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!
