mistreatin" me baby, you won"t have no hair, no head at all"
He recorded for Aladdin Records, Modern Records, and Rhythm Records, and retired from active performance in 1961, devoting himself to work in the church.
King was paralyzed by a stroke in 1999, and died the following year in Oakland, California, at age 91.