Friday 20 March 2020

Why I Suck... Progress Report #2 – Freddie King


Sandwiched between the better known Albert and the regal BB, Freddie is arguably the least known of the Three Kings of blues. And while Albert's approach was smooth and effortless with a touch of funk, and the tuxedo-clad BB was stately and genteel, Freddie's approach (both vocal and guitar) was earthy and gritty.

Born September 3 1934, the young Freddie King began playing guitar at age 6, encouraged by his uncle and his mother. In 1949 his family made the move from Dallas, Texas to Chicago's South Side, and Fred (as he was known at that point) began exploring the native blues scene in the city. By 1952, the 18 year old king was working in a steel mill during the day and playing as a sideman with bands like the Little Sonny Cooper Band and Earl Payton's Blues Cats. He would gradually work his way up as the 1950s progressed to playing with stalwarts like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, but was consistently rejected by the iconic Chess record label for sounding too like BB King vocally.

(Personally, I would take that as a huge compliment, as for all the attention BB's guitar playing gets, he was an astonishing singer, but there we go..)

Eventually, in 1960, Freddie King was signed to Federal Records, and after his first single “Have You Ever Loved A Woman”, he went on to record his signature tune “Hideaway” which was a runaway success, hitting #5 in the blues charts but also #29 in the pop charts. This has become a true blues standard, covered by Eric Clapton on the iconic “Beano” album he recorded with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and more or less every interview I've ever read with any high profile blues player has mentioned them spending time learning it. During his time at Federal, King also worked with soul/ R&B stars James Brown, Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson.

In 1966 his contract with Federal expired and from 1967 Freddie King was on nearly constant tour, playing over 300 dates most years. The constant touring – not helped by Freddie's habit of consuming Bloody Mary cocktails in lieu of actual meals – sadly took its toll on his health, however, and in 1976 he began developing stomach ulcers. By the end of that year he would be dead from a combination of this and acute pancreatitis, at the age of 42. He left behind his wife, Jessie Burnett, and seven children.

So that's the history. What about his playing?

My take, after 29 days studying his licks, is that of the Three Kings, Freddie is probably the closest to a rock player in phrasing. If, like me, your main influences have been bluesy rock players like Slash, Hendrix etc, Freddie's style is not too far removed. That's not to say he's not without his tricks though- he was very fond of the prebend (check out the intro solo on “Going Down”) and was adept at using both up and down string bends in his solos. This is a tricky technique to get to grips with, but worth practicing as it's a key part of the blues vocabulary. He also had a signature technique of slowly releasing a downward bend while giving it heavy vibrato – to try this, bend the string without picking as you would for a normal prebend. Then pick and slowly release the bend but give the note vibrato as you go – it's tricky as hell to begin with, but the effect is worth it!

Freddie was also a fingerpicker – according to Wikipedia, he would use a thumb pick and a metal fingerpick on his index finger (similar to what a banjo player would use) – and this allows him to “jump” strings and get wider interval leaps that spice up his licks. He was also fond of blending major and minor pentatonics, and would regularly bring the 2nd degree of the scale in along side the regular minor pentatonic (R b3 4 5 b7).

To wind things up, I've tabbed out a couple of his licks that I think are indicative of his style.








But don't stop there – dive in and give him a listen! It speaks to his influence as a guitar player that one of the songs covered on the first G3 tour back in 1997 (Satriani, Vai, Eric Johnson) was his proto-heavy rock song, “Going Down”:


And Freddie King's original:


So while the whole world is stuck in coronavirus lockdown, keep calm and play the blues!

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