Dear John, Freddie King's birthday was Sunday. I had the opportunity to see him play a number of times in Austin. Hard to believe he's been gone since 1976. Speaking of Sunday. What a great time was had by all at the RR for our PBS fundraiser and membership drive!! 11 acts turned in superb sets. One of the highlights was when Hans and Eric Ramsey jammed during Eric's set. Great stuff. They WOWED! the audience.
My apologies for the no newsletter thing the past two weeks. I was over in Austin getting acquainted with a brand new granddude. Toby Crawford will rule the world. He already does his house. Showdown is slowly creeping up and will be here before you know it. Entries are trickling in. Get on the stick guys and get your paperwork in and lets tear the joint up. Jim Crawford, PBS
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 Freddie
Guitarist Freddie King rode to fame in the early '60s with a spate of catchy instrumentals which became instant bandstand fodder for fellow bluesmen and white rock bands alike. Employing a more down-home (thumb and finger picks) approach to the B.B. King single-string style of playing, King enjoyed success on a variety of different record labels. Furthermore, he was one of the first bluesmen to employ a racially integrated group on-stage behind him. Influenced by Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Rogers, and Robert Jr. Lockwood, King went on to influence the likes of Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Lonnie Mack, among many others.
Freddie King (who was originally billed as "Freddy" early in his career) was born and raised in Gilmer, TX, where he learned how to play guitar as a child; his mother and uncle taught him the instrument. Initially, King played rural acoustic blues, in the vein of Lightin' Hopkins. By the time he was a teenager, he had grown to love the rough, electrified sounds of Chicago blues. In 1950, when he was 16 years old, his family moved to Chicago, where he began frequenting local blues clubs, listening to musicians like Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Little Walter, and Eddie Taylor. Soon, the young guitarist formed his own band, the Every Hour Blues Boys, and was performing himself.
In the mid-'50s, King began playing on sessions for Parrott and Chess Records, as well as playing with Earlee Payton's Blues Cats and the Little Sonny Cooper Band. Freddie King didn't cut his own record until 1957, when he recorded "Country Boy" for the small independent label El-Bee. The single failed to gain much attention. Freddie King's big break came in 1960, when King Records opened an office in Chicago. Sonny Thompson, a seasoned veteran of postwar rhythm and blues, was the talent scout, and after learning that Leonard Chess didn't think Freddie King was worth signing, snapped him up and took him to the label's home in Cincinnati to record. The very first session in August resulted in "Hide Away," the song that has been linked with Freddie King's name ever since. "Hide Away" was a tune everyone on the West Side played, probably written by Hound Dog Taylor. King's version, named after one of his favorite clubs (Mel's Hideaway Lounge), entered the Top 10 in the rhythm and blues chart, and even got to No. 29 on the pop charts. Freddie King had a white following almost from the beginning. King - and Sonny Thompson - wanted to prove that King was also a singer, and his next session had "I'm Tore Down," the hit to prove it. "I'm Tore Down" again rocketed into the rhythm and blues Top 10, but the pop market ignored it. Freddie King only saw the charts one more time during this period, with a Christmas record that charted for one week. But King Records kept recording him, and more and more he was on the road with revues, barnstorming the country. When he was home on the West Side, he and his band worked seven days a week if they wanted to. The thing was, although Freddie King's records sold steadily, they didn't sell a lot. His contract was up in 1966, and King parted ways with his label. He'd already moved his wife and six children to Dallas, and used that as a base from which to tour. Meanwhile, Eric Clapton recorded "Hide Away" with Mayall's Blues Breakers in England; Clapton was only the first British guitarist to show his explicit debt to Freddie King. King returned the favor by going to England and touring, showing the Brits how it was done. Three years later, King signed with Federal Records, a subsidiary of King Records, and recorded his first single for the label, "You've Got to Love Her With a Feeling," in August of 1960. The single appeared the following month and became a minor hit, scraping the bottom of the pop charts in early 1961. "You've Got to Love Her With Feeling" was followed by "Hide Away," the song that would become Freddie King's signature tune and most influential recording. "Hide Away" was adapted by King and Magic Sam from a Hound Dog Taylor instrumental and named after one of the most popular bars in Chicago. The single was released as the B-side of "I Love the Woman" (his singles featured a vocal A-side and an instrumental B-side) in the fall of 1961 and it became a major hit, reaching number five on the R&B charts and number 29 on the pop charts. Throughout the '60s, "Hide Away" was one of the necessary songs blues and rock & roll bar bands across America and England had to play during their gigs. King's first album, Freddy King Sings, appeared in 1961, and it was followed later that year by Let's Hide Away and Dance Away With Freddy King: Strictly Instrumental. Throughout 1961, he turned