Born Under a Bad Sign is the second compilation album by American blues musician Albert King, released in August 1967 by Stax Records.

Born Under a Bad Sign influenced many guitarists, including Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

[2] In the liner notes for the 2002 reissue of Born Under a Bad Sign, critic Michael Point wrote how King was able to distinguish his guitar play despite only using a few phrases: "His simple but subtle reconfigurations were accomplished through inflections, emphasis, and timing, not via sprinting through scales.

[3] When asked about King's style of play, Jackson said: "Albert's guitar was always out of tune with everything else, but he was such a strong man he would just bend the notes back in!

[5] Arguably the most famous song from Born Under a Bad Sign is the album's title track, which was written by William Bell and Booker T. Jones.

Bell wanted to write a song about astrology and came up with an unconventional ten-bar guitar line (as opposed to eight-bar and twelve-bar blues) during a jam session.

[5][7] Music historian Rob Bowman called "Born Under a Bad Sign" "one of the most smokingly intense blues recordings of the modern era".

[13] Decades after its release, Born Under a Bad Sign's status continues to grow, and it is now considered one of the greatest blues albums ever made.

[15] Leland Rucker echoed McGee's remark in the MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide book, writing "King's Stax debut Born Under a Bad Sign is an undisputed classic.

[6] Journalist Sean McDevitt agreed with this statement, and wrote "Born Under a Bad Sign directly influenced legions of guitar players who studied its every subtlety and nuance".

[2] Among these guitarists are Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, most of whom covered songs from Born Under a Bad Sign.

"[21] Michael Point believes Born Under a Bad Sign was critical to the modernization of blues music, and catapulted King into mainstream popularity.