Guitar Speak Presents....Influential Guitarists!

Freddie King

All this week BluePower will feature highly influential guitarists. Players, a novice can listen to and emulate in order to learn. Today we are featuring Freddie King. Freddie wrote "Hide Away" and "The Stumble". Two of the most copied guitar instrumentals of all time.

Freddie King was born in Gilmer, Texas on September 3rd, 1934. Taught to play guitar by his mother and his uncle, Freddie originally studied Lightnin' Hopkins and his style of country blues.

When Freddie became a teen, he fell in love with the electrified sounds of the Chicago blues and when he was 16, his prayer was answered....he moved to Chicago. In 1950, Chicago was overflowing with emigrants from the South. With them came the rural blues or country blues which was transformed into the basic electrified Chicago blues which in turn, generated some great record labels. Chess and Vee-Jay are labels which were spawned by the huge focus of primary blues artists streaming into Chicago. It was a mighty time!

It's funny that Syd Nathan at King Records in Cincinnati wound up releasing Freddie King's major hits considering Freddie was living right in Chicago. Such is the entertainment world.

Thanks for listening....
John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
2)...."Hide Away"....Freddie King....King Records
3)...."I'm Tore Down"....Freddie King....King Records
4)...."Dust My Broom"....Freddie King....Black Top Records
5)...."Ain't Nobody's Bizness"....Freddie King....Black Top Records
6)...."Key To The Highway"....Freddie King....Black Top Records
7)...."San-Ho-Zay"....Freddie King....King Records
8)...."Hand Clappin'"....Red Prysock....Mercury Records

Click here to listen to....Influential Guitarists Featuring Freddie King!