Chris Thomas King (born Durwood Christopher Thomas, October 14, 1962) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

musician and actor based in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

History

King was born in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, United States. He is the son of blues musician Tabby Thomas. His early recordings were released under the name Chris Thomas. He has won awards including "Album of the Year" for both

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

and Country Music Awards. King has sold more than 10 million records in the United States. He is featured playing the part of Tommy Johnson in the

Coen brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...

' 2000 film ''

O Brother, Where Art Thou? ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' is a 2000 satirical comedy-drama musical film written, produced, co-edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson, with Charles Durning, Michael Bad ...

''. He is also featured in ''Down from the Mountain'' and ''More Music from Ray'' soundtracks. In June 2021, King's book “The Blues: The Authentic Narrative of My Music And Culture” was published by Chicago Review Press. The book posits that the Blues and related genres derive from the urban and urbane Creole culture of New Orleans. He further argues that the received narrative of blues’ genesis in the Mississippi Delta is both incorrect and that the narrative derives from erasure of New Orleans Creole accomplishments.

Artistic career

King is a pioneer of rap/blues fusion. He conceived the first sample-based blues

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

in the early 1990s by

writing Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

and producing the first all-rap/blues album for

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

titled ''21st Century Blues… from da Hood.'' As an entrepreneur King took control of his

master recording Master recordings, or simply masters, are the original recordings—including post-recording mixes and production edits—of audio performances, from which all analog and digital copies of the audio are derived from. The term refers only to the r ...

s in the early 1990s, forming 21st Century Blues Records. He also established a publishing company, Young Blues Rebel, LLC. 21st Century Records signed the New Orleans Ninth Ward rap/blues duo the 21C-B-Boyz and the London, England-based NuBlues, to 21st Century Blues Records in 2003. King's acting career includes prominent roles in several films, including two music-related films. In the Oscar-winning film '' Ray'' he plays band leader and blues guitar player

Lowell Fulson Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921March 7, 1999) was an American blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. He also recorded for contractual reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, he was the most i ...

. During production he collaborated with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

in scoring the film. In ''

'', he portrays a skilled

guitarist who claims he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his skill on guitar. The character is based on blues musicians Tommy Johnson and

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

, both of whom have been linked to selling their soul to the devil at a rural Mississippi crossroads. King also accompanies the film's band the Soggy Bottom Boys on guitar; his rendition of

Skip James Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "Coupling an oddball guitar tuning set against eerie, falsetto vocals, James' early recordings ...

's ''Hard Time Killing Floor Blues'' was recorded live during filming and included on the film's Grammy Award-winning soundtrack. King also starred in the

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...

art house An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

film '' The Soul of a Man,'' as

Blind Willie Johnson Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945), commonly known as Blind Willie Johnson, was an American gospel blues singer and guitarist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930, thirty songs in all, display a combinat ...

and ''

Kill Switch A kill switch, also known more formally as an emergency brake, emergency stop (E-stop), emergency off (EMO), or emergency power off (EPO), is a safety mechanism used to shut off machinery in an emergency, when it cannot be shut down in the usu ...

'' as Detective Storm with

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal ( ; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and musician. A 7th-Dan (rank), dan Black belt (martial arts), black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instru ...

Filmography

*''

'' (2000), as Tommy Johnson *'' The Soul of a Man'' (2003), as

*'' Ray'' (2004), as

*''

'' (2008) as detective Storm Anderson *'' Imagination Movers'' (2010) as T-Bone Crosby *'' Treme'' (2011) HBO series. *''

Quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

'' (2016) as Blues Musician

Documentary appearances

*''Last of the Mississippi Jukes'' (2003) *'' Lightning in a Bottle'' (2004) *'' The Soul of a Man'' (2003) *''22nd Annual W.C. Handy Blues Awards'' (2001) *''

Down from the Mountain ''Down from the Mountain'' is a 2000 documentary and concert film featuring a live performance by country and traditional music artists who participated in the Grammy-winning soundtrack recording for the Joel and Ethan Coen film, '' O Brother, ...

'' (2000) *''Inside Look: Down from the Mountain'' (2000)

Discography

*''Blue Beat'' (1984) as Chris Thomas *''The Beginning'' (1986) as Chris Thomas *'' Cry of the Prophets'' (1990) as Chris Thomas *''Help Us, Somebody'' single (1993) as Chris Thomas (also on ''Just Say Da'' compilation) *'' Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson'' (1990) *''Simple'' (1993) as Chris Thomas *''21st Century Blues... from da Hood'' (1994) as Chris Thomas *''Chris Thomas King'' (1997) *''

Red Mud Red mud, now more frequently termed bauxite residue, is an industrial waste generated during the processing of bauxite into alumina using the Bayer process. It is composed of various oxide compounds, including the iron oxides which give its red ...

'' (1998) *''Whole Lotta Blues: The Songs of Led Zeppelin'' (1999) *''Me, My Guitar and the Blues'' (2000) *''

'' soundtrack (2000) *''Down from the Mountain'' (2001) *''The Legend of Tommy Johnson, Act 1: Genesis 1900s-1990s'' (2001) *''It's a Cold Ass World: The Beginning'' (2001) *''Dirty South Hip-Hop Blues'' (2002) *''A Young Man's Blues'' (2002) *''The Roots'' (2003) *''Along the Blues Highway'' (2003) with Blind Mississippi Morris * '' Johnny's Blues: A Tribute to Johnny Cash'' (2003) *''Why My Guitar Screams & Moans'' (2004) *''Ray'' soundtrack (2004) *''Rise'' (2006)As described by King's own record label, 21st Century Blues Records, "New Orleans musician Chris Thomas King lost both a home and a recording studio when

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

had landfall at the close of summer in 2005, and it's hardly startling that his album ''Rise'' takes Katrina and the devastating aftermath of the storm as a central theme.
Description of ''Rise''
; www.indiekazoo.com. *''Live on Beale Street'' (2008) *''Antebellum Postcards'' (2011) *''Bona Fide'' (2012) *''Hotel Voodoo'' (2017) *''ANGOLA'' (2020)

References

External links

Chris Thomas King's website
*
Information and video
Chris Thomas King speaks in an interview on the business pitfalls of music and how to avoid them.
Listen or watch Woodsongs archived show 404
Chris Thomas King on his tragic experience with hurricane Katrina by performance and in interviews with Michael Johnathon before a live audience on July 17, 2006; video is 87 minutes.
Artist Connection Podcast interview with Chris Thomas King
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Chris Thomas 1962 births McKinley Senior High School alumni American male actors American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Black Top Records artists Grammy Award winners Living people Musicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Progressive soul musicians American slide guitarists Singers from Louisiana Private Music artists Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American guitarists Scotti Brothers Records artists African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers