Freddy King or Freddie King? No matter how you spell it, this funkiest member of the three Kings is known for his smoking instrumentals. And if you’re contemplating learning one of them, my vote goes in for “The Stumble.” Here’s why: “Hideaway” has already been covered pretty definitively plus, if you learn The Stumble, you can easily pull together that number. “San-Ho-Zay” IS super funky, but I’m planning to shed that one so, please – don’t steal my master plan!
But the killer centerpiece lick in sixths and interesting chord progression for improvising are the real reasons to learn The Stumble, not to mention that it’s really memorable and tuneful. It’s a live staple, but I have yet to hear a really groovy, scintillating studio cover. Maybe yours will be the one.
The biggest challenge to nailing the tune is in the turnaround lick. It has a fairly long, repeated sequence of double-stop sixths. Some people play it exclusively on the high E and G strings, but I find that there is too much movement up and down the neck for accuracy. My version offers an alternative, putting the majority of the run on the B and D strings. Still, there is plenty of ground to cover, and I feel a Gibson guitar’s shorter scale is an advantage. Freddy probably recorded it on a ‘50s Les Paul Gold Top, which you can see in the picture above.
I tend to play higher up the neck at times to get a fatter tone from the thicker, lower strings. Also, with so much movement in this lick, it’s helpful to be working the higher and hence closer together frets. There is one difference between the way I play the main lick and the original version. I’ve included the original in the tab (below), but in the video I play the repeat of the bottom end of the run with a flat 3 and flat 5 – it adds a bluesy-ness to the sound that I really like.
In the improvisational sections, I play a combination of ideas of my own along with some Freddy King stuff that I really like. An example would be 4 – b5 – 5 repeated lick of Freddy’s (1:15), and the classic double stops (1:18). I expand on the diminished chord in measure twelve (1:55) using a simple change from Hendrix’s “My Friend” – fits perfectly! Otherwise, there is quite a bit of free form riffing out, which is pretty much expected on this showcase piece. For an example of a super hot one see Gary Moore.
The changes are below. Note that it is a sixteen bar form, not a twelve. This is often referred to as a more Gospel influenced progression, and the use of the circle of fifths at the end underscores this.
A7 A7 E7 E7
A7 A7 B7 B7
E7 E7 A7 Bb dim 7
E7 – C#7 – F#7 – B7 – E7 – A7 – E7 – B7
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