Sourced from the Original King Mono Masters & Pressed On Blue Vinyl LP!
Cut by Kevin Gray & Pressed at RTi!
Featuring The Hit "Hide Away"!
Surfing songs? Err, no. Blazing guitar instrumentals? YES!!! Dig the sounds of blues giant Freddy King on this marvelous mono reissue of one of his most sought-after albums!
Syd Nathan, impresario of Cincinatti's King Records, was the epitome of the old-school indie record label owner. Always hustling, Nathan regularly beat the odds to release hit after hit in multiple genres. He'd try anything if he thought it might work, or more precisely, if he thought it would make money. After Chess Records turned down guitarist/vocalist Freddy King several times for sounding too much like B.B, King, Nathan thought that sound might actually be sellable and took a chance, signing Freddy to his Federal subsidiary label. They hit paydirt with an instrumental titled "Hide Away," which reached #5 on the R&B Chart and #29 on the Pop Singles Chart. Encouraged by the single's success, Nathan released a full album of King's instrumentals, Let's Hide Away and Dance Away with Freddy King. The album sold well and helped make Freddy a bankable touring act. While others would have been satisfied to move on to the next project, Syd sensed untapped potential in the LP.
Meanwhile, several artists on the West Coast were making noise in the brand new surf music scene. Syd didn't have any surf music artists under contract, but he DID have Freddy King. Surely, Syd surmised, if the kids went nuts for Dick Dale's guitar instrumental workouts, they could do the same for Freddy's. All he needed was a little marketing magic...GET A NEW COVER WITH SOME SURF KIDS! THROW SOME CROWD NOISE OVER TRACKS SO IT SOUNDS 'LIVE'! CALL IT...ERR...FREDDY KING GOES SURFIN'! PRESS IT AND HAVE IT ON THE SHELVES BY NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!
While it may not have happened EXACTLY like that, King Records did release Freddy King Goes Surfin', an album containing the very same songs (in precisely the same running order) as Let's Hide Away... with crowd noise dubbed over the music. Did the ruse work? Though it didn't sell as well as the original, Freddy King Goes Surfin' did find an audience. Like Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger, the album's title is such a preposterous premise that it surely snagged many buyers on that fact alone. And no amount of ersatz cheering and cocktail glass tinkling could cover up the six-string genius of King and his almighty Texas tone. Need proof? Fellow Lone Star blues maven Billy F. Gibbons picked Freddy King Goes Surfin' as one of his Top Ten Favorite Blues Albums of All Time.
Sourced from the original King mono masters and pressed on blue vinyl, Freddy King Goes Surfin' is presented in its original running order with its original cover art, in magnificent mono fidelity. Cowabunga!
Features:
• Mono Vinyl
• Blue Vinyl
• Sourced from the Original King Mono Masters
• Cut by Kevin Gray
• Pressed at RTI
Selections:
Side 1:
1. Hide Away
2. Butterscotch
3. Sen-Sa-Shun
4. Side Tracked
5. The Stumble
6. Wash Out
Side 2:
1. San-Ho-Zay
2. Just Pickin
3. Heads Up
4. In The Open
5. Out Front
6. Swooshy
Cut by Kevin Gray & Pressed at RTi!
Featuring The Hit "Hide Away"!
Surfing songs? Err, no. Blazing guitar instrumentals? YES!!! Dig the sounds of blues giant Freddy King on this marvelous mono reissue of one of his most sought-after albums!
Syd Nathan, impresario of Cincinatti's King Records, was the epitome of the old-school indie record label owner. Always hustling, Nathan regularly beat the odds to release hit after hit in multiple genres. He'd try anything if he thought it might work, or more precisely, if he thought it would make money. After Chess Records turned down guitarist/vocalist Freddy King several times for sounding too much like B.B, King, Nathan thought that sound might actually be sellable and took a chance, signing Freddy to his Federal subsidiary label. They hit paydirt with an instrumental titled "Hide Away," which reached #5 on the R&B Chart and #29 on the Pop Singles Chart. Encouraged by the single's success, Nathan released a full album of King's instrumentals, Let's Hide Away and Dance Away with Freddy King. The album sold well and helped make Freddy a bankable touring act. While others would have been satisfied to move on to the next project, Syd sensed untapped potential in the LP.
Meanwhile, several artists on the West Coast were making noise in the brand new surf music scene. Syd didn't have any surf music artists under contract, but he DID have Freddy King. Surely, Syd surmised, if the kids went nuts for Dick Dale's guitar instrumental workouts, they could do the same for Freddy's. All he needed was a little marketing magic...GET A NEW COVER WITH SOME SURF KIDS! THROW SOME CROWD NOISE OVER TRACKS SO IT SOUNDS 'LIVE'! CALL IT...ERR...FREDDY KING GOES SURFIN'! PRESS IT AND HAVE IT ON THE SHELVES BY NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!
While it may not have happened EXACTLY like that, King Records did release Freddy King Goes Surfin', an album containing the very same songs (in precisely the same running order) as Let's Hide Away... with crowd noise dubbed over the music. Did the ruse work? Though it didn't sell as well as the original, Freddy King Goes Surfin' did find an audience. Like Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger, the album's title is such a preposterous premise that it surely snagged many buyers on that fact alone. And no amount of ersatz cheering and cocktail glass tinkling could cover up the six-string genius of King and his almighty Texas tone. Need proof? Fellow Lone Star blues maven Billy F. Gibbons picked Freddy King Goes Surfin' as one of his Top Ten Favorite Blues Albums of All Time.
Sourced from the original King mono masters and pressed on blue vinyl, Freddy King Goes Surfin' is presented in its original running order with its original cover art, in magnificent mono fidelity. Cowabunga!
Features:
• Mono Vinyl
• Blue Vinyl
• Sourced from the Original King Mono Masters
• Cut by Kevin Gray
• Pressed at RTI
Selections:
Side 1:
1. Hide Away
2. Butterscotch
3. Sen-Sa-Shun
4. Side Tracked
5. The Stumble
6. Wash Out
Side 2:
1. San-Ho-Zay
2. Just Pickin
3. Heads Up
4. In The Open
5. Out Front
6. Swooshy
