28 years ago today, we lost the great bluesman FREDDY KING.

[NightTrain]

On December 28, 1976, the Texas-born blues guitarist Freddy King, 42, passed away at the Dallas Presbyterian Hospital after he became ill following a gig on Christmas night. He died of complications caused by a severe ulcer condition from which King had suffered for many years.

His legendary 1960s recordings for (appropriately) the King label, which almost single-handedly kicked off the British R&B boom, included the instrumental chestnuts "Hide Away," "San-Ho-Zay," "Hi Rise," and "Onion Rings," and the vocal gems "You've Got To Love Her With A Feeling," "I'm Tore Down," "Christmas Tears," "(The Welfare) Turns Its Back On You," and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman?"

[guitar man]

1. one of my biggest influences

RIP Freddy. O8)

[Kat45]

2. He was great! I was fortunate to see him in concert in 1975.

It was an outdoor concert in the Berkshires on a beautiful summer day and the bill was Muddy Waters, Freddie King, and Roomful of Blues.

[NightTrain]

3. Man, that show must've kicked ass!

Too bad I wasn't there. But then again, I was all of nine years old in 1975. My discovery of the blues was still a half-decade away.

[Kat45]

7. It did! It was an amazing show.

I was in college at the time and I went with my boyfriend. Everyone was sitting on the lawn. It turned out that the people sitting in front of us were from my hometown (though we didn't know each other). I think we had the wine and they had the pot (or vice versa) and we shared. Great vibe all around. Man, times were different then!

[mr_hat]

4. Is that LP his usual axe? I thought he was a 335 guy.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

5. THIS one.

Yes, King had a string of hits a mile long before he fell in with Leon Russell and the Shelter People, but THIS album...and the "sting like a bee" precision of his solos on the Don Nix classic "Going Down," and his joyous war-whoop at the end of hitting a particularly sweet note...is the one I always head for first when I need an unfiltered dose of this legend.

ALL of the Shelter stuff is noteworthy. THIS one is a "desert island disc" if there ever was one.

1. Same Old Blues
2. Dust My Broom
3. Worried Life Blues
4. Five Long Years
5. Key To The Highway
6. Going Down
7. Living On The Highway
8. Walking By Myself
9. I'm Tore Down
10. Palace Of The King

:toast:

[Kat45]

6. Wow! Great lineup of songs! Is it out on CD?

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

9. Yes, all of the Shelter stuff is available on CD.

1. Lowdown In Lodi
2. Reconsider Baby
3. Big Legged Woman
4. Me And My Guitar
5. I'd Rather Be Blind
6. Can't Trust Your Neighbor
7. You Were Wrong
8. How Many More Years
9. Ain't No Sunshine
10. The Sky Is Crying



1. Woman Across The River
2. I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man
3. The Danger Zone
4. Boogie Man
5. Leave My Woman Alone
6. Just A Little Bit
7. Look On Yonder Wall
8. Help Me Through The Day
9. I'm Ready
10. Trouble In Mind
11. You Don't Have To Go



1. Going Down
2. Five Long Years
3. Palace of the King
4. Same Old Blues
5. Walking by Myself
6. Living on the Highway
7. I'd Rather Be Blind
8. Reconsider Baby
9. Big Legged Woman
10. Lowdown in Lodi
11. Me and My Guitar
12. Woman Across the River
13. Help Me Through the Day
14. Boogie Man
15. I'm Ready
16. Please Send Me Someone to Love
17. Ain't No Big Deal on You
18. Guitar Boogie

:toast:

[Kat45]

11. Thanks. I'll have to look for it.

[jdots]

8. he was way to young to die and so was Albert King &

Albert Collins. thanks again Night train it's time to cue up some blues.

[maveric]

10. Robert Johnson was 32.

Howlin Wolf at 66.
Too young.