For although Albert King is now recognised as one of the greatest blues guitarists of all time, he spent the vast majority of his career playing in clubs and smaller venues. As a result, he sometimes had to rely on what was available to him. Aside from the Fender Dual Showman, these are not amps that are associated with beautiful blues tones. This is because they are solid state, and not tube amplifiers. Albert Upside Down is the fourth book in the series, and features the adventurous tortoise escaping from his garden home but becoming entangled in some balloons.

Few would have suspected that the Flying V was capable of such subtlety before King got his hands on one. His reversed strings meant King had to pull down rather than push up to bend the high E and B strings, and this enabled his immense control.

The event, taking place on February 13 from 2pm, will see children enjoy a story time session and have the chance to meet Albert. When I watch a old video I feel sad for a little bit that he’s gone. Then I smile knowing his music and influence will always be there.. he influenced me . As Albert would say during one of his soulful solos “whooooo” 🙂 Reply Ian Brown is a London-based writer and producer for television and former journalist. His TV credits include The South Bank Show, This Is Your Life, Top Gear, entertainment shows and documentaries. He has written or produced for the likes of Pierce Brosnan, Harrison Ford, Simon Cowell, George Lucas, Liam Neeson, Martin Scorsese, Jamie Oliver and Homer Simpson among many others. The Albert series are his first book titles for children.

Unlike a lot of the guitarists that I have featured in my ‘ How to sound like‘ series, King’s set up is very unorthodox. He had a remarkably wide perspective on the blues as well, crossbreeding more traditional 12-bar forms with everything from sweet Stax soul to big-band balladry. The argument goes that people with dominant left hands are likely to have more developed right brain hemispheres, and be better at creative tasks. As with everything in neuroscience, the truth is probably that it’s more complicated than that. Still, looking at famous wielders of upside-down guitars, it’s a tempting idea.When the greatest electric guitarist of all time happens to be a lefty, choosing the greatest left-handed guitarist is simple. Have you thought about how Hendrix’s left-handedness influenced his technique, though? His upside-down tremolo arm put him off palm muting, facilitating his combined rhythm and lead style with the strings ringing freely. Ian said: "Albert seems to be taking all this in his stride. He has become a bit of a diva but that might just be his age. We've all been amazed at how his popularity has grown.