Freddie King - The Beat 1966

Freddie King, hard-driving and perhaps driven, was only 42 when he died on December 28, 1976. The intensity of the performances in this video suggest an artist who burned at full throttle every time he played. Guitarists as diverse as Eric Clapton, Michael Bloomfield, and Jerry Garcia have cited King as a formative influence.

Most of the clips in this collection come from a unique time warp, a fleeting moment when Southern R&B collided with mid-60's "Mod" and rendered a show called THE!!!!BEAT. THE!!!!BEAT'S 26-show run in 1966 may have been ahead of its time. The time is one when television programming for black audiences was otherwise nonexistent and blues remained a powerful force in Southern black popular music. Freddie King was 31 at the time of THE!!!BEAT, playing and singing in prime form. This video/DVD collection presents all of Freddie King's appearances from this unique series. The presentation concludes with three tunes performed in Sweden in 1973 and shows Freddie's artistic growth.

 Running time: 60 minutes. 

DVD is region 0, playable worldwide.