out a series of instrumentals -- including "San-Ho-Zay," "The Stumble," and "I'm Tore Down" -- which became blues classics; everyone from Magic Sam and Stevie Ray Vaughan to Dave Edmunds and Peter Green covered King's material. "Lonesome Whistle Blues," "San-Ho-Zay," and "I'm Tore Down" all became Top Ten R&B hits that year. Freddie King continued to record for King Records until 1968, with a second instrumental album (Freddy King Gives You a Bonanza of Instrumentals) appearing in 1965, although none of his singles became hits. Nevertheless, his influence was heard throughout blues and rock guitarists throughout the '60s -- Eric Clapton made "Hide Away" his showcase number in 1965. King signed with Atlantic/Cotillion in late 1968, releasing Freddie King Is a Blues Masters the following year and My Feeling for the Blues in 1970; both collections were produced by King Curtis. After their release, Freddie King and Atlantic/Cotillion parted ways. King landed a new record contract with Leon Russell's Shelter Records early in 1970. King recorded three albums for Shelter in the early '70s, all of which sold well. In addition to respectable sales, his concerts were also quite popular with both blues and rock audiences. In 1974, he signed a contract with RSO Records -- which was also Eric Clapton's record label -- and he released Burglar, which was produced and recorded with Clapton. Following the release of Burglar, King toured America, Europe, and Australia. In 1975, he released his second RSO album, Larger Than Life. Freddie King stayed with Russell until 1972, then moved on to RSO Records, run by Eric Clapton's manager. These recordings are among the few not represented on a new retrospective, Taking Care of Business, which spans much of King's career. Freddie King was living hard by this point, drinking copiously, and always downing a couple of Bloody Marys before stepping on stage because, as he told a journalist, "they've got food in them." Throughout 1976, Freddie King toured America, even though his health was beginning to decline. In 1976, playing a club in New Orleans, King passed out in the middle of a solo. He went back up to Dallas and played a gig in New York on Christmas. But he canceled a show scheduled for the next night, returned to Dallas and went into the hospital. He died, riddled with ulcers and suffering from pancreatitis, on Dec. 28, 1976, at the age of 42. Although his passing was premature , Freddie King's influence could still be heard in blues and rock guitarists decades after his death.
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| Out & About Tuesday, September 5 Tab Benoit, 8 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Chuck Hall (acoustic), 7 p.m., The Lounge, Phoenix Wednesday, September 6 Tab Benoit, 8 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Carvin Jones (acoustic), 6 p.m., Squid Ink Sushi Bar, Peoria Bad News Blues Band, Every Wed., 9:30 p.m., Chicago Bar, Tucson
Thursday, September 7 Arizona Blues Project, 8 p.m., Harold's, Cave Creek Carvin Jones, 8:30 p.m., The Lounge, Phoenix
Friday, September 8 Cold Shott & the Hurricane Horns, 9 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Hans Olson, 8 p.m., Stock Exchange, Bisbee Chuck Hall, 6 p.m., Bryan's BBQ, Cave Creek Hoodoo Casters, 5 p.m., Desert Wind H-D, Mesa Blues Review Band, 7 p.m., JC's Steakhouse, Gilbert Saturday, September 9 Danielle Nicole Band, 9 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Hans Olson, 8 p.m., Stock Exchange, Bisbee Chuck Hall, 6 p.m., Bryan's BBQ, Cave Creek Outback Blues Band, 5 p.m., American Legion Post 138, Tempe Nina Curri w/Dan Rutland, 6:30 p.m., ZTejas, Phoenix Blues Review Band, NOON, Superstition H-D, Apache Junction Carvin Jones, 8 p.m., Stackers, Phoenix Sunday, September 10 Sugar Thieves, 1:20 p.m., Wine in the Woods, Arboretum, Flagstaff True Flavor Blues, NOON , Copper Star, Phoenix
Monday, September 11 MonkeyJunk, 8 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix
Carvin Jones (acoustic), 6 p.m., Monastery, Mesa |
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| Weekly Jams
Bourbon Jack's JAM w/Kody Herring, 6 p.m., Chandler
MONDAY
Bam Bam & Badness Open JAM, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix
Weatherford Hotel JAM, 6:30 p.m., Flagstaff
TUESDAY
JAM Sir Harrison, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix
Rocket 88s, 6 p.m., Hideaway West, Phoenix
Gypsy's Bluesday Night JAM, 7 p.m. Pho Cao, Tempe
Tailgaters JAM, 7 p.m., Glendale
WEDNESDAY Rocket 88s, 7 p.m., Chopper John's, Phoenix Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., Draw 10, Phoenix
Bumpin' Bud's 1st & 3rd Wednesdays JAM, 7 p.m., Marc's, Glendale
THURSDAY Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., Steel Horse Saloon, Phoenix Jolie's Place JAM w/Adrenaline, 9 p.m., Chandler Brad's Place JAM, 7 p.m., Ahwatukee (Every other Week)
Far From Fulsom JAM first Thursday, 6 p.m., Electric Swamp Poets
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GOT BLUES? If you are a Blues musician, a group, or a club that features Blues music, and would like to be listed, please send your info to info@phoenixblues.org and we'll be happy to list your event in our weekly Out & About section of the newsletter |
Moved? Changed email addresses? Please let us know of any changes in your address, email, or phone number so we can keep you informed about the Blues community in Arizona. Email us at: info@phoenixblues.org or write to: Phoenix Blues Society P.O. Box 36874 Phoenix, Arizona 85067 |
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