King Curtis: Fort Worth’s Soul Sax Legend

Today is the birthday of King Curtis. He would be 93 today.

King Curtis grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, blowing saxophone in local church bands. He moved to New York as a teenager, chasing bigger stages and bigger paychecks. But his Texas honk never left his playing, not for one second. That raw, gritty tone made him the most in-demand session player in R&B. He played the searing sax break on Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” in 1967. Listen closely, and that solo still sounds like pure joy set loose. It bursts out of the speakers like sunlight through a cracked door.

The Sax Solo Everyone Knows and Almost Nobody Names

Curtis backed the Coasters, then he backed Buddy Holly, then he backed the Beatles at Shea Stadium. Because he could adapt to any style instantly, producers called him constantly. His own instrumental hit, “Soul Twist,” topped the R&B charts in 1962. He later led Aretha Franklin’s touring band and arranged her landmark live album “Live at Fillmore West.” That record captured him at his absolute peak. Meanwhile, he mentored young musicians like Cornell Dupree and Jerry Jemmott. Curtis built a sound that shaped soul music’s entire rhythm section, horns included. Every band he touched played tighter afterward.

Tragically, a stranger stabbed him outside his own Manhattan apartment in August 1971. He was only 37 years old, still working, still in demand. Like T-Bone Walker, Curtis carried Fort Worth’s grit into national spotlight. The King Curtis sound still powers oldies radio every single day. Fort Worth rarely gets credit, but it deserves plenty here.