"The Stumble" is a blues guitar instrumental composed and recorded by American blues artist

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). Most ...

, for his 1961 album '' Let's Hide Away and Dance Away with Freddy King''. It is considered a blues classic and follows in a string of popular instrumentals recorded by King in the early 1960s, including " Hide Away", "San-Ho-Zay", and "Sen-Sa-Shun". King uses a melodic guitar line and a chord progression that differs somewhat from that of the typical I–IV–V 12-bar format, such as starting on the IV (or subdominant) chord and a

vi–ii–V–I __NOTOC__In music, the vi–ii–V–I progression is a chord progression (also called the circle progression for the circle of fifths, along which it travels). A vi–ii–V–I progression in C major (with inverted chords) is shown below. It is ...

turnaround. In comparison to the more widely-known "Hide Away", music writer Dave Ruben describes it as "a virtuosic recording, with only ing's'Remington Ride' hot on its tail in the chops-required department". "The Stumble", along with several other of King's most well-known instrumentals, is included on

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was originall ...

's ''Hide Away: The Best of Freddy King'' (1993). As perhaps King's second most popular instrumental, "The Stumble" has been recorded by many artists. Rubin notes recordings by: * Jeff Beck with

the Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...

(1965, '' Glimpses 1963–1968'') * Peter Green with

John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are an English blues rock band led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall. While never producing a hit of their own, the band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues ...

(1967, ''

A Hard Road ''A Hard Road'' is the third album (and second studio album) recorded by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, released in 1967. It features Peter Green on lead guitar, John McVie on bass, Aynsley Dunbar on drums and John Almond on saxophone. Tr ...

'') * Dave Edmunds with

Love Sculpture Love Sculpture were a Welsh blues rock band that was active from 1966 to 1970, led by Dave Edmunds (born 15 April 1944 in Cardiff, Wales), with bassist John David (born 19 January 1946 in Cardiff) and drummer Rob "Congo" Jones (born 13 August ...

(1968, ''Blues Helping'') * Bugs Henderson (1998, ''Heartbroke Again'')

References

1961 songs Freddie King songs Blues songs 1960s instrumentals 1962 singles Federal Records singles Songs written by Sonny Thompson {{Blues-song-stub