Freddie King (September 3, 1934 – December 28, 1976) was an influential American blues guitarist and singer, best known for his recordings "Hide Away", "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" and "Going Down". September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 3 days remaining. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Blues music redirects here. ... A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ...

Early life

King was born Frederick Christian in Gilmer, Texas on September 3, 1934. His mother was Ella May King, his father J.T. Christian. His mother and her brother, who both played the guitar, began teaching Freddie to play at the age of six. He liked and imitated the music of Lightnin' Hopkins and saxophonist Louis Jordan. Gilmer is a city located in Upshur County, Texas. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Louis Jordan swinging on sax, Paramount Theatre, NYC, 1946 (Photo: William P. Gottlieb) Louis Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was a pioneering African-American blues, jazz and rhythm & blues musician and songwriter who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. ...

He moved with his family from Texas to the southside of Chicago in 1950. There, at age 16 he used to sneak in to local clubs, where he heard blues music performed by the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James, and Sonny Boy Williamson. Howlin' Wolf took him under his wing, and Freddie also began jamming with Muddy Waters' sidemen, who included Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood Jr. and Little Walter. Nickname: The Windy City, The Second City, Chi Town, The City of Big Shoulders The 312 Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in Chicagoland and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook Incorporated March 4, 1837 Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area... McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1915 or 1913 – April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered the father of Chicago blues. ... Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976), better known as Howlin Wolf or sometimes, The Howlin Wolf, was an influential blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Elmore James album cover Elmore James (January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues singer and guitarist. ... There were 2 popular blues harmonica players that went by the name Sonny Boy Williamson Sonny Boy Williamson I, also known as John Lee Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, born in Jackson, Tennessee, whose first record Good Morning, School Girl was a hit in 1937. ... Edward Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985) was an American blues guitarist and singer. ... Jimmy Rogers (June 3, 1924 - December 19, 1997) is a blues guitarist best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters band of the 1950s. ... Robert Lockwood Jr. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

By 1952 he had married a Texas girl, Jessie Burnett. He gigged at night and worked days in a steel mill. He got occasional work as a sideman on recording sessions. Two bands that he played with during this period were the Sonny Cooper Band, and Early Payton's Blues Cats. He formed the first band of his own, the Every Hour Blues Boys, with guitarist Jimmy Lee Robinson and drummer Sonny Scott.

In 1953 he made some recordings for Parrot. In 1956 he recorded "Country Boy", a duet with Margaret Whitfield, and "That's What You Think", an uptempo blues. This was for a local label, El-Bee. Robert Lockwood Jr. appeared as a sideman on guitar. Robert Lockwood Jr. ...

On Federal Label

In 1959 he met Sonny Thompson, a pianist who worked for the King/Federal label. In 1960, he himself signed with that label; while there he often shared songwriting credits, and participated in marathon recording sessions, with Thompson. On August 26, 1960, he recorded "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" and "Hide Away", which were to become two of his most popular tunes. His debut release for the label was "You've Got To Love Her with Feeling". His second release on King/Federal was "I Love the Woman". "Hide Away" was used as the B-side for this disk; that tune, a 12-bar mid-tempo shuffle in E with an infectious theme in the head section, and a memorable stop-time break that featured some robust-sounding work on the bass strings, was destined to become one of his signiature numbers. It was an adaptation of a tune by Hound Dog Taylor. It was named "Hide Away" after a popular bar in Chicago. Strictly an instrumental -- guitar with rhythm section -- it delighted everyone by crossing over and reaching #29 on the US pop chart. It was later covered by Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Canadian guitarist Jeff Healy, among others. Japanese King Record King Records ) is a Japanese record company, founded in 1931 as a division of the Japanese music publishing house Kodansha. ... Theodore Roosevelt Hound Dog Taylor (April 12, 1915 - December 17, 1975) was an American blues guitarist and singer. ... In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... An example of the famous Clapton is God graffiti craze Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born March 30, 1945), nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award winning English guitarist, singer and composer, who is one of the most respected and influential musicians of the rock era, garnering an unprecedented three inductions into... Stephen (Stevie) Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990), born in Dallas, Texas, was an American blues guitarist, credited with reviving interest in blues in the 1980s. ... Jeff Healey (born March 25, 1966) is a Canadian blues-rock guitarist. ...

