Freddie was born in Gilmer Texas on September 3 1934 with the given name of Freddy King to Ella May King and J.T. Christian. My father's mother told him that her grandfather ( who was a full-blooded Choctaw Indian) prophesied to her that she would have a child that will stir the souls of millions and inspire and influence generations. My grandmother and her brother Leon played the guitar. Freddie's mother recognized early her first born interest in music. She and her brother Leon began teaching him to play rural country blues at the age of six. His early music heroes were Sam Lightnin Hopkins (who he credits his proficiency of the down home thumb-finger picken style) and Louis Jordan (the jump blues saxophonist). He told me that he would play Jordan's record over and over again until he could match his horn, note for note. This discipline would have a major impact on his phrasing.
His first guitar was a silvertone acoustic. His most prized guitar at that time was his Roy Roger acoustic. In a interview years later he recalled going to the general store to order it. The store owner asked him if his mother knew he was trying to order a guitar on her store account. Freddie replied " no". The store owner told him to get permission. His mother said "no". She told him, "if you want a new guitar you will have to work for it." He stated that he picked cotton just long enough to earn the money to purchase a Roger's guitar.
By 1949 two of Freddie's uncles, Felix and Willie King had already moved to Chicago. They were earning good money working in the steel mill. Ella now married to Ben Turner saw opportunity for her family in Chicago. Freddie's father J.T. didn't want Freddie to go to Chicago, He wanted Freddie to finish high school and go to college in Texas like some of his family. J.T.'s sister Melissa was a teacher at the local black school. Ella and J.T. agreed to let Freddie finish high school. The family left for Chicago in the fall of 1949.
Freddie and his family moved to Chicago in 1949. This was a dream come true. He was now living on the southside of chicago, the playground of the post -war blues greats Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson and others. At age16 Freddie would sneak in to the clubs (on double dares from his friends) to listen and watch these blues greats perform. One night he bet his friends that, not only would he sneak into the club, but he would also sit in with the house band and play his box guitar. Freddie won the bet. After sitting in with the band, the club owner realized how young Freddie was. He ordered the bouncers to escort him out of the club. Howlin Wolf intervened by telling the club owner" the kid is with me. Howlin was impressed by the way Freddie picked the acoustic guitar. Howlin told Freddie" young man you pick that guitar like a old soul"..."The lord sure enough put you here to play the blues" This would be the beginning of a great friendship. Howlin took young Freddie under his wing and taught him how to take care of himself in the streets of Chicago. Along with Muddy Water and his side men EddieTaylor, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood Jr.and Little Walter they accepted him into their inner circle. These guys were the cream of the crop the best that Chicago blues had to offer. Freddie started hanging out and jamming with Muddy's sidemen. My father credits Eddie Taylor with teaching him how to use the metal index finger pick and a plastic thumbpick verses the flat pick. My father really respected these guys talents as musicians and grew to understand their true worth.
By 1952 Freddie had met and married a Texas girl, Jessie Burnett. She proved to be the foundation and maturity he needed. She also would be the inspiration and co-contributor to some of his compositions. He worked in the steel mill during the day and worked gigs at night. He would ocassionally work as a sideman in recording sessions. He and his running buddies Jimmy Rogers and Eddie Taylor were young, fresh and eager to venture out in search of something new, something different. The southside of Chicago served up its blues with the big blues band sound that included a rhythm section, horns, a piano,and sometimes a harp. The westside of Chicago with its small taverns, eagerly embraced these young blues maverick and their blues sound that consisted of a electrifying lead guitarist who usually doubled as the lead vocalist. a bassman, and drummer. Freddie jumped at the chance that the westside travens offered. So he along with two other young guys, guitarist Jimmy Lee Robinson and drummer Sonny Scott formed his first band,"The Every Hour Blues Boys".
In 1953 Freddie cut several sides for the Parrot Label. He continued to do session recordings whenever possible.
It was not until 1956 that Freddie recorded a 45 with a local label El-Bee. Side A was a duet with Margaret Whitfield "Country Boy" and side B was a fast tempo blues, " Thats What You Think". His friend Robert Lockwood Jr. added guitar licks. Chess Records was one of the biggest blues labels at that time. Their home office and recording studio was located in Chicago. Many big name Chicago blues artists were signed, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and Little Walter, just to name a few. My father auditioned several times with no success. They stated that he sounded vocally like B.B. King. He would later say that Chess rejection was a blessing in disguise, because it forced him to develope his own vocal style.
