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More about Freddie King
Hi all,
Here’s some more about Freddie King:
Between the three “Kings”, Albert, BB and Freddie, it was Freddie who had the hardest driving, most intense sound. Much of his intensity came from the way he played: He picked with his fingers, using a plastic thumb pick along with a metal index-finger pick with a large amp cranked to the max. Although he was a good singer and had some big hits including vocals, especially, “Have You Ever Loved a Woman”, it was with his instrumentals that, I think, set him apart from the other Kings. His biggest instrumental, which most people have probably heard and recognize, is “Hideaway”. But there were many other instrumentals penned by Freddie including “The Stumble”, “Sen-Sa- Shun”, “San-Ho-Zay”, “Side Tracked”, and “In the Open”.
I will be talking about some of these tunes in more detail, especially, “Hideaway” and “San-Ho-Zay”.
According to his bio on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in the early days Freddie played a gold-top Les Paul through a Gibson GA-40 amplifier.
But later, and through the rest of his career he was seen playing a variety of Gibson semi-hollow body guitars such as the ES-335 and ES-345 through huge Fender Quad Reverb amps.
Another point that jumped out at me is that Freddie was influenced by the biggest names in the Chicago blues scene like Howlin’ Wolf, per his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bio, “Waters, guitarists Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Rogers, and Robert Lockwood Jr., and harmonica virtuoso Little Walter were also tutoring the brawny youngster on the secrets of the sounds and the streets of the South Side.” We all take the creativity provided by those who have gone before us, embrace it, and on the other side make it something uniquely our own.
If I Was the Devil
If you love FREEDOM, if you are a patriot, if you love America, you will love this commentary below that I am republishing by Wayne Allyn Root. I’m sure he won’t mind.
Paul Harvey first wrote a commentary with this same title in 1965.
I think it is clearly time for me to update it for 2020.
I’m a God-fearing and God-loving AMERICAN patriot.
I am a Jew who took Jesus Christ as my savior almost 30 years ago.
Today, I feel the devil all around us, like never before in my lifetime…
In any lifetime.
This Coronavirus crisis has the devil’s evil fingerprints all over it.
Not certain I’m right?
If I was the devil, if evil was my middle name, I’d love the Deep State, the corrupt D.C. swamp and most of all, their PR division, the liberal media.
I’d love big government.
I’d love globalists.
I’d love communists, socialists and Marxists- anyone who would put the AMERICAN people in misery and slavery.
I’d dedicate my life to anything and anyone who’d destroy the AMERICAN dream, opportunity and mobility. Because of course, the devil loves misery.
I’d want to enslave the AMERICAN people, ruin their exceptionalism, make them ordinary citizens of a global army of serfs.
I’d want to turn the lives of confident and prosperous Americans, and especially American business owners, into misery and malaise.
I’d want America to be no different than Cuba, or Haiti, or Venezuela, or El Salvador, or any starving country in Africa, or any miserable country anywhere on this globe. Why should America escape my misery and pain?
I’d give my support to anyone who’d take the AMERICAN Dream away.
I’d hate President DONALD J TRUMP.
I’d hate anyone who wants to make America great again.
I’d hate AMERICAN patriots and military veterans and capitalists.
I’d hate first responders. I’d hate anyone who is courageous and does good.
I’d hate business owners who think they are special, who believe in freedom, who think their work ethic and sacrifice have earned them success and prosperity. I’d want to wipe that smirk right off their faces. Id want them to suffer.
To accomplish all this…
I’d want to create a pandemic just like Coronavirus.
It would magically save China’s collapsing economy and prop up their evil communist party.
It would wipe away all of Trump’s magical and miraculous economic achievements of the past 3+ years…in a shocking, depressing, tragic month.
It would crash the stock market; collapse the oil and energy markets; kill tens of millions of jobs; close the entire US economy; shutter millions of small businesses…
Make virtually every American an instant welfare addict and ward of the state; eliminate Trump’s 20,000-person stadium rallies; overwhelm the entire economic system; bring business owners to their knees; reward the Deep State and D.C. Swamp…
Make big government the only option to save a drowning nation, no longer so exceptional…
Make Americans feel powerless and literally turn them into sheep- willing to hide in their homes, accept government telling them if their businesses are “essential” or not; deciding if they can earn a living or not; gain access to a potentially life-saving, anti-malaria drug protocol, or not…
Allow politicians to shred the US Constitution; and increase the surveillance state to levels never before imagined.