After the success of "Hide Away", the label, which was presided over by Syd Nathan, got Freddie and Sonny Thompson to work on making more instrumentals. This they did, producing over 30 of them during the next five years. These would include "The Stumble", "Low Tide," "Wash Out," "Sidetracked", "San-Ho-Zay," "Heads Up," "Onion Rings," and "The Sad Nite Owl". Freddie became popular with a young white audience, in Britain as well as the United States, and his playing was a major influence on the upcoming breed of rock guitarists. He also recorded vocal material including "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" by songwriter Billy Myles. During this period he was touring frequently along with the big R&B acts of the day such as Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, James Brown. His band included his brother Benny Turner on bass; and Tyrone Davis, who would later become known in his own right, was the driver and valet. Syd Nathan (27 April 1904 - 5 March 1968 was an American rhythm and blues record producer. ... The Stumble is an instrumental blues song originally composed by the guitarist Freddie King. ... Steve Howe playing lead guitar for Yes in 1977 A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. ... William Myles Nobles, known as Billy Myles, is an award-winning American R&B songwriter active in the 1950s and 1960s. ... Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... Sam Cooke (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was a popular and influential American gospel, R&B, soul, pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. ... Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Jackie Wilson (June 9, 1934–January 21, 1984) was an American soul and R&B singer born in Detroit, Michigan, where he became active in the music business. ... James Brown (born James Joseph Brown, Jr. ... Tyrone Davis (born May 4, 1938-February 9, 2005) was a soul music singer. ...

On the personal side, Freddie was fond, perhaps overly fond, of the Chicago night life. His official website refers to him "Gambling til dawn in the backroom of Mike's cleaners." His wife, now with six children, decided to move back to Texas. Once there, she called Syd Nathan and demanded that he send her some of the royalty money due to her husband. To his credit, he sent her two thousand dollars, with which she made the down payment on a house. Realising that the family were definitely not coming back to Chicago, Freddie, in the spring of 1963, himself moved back to Texas to rejoin them.

On Atlantic

His contract with King/Federal expired in 1966. That same year, while making a series of appearances on an R&B program called "The!!!Beat", he was noticed by Atlantic Records front man King Curtis, and in 1968 he signed with the Atlantic subsidiary, Cotillion Records. He released two records for them (see Recordings), both of which showcased his vocal talents. They were not overwhelming commercial successes; however, his first overseas tour, in 1967, was a resounding triumph, being extended from one month to three. He was "amazed by his popularity in England."¹ Atlantic Records (Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American record label that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... Curtis Ousley (February 7, 1934– August 13, 1971), who performed under the name King Curtis, was an American tenor, alto, and soprano saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and soul jazz. ... Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. ...

On Shelter Records

In 1969 he hired a young member of the "counter culture", Jack Calmes, to be his manager. Calmes got him booked at the 1969 Texas Pop Festival, alongside Led Zeppelin and others; and got him signed to Leon Russell's new label, Shelter Records. Shelter records was based in Oklahoma, and featured blues/rock performers such as J.J. Cale and Tom Petty. The company treated Freddie as an important artist, flying him to Chicago to the former Chess studios for the recording of his first album, and giving him a supporting cast of top-calibre session musicians -- including Russell, a rock pianist. Three albums made during Shelter period are considered generally as fairly good. They include many covers of blues classics but also some new songs, including "Big Legged Woman" and Don Nix's "Going Down". Most of new material was written by Russell. For the bands 1969 self-titled debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album) Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, and are one of the most successful groups in popular music history. ... Leon Russell A Young Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges on April 2, 1942 in Lawton, Oklahoma) is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist. ... Shelter Records was the record label started by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell. ... J.J. Cale (born December 5, 1938) is an American songwriter and musician, best known for writing two songs that Eric Clapton made famous, After Midnight and Cocaine . He is one of many artists that play the Tulsa Sound. ... Thomas Earl Petty (born October 20, 1950) is a popular American musician, known for his album-oriented, classicist rocknroll. ... The Chess Records logo, as featured on this Memphis Slim single. ... Don Nix was a songwriter, composer, arranger, musician, and author. ...