It is now 1957 and Freddie is performing with bluesmen like blues pianist Memphis Slim ( who left the Chicago scene to find success in France.) and blues guitarist Magic Sam Maghett( a good friend and neighbor). As a favor Freddie did some uncredited session work for Magic Sam who at the time was signed to the Cobra Label. 1958 Uncle Sam came calling on the blues community. My father was not drafted because he had no arch support (flat feet). Magic Sam was not so lucky he was drafted.
1959 Freddie is rejected once more by Chess Records, but he meets Sonny Thompson a pianist who happens to be a contract artist and front man for King/Federal label. Sonny recognized something unique about Freddie's blues style.
In 1960 Freddie signed with Syd Nathan's King /Federal Label. Syd Nathan was a total control freak, a smart hard nose businessman who at times could be fairer than most record label owners of this period. His contract artists range from Blues, Freddie King ,Albert King,Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker and others, Country & Western, Ferlin Huskey, The Stanley Brothers, Hank Penny, Grandpa Jones and others, R&B, Hank Ballad, Bill Doggett, James Brown, Little Willie John, Little Esther Phillips, The Platters, The Ink Spots, Chantals, Royals,and others, Jazz, Nina Simone, Carmen McRae, Errol Garner, Bobby Scott, Bobby Troup and others, Gospel artists and International artists. All artists recorded at one location in Cincinnati Ohio, at the Brewster locations. Records were mastered, pressed,stored, and distributed from this location. The album covers were designed and printed from the same location. Yes Syd Nathan was a control freak. Freddie's time with King label was bitter sweet. He was happy to be under contract, but he did not like being control and manipulated artistically. Nathan would suggest ideas for songs that Freddie disagreed with. Nathan wanted Freddie to cover some of his country and western artist tunes. Freddie had always been a fan of C&W but Nathan and Freddie could never agree on which tune to record. Then one day Nathan over heard a studio jam session that consisted of some country and western musicians and Freddie doing a blues swing version of" Remmington Ride". Nathan quickly had Freddie nail that tune to vinyl. The collaboration of Freddie King and Sonny Thompson on instrumentals such as "The Stumble," "Low Tide," "Wash Out," "Sidetracked," "HeadsUp," "Onion Rings," "The Sad Nite Owl," and "Hide Away", contains some of the most brilliant and most awsome guitar licks in blues history. Instrumentals like these would soon wake up the young British music community to a new groove " Blues Rock".
Many of Freddie's songwriting credits under the King label contract were shared with Sonny Thompson. They would have marathon sessions of 16 hrs and more. The first 45 release: side A " Have You Ever Loved A Woman", side B "Hide Away". Both sides were big hits on the R&B charts. The surprise was the Hide Away release. It became a crossover hit on the Pop chart reaching # 29. This was a first, a blues artist registering a hit on the Pop chart. No other blues artist had accomplished this before. Young whites were digging Freddie's blues style. Nathan quickly capitalized on it. He insisting that Freddie and Sonny concentrate on instrumentals. Freddie sold more albums during this period (1961-63) than any other blues artist including B.B. King.
It is now 1962 and Freddie was still riding the crest of success from his King recordings. Freddie King was hotter than molten steel. But with success comes the down side. Freddie Loved the Chicago night life. Gambling til dawn in the backroom of Mike's cleaners and getting into mischief with his cronies.My mother was now a housewife with six children. She didn't like what the Chicago nightlife was doing to her husband, it provided to many distractions. The fall of 1962 she left her husband and she and her six children moved to Dallas Texas. After she arrived in Dallas she called Syd Nathan demanding that he send her royalties that she knew her husband was entitled to. She stated that she needed it for her children and herself to start a new life. Nathan proved to be a few notches above the other record company owners of this period. He sent my mother two thousand dollars. My mother place a down payment on a house. It did not take my father long to realize that his family was not returning to Chicago. Freddie left his beloved Chicago and joined his wife and children in Dallas in the spring of 1963. Freddie's move to Texas proved to be a blessing in disguise. Freddie began fine tuning his vocals he evolved from a B.B. king singing style to his own more soulful sound. Music was changing and so was he. He was experimenting with and incorporating different types of music. Freddie's contract with King ended in 1966. Gone were the big name revues and national tour packages, but Freddie continued to draw pack houses where ever he performed black and white clubs. He got an opportunity in 1966 to do a series of appearances on a R&B program called "The!!!Beat". The Beat had this 60's "Mod"look that featured a house band lead by Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, artists like Otis Redding, Etta James, Little Milton, Carla Thomas, and Louis Jordan. to name a few appeared weekly. These appearance caught the attention of Atlantic Records front man King Curtis.