Levels like evil communist empires (just like China).
I’d root for a massive overreaction that leaves America shocked, depressed and weakened; and the government’s reaction would be to spend so much money, it would leave America crippled by unimaginable debt for the rest of all time.
And I’d laugh and do a dance to celebrate all the rich and powerful business owners left with nothing, reduced to begging big government to save them.
And you know I hate Christianity more than even America.
I’d create something so vile and frightening, it would close down churches and prevent Easter church services for the first time in the history of America.
And as a bonus, I’d watch government arrest pastors who try to hold church services in defiance of draconian new government rules to stay home. I’d laugh as the “right of assembly” is shredded before our eyes.
And I’d laugh as Americans were so scared and cowering in their homes…they stood by and said nothing.
I’d want a humbled, shocked, weakened, crippled America at the mercy of all of her enemies- China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Islamic terrorists and Muslim nations angry at our lifelong best friendship with God’s chosen people in Israel.
And as a bonus, I’d want everyone in America not only broke and humbled, but also miserable…
So, I’d eliminate all sports, close down movie theaters, shut down Las Vegas, air travel, cruise ships, cancel all vacations and weddings. There would be no way out- except misery, depression and loneliness.
Sex? All dating is canceled. No one can come within 6 feet.
A nation of fun, wild, colorful outgoing people with bigger than life personalities is now trapped in homes- lonely, bored, scared. Suicides will soar. Drug addiction and alcoholism will soar. Depression will soar.
If I was the Devil, I’d be dancing in hell.
Folks, do you understand now?
We’ve just all met the devil. Coronavirus was his greatest creation yet.
His latest evil creation makes 9-11, and Pearl Harbor, and the 1929 stock crash, and the Great Depression, and the polio epidemic, and the Civil War, and even WWII pale by comparison.
Make no mistake about it. We are under massive attack. This pandemic has the devil’s fingerprints all over it. It’s invisible just like the devil himself.
Our country is in shambles. We are all lying on the canvas. Our faith in God is being tested like never before. Some of us are broken.
These are the moments that break even exceptional people.
But we are America. We are relentless. We are blessed by God. We are backed by God. And yes, we are exceptional.
We still have faith in America and capitalism. We know God is still by our side. We still have faith in our G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) President Donald J Trump.
In Trump we trust. In America we trust. In God we trust.
You will never, never, never, ever defeat America. You win round one. But we know God is in control of this 16-round championship fight. And America will never yield. America will never break. No matter what you throw at us. Screw the devil.
We will fight you to the death. We will fight you from sea to shining sea. We will fight you in New York and Miami and Dallas. We will fight you in Hollywood and Beverly Hills and Vegas and Peoria and Omaha and Washington DC.
We will fight you in the streets, and in the mountains, and in the desert, and on the Vegas Strip, and on the beaches, and at sea.
You cannot beat us. You cannot break us. You can never win. We are America, the greatest nation in world history, ever blessed by God.
You wanted war. You’ve got it! Let’s roll.
God bless America.
Oh and Mr. Devil, one more thing…
KISS OUR ASS.
April 7, 2020 in Commentary
Freddie King
Freddie King has become one of my most favorite electric blues artists! Before I did a deep dive into the blues I was aware of his name, that he existed, but that was about it.
But after I discovered his music I was hooked. And the more I learned about him as a person, the more I liked him. “The Texas Cannonball.” Man, could he groove.
About Freddie
Freddie was born in Gilmer, Texas in 1934 and his birth name was allegedly Frederick Christian, but I have also read that it was Fred King. Later when he began recording, at first he went by “Freddy King” and ultimately he changed to “Freddie”. In 1949 his family moved from Texas to Chicago where he began his rise in the Chicago blues scene sneaking into clubs when he was still a minor. He had a very unique guitar technique and sound.
Freddie played various Gibson guitars….a Les Paul and several semihollow body Gibsons with a thumbpick and a metal fingerpick on his index finger, which gave his guitar a very biting tone and from the videos I’ve seen he often played through a huge Fender amp, maybe a Fender Quad Reverb. I don’t know a lot about Freddie’s band members over the years other than Sonny Thompson who played piano and cowrote some of FK’s songs and Freddie’s brother, Benny Turner, played bass with Freddie for many years up until Freddie’s death and Benny is still alive and still playing music.
