Chris Thomas King
Chris Thomas King practically grew up in his father’s blues joint, Tabby’s Blues Box and Heritage Hall, in Baton Rouge, La. (King's father, Tabby Thomas, was also a blues musician.) The club was on the wrong side of the tracks, according to King. “[My father’s] cash register was pretty much a cigar box with a .45 revolver sitting next to it,” he said in an interview. “It wasn’t trendy. There wasn’t this Disneyland atmosphere.”
Nevertheless, blues musicians and fans from all over would converge there, and at 12, King began playing professionally. He toured Europe in his teens, and released his first album, The Beginning, in 1986. He solidified his reputation as a top-notch blues man throughout the ’90s when he released several other well-recieved albums including Cry of the Prophets, Red Mud, and Me, My Guitar and the Blues.
In the early oughties, he was tapped to play bluesman Tommy Johnson in Joel and Ethan Coen’s O Brother, Where Art Thou?. When he played a version of Skip James' “Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues” around the campfire with Clooney and crew, it became one of the film’s most poignant scenes. King went on to play blues guitarist Lowell Fulson in the biopic Ray. He also helped score that film, and the soundtrack went on to win a Grammy.
Since then, King has appeared in the HBO series Treme and documentaries such as Signpost to Freedom and Last Mississippi Jukes. He’s also known for blending the blues and hip hop on his albums 21st Century Blues… From Da Hood and Dirty South Hip-Hop Blues. Though his latest album, Bona Fide, is pure electric blues at its best.
How was it, practically growing up in a blues club?
Well, running a blues club was the family business. Whether I wanted to be there on the weekends or not, I didn’t have much choice. But it gave me insight into the real culture and the musical legacy that the blues had, and it gave me access to a lot of the great Louisiana musicians at a very young age.
Was it sort of expected, then, that you’d become a musician?
Oh yeah. No doubt. I was involved in music even as a pre-teen. I was playing professionally at about 11 or 12 years old. But my family didn’t see [being a musician] as a smart career choice, because most jazz and blues musicians don’t make a [good enough] living to take care of family. So it was like yeah, play music but hopefully finish school. But my artistic instincts and my passion for creativity gave me no choice really. I didn’t have a back up plan.
What inspired you to blend hip-hop and the blues on two albums?
That’s what New Orleans is all about. It’s a mixture of a lot of different cultures.
The blues community is known for being a little bit wary of innovation and very faithful to tradition. When you made the hip-hop albums, you were really breaking ground. Did people appreciate it?
In 1994, I made 21st Century Blues from the Hood and that album was innovative for hip-hop and it was innovative for blues. I was playing with live instruments, but also using sampling, which is something you rarely ever see. I think hip-hop still really hasn’t caught up to what I was doing on that record, because they’re still trying to figure out how to interact with live musicians. Now as far as the blues go, it was very controversial in the blues world, because the blues had not accepted digital recording and digital technology. They just weren’t quite ready.
How did you get involved with O Brother, Where Art Thou?
I lived in Copenhagen, Denmark for about three years, and when I returned to America, after a brief stay in L.A., I settled into New Orleans. I was already pretty well known in blues circles. So, basically what happened was I got the script from the casting director, who thought I might be right for a particular role. I read it; did a screen test; had some other meetings; and was cast in the film.
Had you acted before?
Not in a major film, no. For quite a while I had been hoping to get involved with scoring music. I didn’t think I’d be in front of the camera, but I was looking for opportunities to place my music in films, and since O Brother came out, I’ve scored the films that I’ve been involved with since then.
I love Wim Wenders’s films. You worked with him on The Soul of A Man, in which you played blues legend Blind Willie Johnson. What’s he like?
Well, I’ve only worked with one real screamer on a movie set, and that was Taylor Hackford during Ray. He had a short fuse. But Wim Wenders was real laid back. When we had our meeting for his film, I met him at his house. He had a place in the Hollywood Hills, and we sat down and talked about music, talked about the film. He is a musical director himself. One of his big successes was going to Cuba and doing Buena Vista Social Club. That really exposed the world to Cuban music. So I’ve been fortunate to work with people who are good directors, but also passionate about music. I mean the guy who directed Ray, Hackford, had done La Bamba the Rtichie Valens film. And the Coen brothers work closely with T Bone Burnett who is one of the greatest producers in the world today. They are very passionate about music as well, and I think a director who has a great feel for music knows how to use music in his films, whether its in the background or whether its in the forefront.
Would you say you prefer playing music to acting?
It takes a lot of dedication to act. So I don’t think I can be a great actor at this point, and a great musician, because life is just too short. I think I’m a good actor. I think I’m a great musician. I do believe I have the potential to be a phenomenal actor, but I’m not willing to put down my guitar and my songwriting to do it.
Are there any acting jobs you would never take?
I have turned down a lot of acting roles. I don’t think I would accept any amount of money to be a judge on something like The Voice or American Idol. I don’t think there’s a price they could pay me to do that kind of foolishness.
I heard you’re writing a memoir. Is it finished?
I’m finishing it up. I’ve been working on it for about three years. It’s mostly about my family, and growing up in the blues culture here in Louisiana. It’s kind of a family saga, because it talks about several generations of my family, and it talks about how the blues developed. The blues was born in Louisiana. This is where it came from originally before it went upriver. So through my family’s story it also tells the story of how the music has developed over the years from its origins to its influences. And hopefully that book will be out early next year.
What does the blues mean to America?
Well, it’s America’s music. The blues is where America got its rhythm. It’s where America got its musical soul.
