OffBeat Magazine is celebrating 30 years and reached that milestone with our November 2017 issue. To mark the anniversary, OffBeat will re-publish excerpts from features and interviews from the past 30 years. In our second installment, Jeff Hannusch interviews songwriter Earl King.

For four decades, Earl King (born Earl Silas Johnson, February 6, 1934) has been the reigning monarch of New Orleans rhythm and blues. King’s career is linked with those of Guitar Slim, Fats...