Week 18
Freddie (Freddy) King, Hideaway: The Best of Freddie King
(Rhino 71510)

"... I picked up the style between Lightnin' Hopkins and Muddy Waters, and B.B. King and T-Bone Walker. That's in-between style, that's the way I play, see. So I plays country, and city."

—Freddie King, from The Voice of the Blues (O'neal and Van Singel, eds., New York; Routledge, 2002).

Freddy (Freddie) King was raised in Texas, but musically schooled in such Chicago clubs as the Zanzibar, home of the Muddy Waters band for many years, and located just behind the young King's apartment. By the mid-1950s, he was a popular feature in regional clubs and had recorded for several regional labels. But it wasn’t until 1960 that his career finally took off: King's instrumental "Hideaway," recorded for the Cincinnati-based King/Federal label, was a surprise hit on both the R&B and Pop charts.

With the success of "Hideaway," King/Federal continued to promote Freddie King's instrumentals, which showcased his unmatched ability to combine masterful guitar work with memorable melodies and a danceable beat. The occasional vocal flip side revealed that King was an equally accomplished vocalist, with a voice equally expressive on both rockin' shuffles and emotive ballads. King's singles and compilation LPs quickly became required source material for aspiring guitarists, not only in the Chicago blues scene, but as far afield as the Pacific Northwest, where rock 'n' roll bands such as the Wailers covered him, and in Great Britain, where many musicians in the burgeoning blues scene highly revered King.

By the mid-1960s, however, King was feeling increasingly pigeonholed by King/Federal, and he left the label. Joining several labels over the following years, his recordings steadily began to incorporate elements of soul, funk and rock, although his live performances generally remained based in straight blues. Both helped cement King's reputation as one of the preeminent stylists of modern blues guitar, establishing a legacy that continues unabated even after his unexpected passing in 1976, at age 42. Weighted heavily towards King's work for the King/Federal labels, this 20-track collection is a generous introduction to his legacy.

Listen: Freddie King - "Sen-Sa-Shun"
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