Freddie was a big man, standing about 6’5”. Unfortunately, he died way too soon at the young age of 42 on December 28, 1976 from complications from various ailments: heart attack, stomach ulcers and pancreatitis, probably brought on from poor nutrition and heavy touring. What a loss to the blues.
In 2012, Freddie was finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by none other than ZZ Top.
I located the following from the website Find a Grave
He was born Freddie (spelled Freddy in the early days of his career) Christian in Gilmer, Texas, in 1934. Early on, he played in a Lightnin’ Hopkins acoustic style, having learned the rudiments of guitar playing and old time blues standards from his mother and uncle. He moved to Chicago in 1950, and fell in love with the blues being played in his new hometown and vowed to become part of the scene. Influenced by Robert Jr. Lockwood, Jimmy Rogers, and Eddie Taylor, he formed his first band “the Every Hour Blues Boys” and began working his way into the highly competitive club circuit. By the mid 1950’s, Freddie King had adopted the surname King (because of B.B.’s success, just as Albert King had done) and got his first shot at recording in 1957, when he cut “Country Boy” for the microscopically small El-Bee label. But the record flopped, and he wouldn’t record again for another three years. Later, in 1960, he signed with Federal Records in Cincinnati, releasing “You’ve Got To Love Her With A Feelin'” with pop chart success. Later in 1961, he released the instrumental “Hide Away” which was his biggest hit. Freddie King’s influences can be heard in playing styles of Eric Clapton, Lonnie Mack and Stevie Ray Vaughn, amongst many other blues artists.
The official Freddie King site is http://www.freddiekingsite.com.
Freddie King playing “San-Ho-Zay”
Are You Feeling Blue?
Hey everyone,
I hope you are staying safe and healthy during these crazy times after a virus has turned the whole world upside down. You might even be feeling a little bit blue. I know I have felt that way more than once! Before this coronavirus unleashed itself on the world I was already getting blue……into blues music that is, so the timing of this world situation is ironic. Anyway, I’ve found blues music to both acknowledge pain and misfortune, but also bring hope and joy.
The blues has always fascinated, captivated and resonated with me. My friend Michael, when hearing me say that told me, “Well, yeah, it’s just good music.” That’s definitely true. It’s got groove, feeling and truth. And in spite of it being “blue” I think there is a happiness and sense of hope that is entwined with the blues.
I grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and spent a significant amount of time visiting relatives in Chicago, one of America’s blues powerhouse cities. Fort Wayne is also not far from Detroit, the home of much awesome R&B music put out by Motown. So I was steeped in this wonderful sonic brew by virtue of just being there.
I think the blues touches something in all of us, no matter our ethnic or economic background. Everyone goes through trials and tribulations, hope and disappointment of one form or another. And to me, the blues is one way of dealing with that and connecting it to something universal – music – as a way to work through it in a therapeutic way, even if you don’t realize it. Music is therapeutic. But besides all of that, it’s just plain fun.
And recently, because of my ongoing attraction to the blues, and a desire to learn more deeply about some of the primary blues artists, and needing to start somewhere since there are so many artists and styles I decided to begin with “the kings”….BB, Albert and Freddie. I’m also a big, big fan of Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan and I knew that the kings were big influences on EC and SRV.
Having said all of that, stay tuned for more as I venture down this blue highway!
Don’t forget to wash your hands!
Chris
A Quick Intro to Christopher J.
I am Chris Hartzog and this is my website, Christopher J. Music. I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest in the Seattle, Washington area.
I’ve loved music as long as I can remember. During many years of being a special needs parent to a very high needs child with autism, I started playing guitar again and started writing music. And through that experience I learned that music not only transcends languages, it also transcends disabilities.
Today my music covers a variety of styles and instruments from folk to blues/jazz, and classical to pop-rock. I am a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, bass (electric and upright), ukulele, keyboards, and a singer and songwriter. I also enjoy playing classical music on the double bass with my local community symphony orchestra. And, I write, arrange, record and produce songs and put them on this website for people to download and hopefully share and enjoy.
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