King was born Edward Lewis Davis Milton in
Talladega, Alabama. His parents were both musical: his father played the guitar, and his mother was a
gospel singer. King learned basic guitar riffs from watching from outside the window of local blues
clubs. He was inspired by the playing of
Muddy Waters,
Howlin' Wolf, and
Little Walter. He relocated to Chicago in 1954, and his diminutive stature and the influence of
B.B. King led to his being referred to as Little Eddie King. Given a break by
Little Mack Simmons, He then played guitar backing
Koko Taylor, a role he undertook for two decades. He formed Eddie King & the Kingsmen in 1969. King moved to
Peoria, Illinois, in the early 1980s. After the early 1990s, his backing ensemble was known as the Swamp Bees, and his music incorporated Chicago blues,
country blues,
blues shouter, and
soul music. In October 2012, the Killer Blues Headstone Project, a nonprofit organization, placed a headstone on his previously unmarked grave at the Lutheran Cemetery in Peoria. ==Discography==