Freddie King | Artist

Freddie King was an American blues guitarist and singer born 1934 in Gilmer, Texas. He was notable for his soulful and powerful voice and distinctive guitar style which inspired many musicians. When King was a child his family moved to Chicago, where King started sneaking into South Side nightclubs to hear blues performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson. In 1952, while employed at a steel mill, the eighteen-year-old King occasionally worked as a sideman with local bands. In 1953 he recorded with Parrot Records, but these recordings were never released. As the 1950s progressed, King played with several of Muddy Waters' sidemen and other Chicago mainstays, including the guitarists Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood Jr, Eddie Taylor and Hound Dog Taylor. After having been turned down by Chess, King signed with Federal Records in 1960 and recorded his debut single "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" b/w "You've Got to Love Her With a Feeling", under the name "Freddy" King in 1960. From the same recording session King cut the instrumental "Hide Away" which reached number five on the R&B chart and number 29 on the Pop chart, which was unprecedented for a blues instrumental at a time when the genre was still largely unknown to white audiences. King went on to become one of the greatest original bluesmen of the 60-70's period, and the biggest guitar hero of the mid-sixties British blues revivalists, including Eric Clapton, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, and Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac. Of King's 14 studio albums, standouts include Freddy King Sings, Let's Hide Away and Dance Away, Getting Ready, Texas Cannonball and Burglar. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

Artist Website: freddiekingsite.com/bio

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