Eric Gales has announced a new album paying tribute to his brother, the late blues guitar maverick Little Jimmy King – and its first single finds Gales trading licks with the great Buddy Guy and Florida “sacred steel” phenom Roosevelt Collier.
Produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith, both of whom play on the record, Tribute to LJK is an album that Gales admits has been a long time coming.
“I wanted it to be the ultimate tribute to my late brother, Little Jimmy King, to keep his memory alive and make sure people remember who he was and still is,” he says.
All of the tracks bar one were written by Little Jimmy King, aka Manuel Gales, who died in 2002, aged 37. Those who caught LJK live will see a lot of him in his younger brother’s playing.
He, too, was a southpaw player who played the guitar upside down, giving him a radical, unorthodox style. Manuel was born on December 4, 1964, along with his twin brother Danuel. Both were not long walking on two feet before they were presented with a guitar. When little Eric Gales came along, they encouraged him to play.
If you are wondering how Manuel Gales came to be known as Little Jimmy King, that’s all to do with left-handed guitar heroes. Manuel put his portmanteau together to honor two of his favorite players, Jimi Hendrix and Albert King.
Manuel played in King’s backing band. He played with his share of blues royalty. For his 1994 studio album, Something Inside of Me, Little Jimmy King could call upon SRV’s Double Trouble duo, bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton, as his rhythm section.
That Gales’ new album’s lead single, Somebody, should feature Buddy Guy feels appropriate. Little Jimmy King and Guy shared the stage together back in the day. The idea for the collaboration came from Gales’ wife, LaDonna.
“He knew my brother, and they played together, so I think it was easy for him to agree to do this song – and the rest is history,” says Gales. “Me and Buddy actually did our parts at separate times, but you wouldn’t know it: it seems like we’re in the same room at the same time. And that was the intention, to bridge the gap between semi-old and middle-aged, if you will.”
Gales is right. They do sound like they are in the room together, all call and response, their vocal lines almost overlapping as though it was mixed like was a Bob Altman film, with Roosevelt Collier’s steel guitar part putting a great overdriven glissando bow on the jam. And, of course, there’s some ripping leads from Gales.
“That’s an anthological sort of tune, in how it starts off acoustically, blows up big, then comes back down again,” he says.
If you’ve got the “semi-old” in Buddy Guy, the “middle-aged” Eric Gales, you need a young buck to keep this generational thread going. Enter, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, with the Clarksdale, Mississippi blues prodigy sitting in on a cover of Rockin’ Horse Ride.
“I foresaw a great record,” says Gales, “but I didn’t foresee it turning out as amazing as this. My brother is there throughout this whole record – and I can’t wait for it to start turning people’s heads.”
The album was recorded at Curb Studios, Nashville and features and introduction from Danuel Gales.
Tribute to LJK is available to preorder, out digitally on August 29 with vinyl/CD following soon after.
