Albert King (1923–1992) was an American blues guitarist and singer who was active from the late 1940s to 1992. During the earlier part of his career, he recorded several singles for smaller record labels. In 1966, he began an association with Stax Records, where he enjoyed his greatest commercial success with both singles and albums. After Stax's bankruptcy in 1975, King recorded for several smaller labels. Meanwhile, his former record companies issued a number of live recordings, compilations, and re-packaged material. This trend accelerated after King's death in 1992, resulting in some charting releases as well as the inevitable redundancies.