King Curtis was the last of the great R&B tenor sax
giants. He came to prominence in the mid-'50s as a session musician in
New York, recording, at one time or another, for most East Coast R&B
labels. A long association with Atlantic/Atco began in 1958, especially
on recordings by the
Coasters. He recorded singles for many small labels in the '50s —
his own Atco sessions (1958-1959), then Prestige/New Jazz and Prestige/TruSound
for jazz and R&B albums (1960-1961). Curtis also had a number one
R&B single with "Soul Twist" on Enjoy Records (1962). He
was signed by Capitol (1963-1964), where he cut mostly singles,
including "Soul Serenade." Returning to Atlantic in 1965, he
remained there for the rest of his life. He had solid R&B single
success with "Memphis Soul Stew" and "Ode to Billie
Joe" (1967). Beginning in 1967, Curtis started to take a more
active studio role at Atlantic, leading and contracting sessions for
other artists, producing with Jerry
Wexler, and later on his own. He also became the leader of Aretha
Franklin's backing unit, the
Kingpins. He compiled several albums of singles during this period.
All aspects of his career were in full swing at the time he was murdered
in 1971