Freddie King

Information about blues guitarist Freddie King including bio, discography, and guitar lessons to study his playing style.

Brief Bio

Freddie King, also known as "The Texas Cannonball", probably had more influence on modern rock music than any other blues guitarist. As a transplanted Texan who moved to Chicago in the '50s, Freddie rubbed shoulders with the likes of Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and Magic Sam. His influence cannot be ignored in every note that Eric Clapton plays, and he was also a huge influence on Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. His best-known songs are "Hideaway", "I'm Tore Down", "Have You Ever Loved A Woman", and "Going Down". Hideaway is an instrumental that was a staple for all bar bands of the day (early 1960's), and it is still one of the first songs that is taught to aspiring blues guitar students. "Going Down" was covered and made popular by Jeff Beck.

It is also notable that he was very highly regarded as a singer as well. Though it never happened, if he had ever been put in a position of doing a gig without a guitar, he probably could have pulled it off without a hitch.

Selected Discography

EARLY WORK: There are many "Best Of" collection CD's on the market. We would recommend getting any one of them as they all include early classics such as "Hideaway", "San Ho Zay", and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman".

LATER WORK: IN the early to mid-70's, Freddie got involved with Leon Russell and issued several records on Leon's SHELTER label. We recommend the compilation CD release titled "Best Of The Shelter Years" which includes "Going Down" (a cover of which was a hit for Jeff Beck), the hard-driving autobiographical "Palace Of The King", "Big Legged Woman", and a host of other great tunes. Rock music fans find Freddie's work from the Shelter period to be his best and most appealing. "BURGLAR" is the best individual album from this period, and is the only one that has remained in print on CD.

These and other Freddie King CD's are available online at AMAZON

You can download many Freddi King songs at Yahoo MUSIC UNLIMITED.

Guitar Lessons

This guitar lesson DVD, hosted by Duke Robillard, gives valuable insights into the guitar playing style of Freddie King. You are guided through a select group of Freddie's greatest songs (Hideaway, San-Ho-Zay, The Stumble, and Sen-sa-shun) lick by lick, revealing the inner workings of this master musician's style and playing techniques. Published by Hal Leonard.

This Freddie King guitar tab book contains 15 of his best songs including: I'm Tore Down, Have You Ever Loved a Woman, HideAway, Heads up, Lonesome Whistle Blues, The Sad Nite Owl, See See Baby, Wash Out, and more.

Hide Away - (Eric Clapton version) instantly downloadable sheet music/guitar tab file.

If you would like to study Freddie's playing style, more tab books and lesson video DVD's are available at Sheet Music Plus and Musicnotes

Video

Live in Dallas, Texas January 20, 1973.

Live At the Sugar Bowl, Sept. 22, 1972.

Freddie King concert videos are available online at AMAZON and EBAY.

in this section:

• Freddie King
• John Petrucci
• Jorma Kaukonen
• Rev. Gary Davis
• Tampa Red

  ---