Freddie King: Gilmer’s Texas Cannonball

Today is the birthday of Freddie King. He would be 92 today.

If you’ve spent any time in a Texas blues club, you’ve heard Freddie King — whether you knew it or not. Fred Christian King was born in Gilmer, Texas on September 3, 1934, in Upshur County, the same pine country that produced Don Henley. He moved to Chicago at sixteen, but the East Texas blues ran through his playing like a river that couldn’t be dammed. He was the most physically commanding guitarist of his era — six feet two, broad as a barn door, playing a Les Paul like it was fighting back.

The Record That Made the Blues Matter Again

“Hide Away” peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard singles chart in 1961 and became one of the defining instrumentals in blues history. British guitarists treated it like a license exam — Clapton played it, Peter Green played it, Mick Taylor played it. Eric Clapton has said that seeing King perform in London in 1966 was a turning point in his life as a guitarist. King’s 1966 tour of England was sold out every night. He died December 28, 1976, in Dallas — too young at 42, still ascending. Find his related listings and learn more at the Texas State Historical Association.