Freddie King

Freddie King, often described as a leading contender for the title “King of modern guitar blues,” has had to make it the hard way. He was a Muddy Waters protege at age 16, a regular in the tough Chicago blues scene by the time he was 20, and possessor of a string of hit records while still in his twenties. Then he languished in relative obscurity for almost a decade. He was a blues legend and a strong influence on a generation of young blues and rock guitarists, but public popularity eluded him. All that has changed drastically in the last two years but success hasn’t caused him to forget how he got to where he is.

“Blues is the music I was born with and I grew up in the blues,” King recalls. He was born September 3,1934, in Gilmer, a small town in East Texas. His was “a blues family,” he remembers. His mother and uncles played blues and Freddie had a guitar by the time he was five. He grew up listening to records by such bluesmen as Blind Lemon Jefferson and Big Bill Broonzy. He also listened to Louis Jordan, whom he cites as an influence.