Last years

As were many of the top bluesmen of his generation, he was now playing what he affectionately called the "Fillmore circuit", playing alongside the big rock acts of the day for a young, mainly white, audience. As a result of his touring with Eric Clapton, the two became good friends -- Clapton held him in very high esteem -- and following his term at Shelter Records, Freddie signed with the label Clapton was recording for, RSO. His first album there, Burglar, was produced by Clapton, and had him playing on several tracks. The album was a disappointment for many fans, since it did not contain much straight blues material. RSO Records was a record label, formed in partnership with Polydor Records by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood in the late 1960s, after the death of his business partner and mentor Brian Epstein. ...

He continued to tour heavily. He died in Dallas in 1976 from a heart attack and complications arising from bleeding ulcers and pancreatitis. He was just 42 years of age. A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque slowly builds up in the inner lining of a coronary artery and then suddenly ruptures, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. ... Endoscopic images of a duodenal ulcer. ... Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. ...

Music

King played with a plastic thumb pick and a metal index-finger pick. He credited Eddie Taylor with having taught him the use of the picks. King's style of wearing his strap on his right shoulder, while being right handed, was unique for the time. Freddie King was one of the premier artists of the West side Chicago blues scene of the 1950s and 1960s, the definitive time location for electric blues. Edward Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985) was an American blues guitarist and singer. ... The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois by adding electrically amplified guitar, drums, piano, bass guitar and sometimes saxophone to the basic guitar/harmonica Delta blues. ...

His instrumental "Hide Away", recorded in 1961, was later covered by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton. It was also covered by Stevie Ray Vaughan. King had a strong influence on blues-rock musicians such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Ronnie Earl, Jerry Garcia, Peter Green, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and John Mayer. Other notable instrumentals include "The Stumble" and "San Ho Zay (Smokin')". An instrumental is, in contrast to a song, a musical composition or piece without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. ... John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers was a pioneering British blues band that included such luminaries as: Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce (both later in Cream), Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood (later all in Fleetwood Mac), Mick Taylor (later in The Rolling Stones), Don Harris, Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor (Canned... An example of the famous Clapton is God graffiti craze Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born March 30, 1945), nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award winning English guitarist, singer and composer, who is one of the most respected and influential musicians of the rock era, garnering an unprecedented three inductions into... Stephen (Stevie) Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990), born in Dallas, Texas, was an American blues guitarist, credited with reviving interest in blues in the 1980s. ... Blues Rock or Blues-rock is a fusion genre of music which combines elements of the blues with rock and roll. ... Stephen (Stevie) Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990), born in Dallas, Texas, was an American blues guitarist, credited with reviving interest in blues in the 1980s. ... An example of the famous Clapton is God graffiti craze Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born March 30, 1945), nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award winning English guitarist, singer and composer, who is one of the most respected and influential musicians of the rock era, garnering an unprecedented three inductions into... Geoffrey Arnold (Jeff) Beck (born June 24, 1944 in Wallington, Greater London, England) is a guitarist who played in several influential bands in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943 in Dartford, Kent) is an English guitarist, songwriter, singer, and founding member of British musical group The Rolling Stones. ... Ronnie Earl (b. ... Jerome John Jerry Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was the lead guitarist and vocalist of the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead. ... Peter Green (born Peter Allen Greenbaum on October 29, 1946 in Bethnal Green, London) is an English blues-rock guitarist and founding member of the band Fleetwood Mac. ... John Mayer may refer to several people: John Mayer, a singer-songwriter John A. Mayer, a psychologist This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Stumble is an instrumental blues song originally composed by the guitarist Freddie King. ...

