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{{short description|British guitarist (born 1984)}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
{{Other people|Ben King}}
| Name = Ben King
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
| Img =
{{Infobox musical artist
| Img_capt =
| Img_size =
| name = Ben King
| Landscape =
| image = Yardbirds-1785.jpg
| Background = guitarist
| landscape = yes
| caption = King playing alongside Chris Dreja in Basingstoke, England in September 2008
| Birth_name =
| Alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1984|7|22|}}
| Born =
| birth_place = [[Guildford]], [[Surrey]], England
| Died =
| origin = [[London]], England
| Instrument = [[Guitar]]
| occupation = Guitarist
⚫
| past_member_of = [[The Yardbirds]] (2005-2015)
| Voice_type =
| Genre = [[Blues]], [[blues-rock]], [[hard rock]], [[psychedelic rock]]
| Occupation = [[Musician]]
| Years_active =
| Label =
⚫
| Associated_acts = [[The Yardbirds]] (2005-)
| URL = [http://www.theyardbirds.com/ The Yardbirds official website]
| Notable_instruments = [[Ibanez]]; [[Fender Telecaster]]''
}}
}}


'''Ben King''' (born 22 July 1984) is a [[British people|British]] [[guitarist]], who joined [[England|English]] band [[The Yardbirds]] in October 2005. He has gained popularity<ref>{{cite web|url=http://classicrock.about.com/b/2006/06/15/yardbirds-schedule-us-tour.htm|title=About.com's ''Dave's Classic Rock Blog'' article|accessdate=2008-01-18|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609074252/http://classicrock.about.com/b/2006/06/15/yardbirds-schedule-us-tour.htm|archivedate=2011-06-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/review/product/B000PTYQ8S/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending |title=Praise following the release of ''Live at B.B. King's Blues Club'': Amazon.com |website=Amazon |accessdate=2008-01-18}}</ref> <!-- More articles exist and need to be retrieved in order to justify this comment --> 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.
'''Ben King''' is a [[British]]-[[American]] professional [[lead guitarist]] who is currently touring with historic [[England|English]] [[blues]]/[[Rock music|rock]] band [[The Yardbirds]]. He has gained an extent of popularity as a burgeoning musician owing to his extensive knowledge and technical ability of the guitar at such a young age.



==Development==
==Development==
Born of 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.
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, his rural [[England]] hometown would have only hindered his progress toward a career out of his musicianship. He temporarily relocated to [[Guildford]], [[Surrey]] where he enrolled for a vocational course at the [[Academy of Contemporary Music]] (ACM) <ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.acm.ac.uk/school/Industry.asp|title="ACM - Students in to Industry" |accessdate=2008-01-18}}</ref>. King received a good amount of attention from the faculty with his talents and, most importantly, gained the interest of ex-[[Alice Cooper]] guitarist [[Pete Friesen]] and Yardbirds bass guitarist [[John Idan]], who were working at the academy at the time.
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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acm.ac.uk/school/Industry.asp |title=ACM - Students in to Industry |accessdate=2008-01-18 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118032156/http://www.acm.ac.uk/school/industry.asp |archivedate=18 January 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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:


⚫
{{blockquote|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<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06201/707026-42.stm|title=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - 'Pittsburgh Blues Festival Preview: Yardbirds fly with yet another gifted guitarist' |accessdate=2008-01-18 | first=Nate | last=Guidry | date=2006-07-20}}</ref>}}
==Professional Life==
⚫
Having completed his course, King was offered an audition by Idan and founding Yardbirds members [[Jim McCarty]] and [[Chris Dreja]]. Speaking of Idan's interest in King, McCarty commented: {{cquote|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.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06201/707026-42.stm|title="Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - 'Pittsburgh Blues Festival Preview: Yardbirds fly with yet another gifted guitarist'" |accessdate=2008-01-18}}</ref>}}


King was offered a role within The Yardbirds and replaced [[Jerry Donahue]] as lead guitarist in 2005. 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 was offered a role within The Yardbirds and replaced [[Jerry Donahue]] as lead guitarist in October 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theyardbirds.com/press.html|title=The Yardbirds.com - OFFICIAL WEB SITE|website=Theyardbirds.com|accessdate=11 May 2020}}</ref> 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]], [[Japan]] and the [[United States]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}


