''Freddy King Sings'' is an album by blues singer and guitarist

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Mos ...

. Released in 1961, it was King's first album and includes four singles that appeared in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine's R&B and Pop charts. In 2008, ''Freddy King Sings'' was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings" category.

Background

''Freddy King Sings'' represents Freddie King's earliest vocal performances recorded by King Records from August 1960 to July 1961. It features singles that were released before as well as after the album, plus two album-only tracks. Four of the songs on the album appeared in the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

in 1961: "

You've Got to Love Her with a Feeling "You've Got to Love Her with a Feeling", or "Love with a Feeling" as it was originally titled, is a blues song first recorded by Tampa Red in 1938. Numerous blues artists have interpreted and recorded the song, making it a blues standard. Whe ...

" (Pop number 92), "Lonesome Whistle Blues" (R&B number eight, Pop number 88), "I'm Tore Down" (R&B number five), and "See See Baby" (R&B number 21).

Style and influence

Freddie King's guitar playing has been described as "a unique synthesis" of Texas and

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

styles. According to author John Hartley Fox, "King was a Texas bluesman as well as a member of the same "West Side" school of gritty Chicago blues that produced incendiary guitarists Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Luther Allison". ''Freddy King Sings'' was released after the success of his instrument singles " Hide Away" and "San-Ho-Zay", "when King's guitar playing came to overshadow his singing, a change he never really welcomed", Fox added. In 2008, the album was inducted into the

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world. Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs the ...

Hall of Fame. Writing for the Foundation, blues researcher

Jim O'Neal Jim O'Neal (born November 25, 1948, Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States) is an American blues expert, writer, record producer, and record company executive. He co-founded America's first blues magazine, ''Living Blues'', in Chicago in 1970, and w ...

noted that the songs on ''Freddy King Sings'' show him "to be one of the most expressive blues vocalists". Freddie King was a "fundamental influence on the young guitar players", according to music writer Keith Shadwick. When

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

heard "I Love the Woman" as the B-side to "Hide Away" in 1963, the first time he had heard King, he found it revelatory. He has recorded three of the songs on ''Freddy King Sings'' ("I'm Tore Down", "You've Got to Love Her with a Feeling", and several performances of "

Have You Ever Loved a Woman "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" is a blues song written by Billy Myles and first recorded by American blues artist Freddie King in 1960. The song is performed as a slow 12-bar blues with King's vocal and guitar accompanied by a small combo of pia ...

"). "See See Baby", "Lonesome Whistle Blues", and "I Love the Woman" have also been recorded by a variety of artists.

Chicken Shack Chicken Shack are a British blues band, founded in the mid-1960s by Stan Webb (guitar and vocals), Andy Silvester (bass guitar), and Alan Morley (drums), who were later joined by Christine Perfect (later McVie) (vocals and keyboards) in 1967. ...

recorded both "See See Baby" and "Lonesome Whistle Blues" on their debut album '' 40 Blue Fingers, Freshly Packed and Ready to Serve'', in 1968.

Track listing

Personnel

– lead guitar and vocals * Fred Jordan – second guitar *

Sonny Thompson Sonny Thompson (probably August 23, 1916 – August 11, 1989), born Alfonso Thompson or Hezzie Tompson, was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B bandleader and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography There is some uncertainty over Thomps ...

– piano * Bill Willis – bass guitar * Phillip Paul – drums * Gene Redd – saxophone * Clifford Scott – saxophone

Notes

{{Authority control Freddie King albums 1961 debut albums King Records (United States) albums