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Ricky King music biography continued...

many bands as a youth and went onto record with the "Hit Kids" and work as a studio musician for German pop artists such as Paola, Roberto Blanco and Costa Cordalis. His breakthrough solo hit came in 1976, with the tune "Verde" reaching the German Top 10. Hans' record label wanted a fitting international name for Hans and after due consideration came up with Cliff King, and his first album became Cliff King Plays Fantastic Guitar Hits. The album had a good start in the shops but hit two problems: German copyright control found out that the name Cliff King had been registered by someone else earlier so Cliff King became Ricky King. Under his new name, King's first album included two self-written songs Jumbo Walk and Go-Kart, and a well balanced mix of well-known old guitar-hits like "Geisterreiter" (Ghostrider), "Maria Elena" (performed on Spanish acoustic guitar), "Hava Nagila," "Sleepwalk" and, of course "Verde." Mixing the contemporary with guitar classics, King would go onto record a string of albums that were hugely successful in Germany and eventually throughout Europe. In 1983 he fulfilled one of his long lasting dreams and recorded an album with the material that first electrified him - rock and roll. This album, Ricky King's Rock and Roll Party, featured his versions of oldies like Shake Rattle and Roll, Johnny B. Good, and Donna, and introduced him to American audiences for the first time. Throughout the 80s and 90s, he experimented with guitar instrumentals in a variety of song styles, ranging from the trendy to the romantic. In 2000, The Ricky King Story was published in New Gandy Dancer - The magazine for rock instrumental music. It was the ultimate tribute to a man who has and continues to take instrumental guitar to new levels of artistry.