Ben features on The Yardbirds' recent live release ''Live At B.B. King's Blues Club'' (2007; [[Favored Nations]])<ref> {{cite web|url=http://stores.musictoday.com/store/default.asp?band_id=482&sfid=2|title="Live At B.B. King's Blues Club on Favored Nations" |accessdate=2008-01-18}}</ref>. A clip of the song 'I'm A Man', from the ''Live At B.B. King's Blues Club'' was used on the first episode of season 19 of ''[[The Simpsons]]''.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://us.collect.myspace.cn/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=73722049&blogID=311450422|title="Favored Nations MySpace page confirms The Yardbirds' 'I Am A Man' to appear on The Simpsons" |accessdate=2008-01-18}}</ref>
King features on The Yardbirds' 2007 live release ''[[Live at B.B. King Blues Club]]'' ([[Favored Nations]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stores.musictoday.com/store/default.asp?band_id=482&sfid=2|title=Live At B.B. King's Blues Club on Favored Nations|accessdate=2008-01-18|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014204701/http://stores.musictoday.com/store/default.asp?band_id=482&sfid=2|archivedate=2007-10-14}}</ref> A clip of the song "[[I'm A Man (Bo Diddley song)|I'm A Man]]", from this album was used by [[20th Century Fox]] on the first episode of season 19 of ''[[The Simpsons]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://us.collect.myspace.cn/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=73722049&blogID=311450422|title=Favored Nations MySpace page confirms The Yardbirds' 'I Am A Man' to appear on The Simpsons|accessdate=2008-01-18|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707044844/http://us.collect.myspace.cn/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=73722049&blogID=311450422|archivedate=2011-07-07}}</ref> He also performs on, co-produced, mixed, and art directed the band's 2014 live album and DVD ''[[Making Tracks (album)|Making Tracks]]''.


==References==
{{Reflist}}


== External links ==
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111011194332/http://www.benking.net/ Ben King's Official Site]
* [http://www.theyardbirds.com/ The Yardbirds Official Site]
* [http://www.theyardbirds.com/ The Yardbirds Official Site]
* [http://www.yardbirds.us/ The Yardbirds US Fansite]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180808190424/http://www.yardbirds.us/ The Yardbirds US Fansite]
* [http://www.favorednations.com/artists/yb/yb.html The Yardbirds on Favored Nations]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071024163908/http://www.favorednations.com/artists/yb/yb.html The Yardbirds on Favored Nations]

{{The Yardbirds}}


{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Ben}}
== Notes ==
[[Category:1984 births]]
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:English rock guitarists]]
[[Category:British lead guitarists]]
[[Category:The Yardbirds members]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Musicians from London]]
[[Category:Musicians from Guildford]]

Latest revision as of 03:58, 6 April 2024

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

Ben King
King playing alongside Chris Dreja in Basingstoke, England in September 2008
King playing alongside Chris Dreja in Basingstoke, England in September 2008
Background information
Born (1984-07-22) 22 July 1984 (age 40)
Guildford, Surrey, England
OriginLondon, England
OccupationGuitarist
Formerly ofThe Yardbirds (2005-2015)

Ben King (born 22 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

[edit]

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, Japan and the United States.[citation needed]

King features on The Yardbirds' 2007 live release Live at B.B. King Blues Club (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] He also performs on, co-produced, mixed, and art directed the band's 2014 live album and DVD Making Tracks.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "About.com's Dave's Classic Rock Blog article". Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  2. ^ "Praise following the release of Live at B.B. King's Blues Club: Amazon.com". Amazon. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  3. ^ "ACM - Students in to Industry". Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  4. ^ Guidry, Nate (20 July 2006). "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - 'Pittsburgh Blues Festival Preview: Yardbirds fly with yet another gifted guitarist'". Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  5. ^ "The Yardbirds.com - OFFICIAL WEB SITE". Theyardbirds.com. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Live At B.B. King's Blues Club on Favored Nations". Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  7. ^ "Favored Nations MySpace page confirms The Yardbirds' 'I Am A Man' to appear on The Simpsons". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
[edit]
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