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Chris Thomas King | |
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 Chris Thomas King at the Koh Samui Music Festival, 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Durwood Christopher Thomas (1962-10-14)October 14, 1962 (age 63) |
| Origin | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | Musician, singer, actor |
| Instruments | Guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Labels | Black Top Records, 21st Century Blues Records,Scotti Bros. Records |
| Website | ChrisThomasKing.com |
Chris Thomas King (bornDurwood Christopher Thomas,[3] October 14, 1962)[4] is an Americanblues musician and actor based inNew Orleans, Louisiana.
King was born inBaton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. He is the son of blues musicianTabby Thomas.[4] His early recordings were released under the name Chris Thomas. He has won awards including "Album of the Year" for bothGrammy Award andCountry Music Awards. King has sold more than 10 millionrecords in the United States. He is featured playing the part ofTommy Johnson in theCoen brothers' 2000 filmO Brother, Where Art Thou?. He is also featured inDown from the Mountain andMore Music from Ray soundtracks.
In June 2021, King's bookThe Blues: The Authentic Narrative of My Music And Culture was published byChicago 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.[citation needed]
King is a pioneer of rap/blues fusion.[5] He conceived the firstsample-based bluesconcept album in the early 1990s bywriting and producing the first all-rap/blues album forRCA Records titled21st Century Blues… from da Hood.
As an entrepreneur King took control of hismaster recordings 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/bluesduo the21C-B-Boyz and the London, England-basedNuBlues, 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 filmRay he plays band leader and blues guitar playerLowell Fulson. During production he collaborated withRay Charles in scoring the film.[6] InO Brother, Where Art Thou?, he portrays a skilledblues guitarist who claims hesold his soul to the devil in exchange for his skill on guitar. The character is based on blues musiciansTommy Johnson andRobert Johnson, both of whom have been linked to selling their soul to the devil at a rural Mississippi crossroads.[7][8] King also accompanies the film's band the Soggy Bottom Boys on guitar; his rendition ofSkip James'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 theWim Wendersart house filmThe Soul of a Man, asBlind Willie Johnson andKill Switch as Detective Storm withSteven Seagal.
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