In 2003 Freddie King was placed 25th in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Rolling Stone is an American magazine devoted to music, politics and popular culture. ...

Final words from the Freddie King website:

Twenty five years after his death. Freddie King's blazing blues continues to influence young muscians and stir the hearts of blues lovers every where. In 1993 by proclamation from the Texas Governor Ann Richards September 3, 1993, was declared Freddie King Day. This is a honor reserved for Lone Star legends such as Bob Wills, and Buddy Holly. Texas will always keep a blues light burning for the Texas Cannon ball Freddie King ...

Dorothy Ann Willis Richards (September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician and teacher from Texas. ... James Robert (Bob) Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American country musician and songwriter. ... Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), better known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and a pioneer of Rock and Roll. ...

Selective discography

• 1953. Several sides for the Parrot label.
• 1956. 45 r.p.m. record for El-Bee. Side A: "Country Boy", side B: "That's What You Think".

King/Federal

• 762- Freddy King Sings (1961)
• 773- Lets Hide Away and Dance Away with Freddy King (1961)
• 777- Freddy King, Lulu Reed & Sonny Thompson, Two Boys and a Girl (1962)
• 821- Bossa Nova and the Blues (1963)
• 856- Freddy King goes Surfin' (overdubbed crowd noise, reissue of LP 773) (1963)
• 928- Bonanza of Insrumentals (1965)
• 931- Freddie King Sings Again (1965)
• 45 rpm. – "Christmas Tears"/"I Hear Jingle Bells"

Cotillion

• Freddie king is a Blues master (1969) SD 9004
• My Feeling for the Blues (1970) SD 9016

Shelter

• Getting Ready (1971) SW8905
• The Texas Cannonball (1972) SW8913
• Woman Across The River (1973) SW8921

RSO

• Burglar (1974) SO4803
• Freddie King Larger Than Life (1975) SO4811

Polydor

• Freddie King 1934-1976 831817-2

Reissues

There are many reissues of Freddie King's work. This site has an extensive discography, with pictures of the covers, and track lists for the albums. Below we list a small sampling of the reissues:

Modern Blues

• 721. Just Pickin'. This is a reissue of the two all-instrumental King/Federal LPs Let's Hide Away and Dance Away, and Freddy King Gives You A Bonanza of Instrumentals. It is highly recommended by reviewer Johnny Harper of the "there" website.
• 722. Freddy King Sings (CD). Reissue of Freddy's first King/Federal album. "Twelve fine tunes including the catchy, hard-groovin', and much-covered 'I'm Tore Down,' and numerous slow blues numbers including 'Have You Ever Loved A Woman'."²

King

• All His Hits (King CD 5012 includes "Christmas Tears" and "(What'cha gonna do when) The Welfare Turns Its Back On You".

Rhino

• Hide Away: the Best of Freddy King (Rhino R2 71510) includes the instrumentals "Remington Ride" and "The Stumble".

Notes

This article or section is missing citations and/or footnotes. To meet Wikipedia's style guidelines and conform to our policies regarding neutral point of view, original research, and verifiability, please provide appropriate inline citations and/or footnotes. For guidance in this area, see Wikipedia:Footnotes#How to use. This article has been tagged since December 2006. Image File history File links Information_icon. ...

External link

• Freddie King The Texas Cannonball

Sources

• Freddie King The Texas Cannonball.
• Article by Johnny Harper on "there" website

1. The quote is from Freddie King the Texas Cannonball.

2. Quoted from the Johnny Harper article.