In 1968 Freddie signed a contract with Cotillion Records a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. Two albums were released:
Freddie king is a Blues master
My Feeling for the Blues
Both releases were soulful and funky and showcased his singing talents,both albums had moderate success. Freddie was disappointed in the lack of success in the two releases. His spirits was soon lifted with the success of his first overseas tour in 1968. He was originally booked for a month and it was extended to three. He was amazed by his popularity in England, a new generation of young white musicians like Eric Clapton,MickTaylor, and others were trying to emulate Freddie King. In 1969 Freddie hires a new manager Jack Calmes. Jack is young, white and part of the "counter culture" that has discovered the blues. Jack helped orchestrate Freddie's career into high gear with the 1969 Texas Pop Festival,there he shared billing with Led Zeppelin, Sly and the family stone,Ten years After, B.B. King, among others, " Led Zeppelin's guys were standing there watching him perform with their mouth open" Jack said. Calmes secured a contract deal for Freddie with Leon Russell's new label Shelter Records . Leon had been a fan of Freddie's sizzling guitar style for years. Leon was now creating the Oklahoma blues culture with the start up of his own label. Leon Russell record label included Joe Cocker and The Nitty Gitty Dirt Band. Leon spared no expense the sessions were top shelf he flew the studio crew to Chicago and recorded the first album "Getting Ready" at the old Chess Records studio. Freddie was allowed to showcase his showmanship, Leon wanted the listening audience to experience the brilliance and raw essences of Freddie King. Shelter was the perfect springbroad for Freddie's style of blues, hard driving and in your face. This collaboration put Freddie into the mainstream of the white blues /rock explosion. The release of "Getting Ready" produced Freddie's signature blues/rock hit "Going Down".
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I just received The Complete King Federal Singles, the first-ever compilation devoted to Freddie King's King-Federal singles, released by Real Gone Music. This is an incredibly comprehensive package including 55 tracks of Freddie's best work. I have been a fan of Freddie King's for such a long time and it's great to have all of this great music on 2 CD's. King had his own signature style that was uniquely his own. Passing at an early age Freddie didn't have the advantage of time like the other two renown kings of the blues, Albert and BB. Freddie's catalog includes a wide variety of musical takes on the blues like swing on See See Baby with the honking sax and Come On; It's Easy, Child with a R&B but Tex Mex styling; Bossa Nova styling shown on The Bossa Nova Watusi Twist (cool instrumental); deep blues on Look, Ma. I'm Crying (Incredible); Elmore James style like Takin' Care of Business; Tbone Walker style of I'm On My Way To Atlanta or (The Welfare) Turns It's Back On You (most of you haven't heard this cut..you should); surf music? yup ... Surf Monkey (cool 60's instrumental), Texas Oil and Heads Up; R&B Louisiana style like Meet Me At The Station, Sittin' On The Boat Dock and If You Believe; jump blues like Driving Sideways; fast shuffle like High Rise (instrumental of course); classic R&B like If You Have It; holiday blues with Christmas Tears and I Hear Jingle Bells; pop tracks like the President Twist; You Can't Hide and instrumental Just Pickin' but also great vocal tracks that demonstrate that Freddie isn't just a guitar player like the spectacular duet with Lulu reed on Let Your Love Watch Over Me.
Of course this package includes all of Freddie's best known classics like You've Got To Love Her With A Feeling; Have You Ever Loved A Woman; Hideway; It's Too Bad Things Are Going So Tough; San Ho Zay; The Stumble; Side Tracked; I'm Tore Down; Sen-Sa-Shun; Someday, After A While; She Put The Whammy On Me; Full Time Love; Use What You've Got and You've Got Me Licked which are all amazing. And don't get me wrong, this is no padded cd with the greatest hits and a bunch of fluff. This is packed full of great music wall to wall!
The package includes 8 pages of great liner notes by Bill Dahl and a number of cool photos.
This is a package that was begging to be done and a terrific tribute to a terrific performer! This is a must have.
