Freddie King

• Thumb pick + metal fingerpick combination: practise until the attack feels natural
• Bright pickup selector position (bridge or middle-bridge on ES-335)
• Texas shuffle rhythm: triplet-feel 12-bar blues with strong ghost notes on the snare beats
• Fast pentatonic runs with clear note articulation — each note must ring cleanly at tempo
• Uptempos: Freddie played many blues standards significantly faster than the Chicago norm
• Double-stop bends on the 2nd and 3rd strings (Albert King style but more percussive)
• Study "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" (recorded by Clapton on Blues Breakers) for the influence
• Clean Fender amp pushed hard at volume — natural breakup from the 6L6 power tubes
• "Hideaway" is the definitive Freddie King instrumental — learn it note for note

Freddie King was the most powerful and aggressive of the three Kings — his uptempo Texas shuffle and raw, fast picking style influenced Eric Clapton and Peter Green profoundly. His Gibson ES-335 through a small Fender amp, played with a plastic thumb pick and metal index-finger pick, produced a uniquely percussive and forward attack.