King Curtis

At a time when smoky jazz clubs came alive with jumping be-bop and vibrant, free-form R&B, King Curtis was the virtuoso saxophone player who lit up New York and recorded with The Allman Brothers, Andy Williams and Wilson Pickett. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Curtis Ousley started playing at 12 and turned down scholarship offers from a host of music schools to join Lionel Hampton's big band in 1950. He became an acclaimed session musician for Prestige and Capitol Records and famously played on The Coasters' classic Yakety Yak, as well as records by Solomon Burke, Bobby Darin and Buddy Holly's track Reminiscing (for which he was credited as co-writing). His debut solo single Soul Twist topped the R&B charts in 1962 and became his big signature tune, and he had further success with the hits Memphis Soul Stew and Soul Serenade, before signing to Atlantic Records and forming The Kingpins as a backing group for Aretha Franklin. With Franklin he opened for The Beatles at their legendary Shea Stadium gig and he collaborated with Eric Clapton on the struttin' funk jam Teasin'. Sadly, just as he was hitting his prime and recording sessions for John Lennon's Imagine album in 1971, he was stabbed to death after an argument with a pair of drug dealers.