Denny Freeman
Encyclopedia
Denny Freeman is an American
Texas
and electric blues
guitarist
. Although he is primarily known as a guitar player, Freeman has also played piano
and electric organ
, both in concert
and on various recordings
. He has worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan
, Jimmie Vaughan
, Bob Dylan
, Angela Strehli
, Lou Ann Barton
, James Cotton
, Taj Mahal
, and Percy Sledge
amongst others.
in Dallas, Texas
in the late 1950s and played in a rock group called "The Corals" while in high school. He went to college in North Texas
, and had a brief stay in Los Angeles
, before relocating in 1970 to Austin, Texas
. He was co-lead guitarist in the Cobras with Stevie Ray Vaughan
, then in 1972, became a founding member of Southern Feeling, along with W. C. Clark
and Angela Strehli
. He later recorded with Lou Ann Barton
. Freeman lived and played with both Jimmie
and Stevie Ray Vaughan
throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He played piano on Jimmie Vaughan's first solo tour, and on a James Cotton
album. At Antone's
nightclub
in the early 1980s, Freeman was a member of the house band
and backed Otis Rush
, Albert Collins
, Buddy Guy
, Junior Wells
, and Lazy Lester
.
After touring with Jimmie Vaughan in the mid 1990s he toured with Taj Mahal until 2002. A songwriter on his five mainly instrumental
albums, Freeman lived again in Los Angeles from 1992 until 2004. Freeman played with Bob Dylan
's backing band between 2005 and 2009. Dylan's album, Modern Times
was recorded with Dylan's then touring band, including Freeman, Tony Garnier
, George G Receli, Stu Kimball, plus multi-instrumentalist
Donnie Herron. During a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone
, Dylan spoke about his current band:
Clem Burke
played the drum
s on Freeman's latest solo offering, Twang Bang (2006).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Texas
Texas blues
Texas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
and electric blues
Electric blues
Electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
. Although he is primarily known as a guitar player, Freeman has also played piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and electric organ
Electric organ
In biology, the electric organ is an organ common to all electric fish used for the purposes of creating an electric field. The electric organ is derived from modified nerve or muscle tissue...
, both in concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
and on various recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
. He has worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan
James Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Angela Strehli
Angela Strehli
Angela Strehli is an American electric blues singer and songwriter. She is also a Texas blues historian and impresario. Despite a sporadic recording career, Strehli spends time each year performing in Europe, the US and Canada.-Biography:In the early 1960s, Strehli learned the harmonica and bass...
, Lou Ann Barton
Lou Ann Barton
Lou Ann Barton is an American blues singer based, out of Austin, Texas since the 1970s.-Biography:...
, James Cotton
James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
, Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
, and Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.-Early career:...
amongst others.
Biography
Freeman spent his adolescenceAdolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in the late 1950s and played in a rock group called "The Corals" while in high school. He went to college in North Texas
North Texas
North Texas is a distinct cultural and geographic area forming the central-northeastern section of the U.S. state of Texas. North Texas is generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, and north of Waco...
, and had a brief stay in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, before relocating in 1970 to Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. He was co-lead guitarist in the Cobras with Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, then in 1972, became a founding member of Southern Feeling, along with W. C. Clark
W. C. Clark
W. C. Clark is an American blues musician. He is known as the "Godfather of Austin Blues" for his influence on the Austin, Texas blues scene since the late 1960s.-Biography:...
and Angela Strehli
Angela Strehli
Angela Strehli is an American electric blues singer and songwriter. She is also a Texas blues historian and impresario. Despite a sporadic recording career, Strehli spends time each year performing in Europe, the US and Canada.-Biography:In the early 1960s, Strehli learned the harmonica and bass...
. He later recorded with Lou Ann Barton
Lou Ann Barton
Lou Ann Barton is an American blues singer based, out of Austin, Texas since the 1970s.-Biography:...
. Freeman lived and played with both Jimmie
Jimmie Vaughan
James Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
and Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He played piano on Jimmie Vaughan's first solo tour, and on a James Cotton
James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
album. At Antone's
Clifford Antone
Clifford Antone was the founder of a well-known Austin blues club, record label, and a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan and numerous other musicians....
nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in the early 1980s, Freeman was a member of the house band
House band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
and backed Otis Rush
Otis Rush
Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
, Albert Collins
Albert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
, and Lazy Lester
Lazy Lester
Lazy Lester is an American blues harmonica player, whose career spans the 1950s to the 2000s....
.
After touring with Jimmie Vaughan in the mid 1990s he toured with Taj Mahal until 2002. A songwriter on his five mainly instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
albums, Freeman lived again in Los Angeles from 1992 until 2004. Freeman played with Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's backing band between 2005 and 2009. Dylan's album, Modern Times
Modern Times (Bob Dylan album)
Modern Times is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 32nd studio album, released by Columbia Records in August 2006. The album was Dylan's third straight to be met with nearly universal praise from fans and critics...
was recorded with Dylan's then touring band, including Freeman, Tony Garnier
Tony Garnier (musician)
Tony Garnier is an American bassist , best known as an accompanist to Bob Dylan, with whom he has played since 1989...
, George G Receli, Stu Kimball, plus multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
Donnie Herron. During a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Dylan spoke about his current band:
Clem Burke
Clem Burke
Clem Burke is an American musician who is the drummer for the band Blondie. Recruited by Chris Stein and Debbie Harry when they were first forming Blondie, Burke remained with the band through its first stage and later returned for its late 1990s reunion and then its extensive 2009 tour.Following...
played the drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s on Freeman's latest solo offering, Twang Bang (2006).
Credits
- Freeman co-wrote "Baboom/Mama Said" on the The Vaughan Brothers' 1990 album, Family StyleFamily StyleFamily Style is a blues-rock album by the Vaughan Brothers, released on September 25, 1990. The album features the brethren guitarists and vocalists, Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan, in their only studio collaboration. In his early years, Stevie Ray Vaughan often remarked that he would like to do an...
- He played piano on Jimmie VaughanJimmie VaughanJames Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
's 1994 album, Strange Pleasure, and organ on his 1998 follow-up, Out There.
- He co-wrote "Boom Boom in the Zoom Zoom Room" on BlondieBlondie (band)Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
's 1999 No ExitNo Exit (Blondie album)No Exit is the seventh studio album by the US rock/new wave group Blondie. It was released in February 1999 and marked the first time the band recorded or performed together since 1982, when they released their previous studio album The Hunter....
album.
- Freeman played guitar on Taj MahalTaj Mahal (musician)Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
and the Phantom Blues Band's Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning live albumLive albumA live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, Shoutin' in KeyShoutin' in KeyShoutin' in Key is an album by American blues artist Taj Mahal.-Track listing:# "Honky Tonk"# "EZ Rider"# "Ain't That a Lot of Love"# "Ev'ry Wind "# "Stranger in My Own Home Town"# "Woulda Coulda Shoulda"# "Leaving Trunk"...
(2000).
- He played guitar on Percy SledgePercy SledgePercy Sledge is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.-Early career:...
's 2004 album, Shining Through the Rain, and co-wrote with Fontaine Brown the song "Love Come and Rescue Me".
- Freeman played guitar, organ and piano on Doyle BramhallDoyle BramhallDoyle Bramhall was an American singer-songwriter and drummer, closely associated with the music of Austin.-Biography:...
's 2007 album, Is It News.
Discography
- Out of the Blue (1987) - Amazing
- Denny Freeman (1991) - Amazing
- A Tone for My Sins (1997) - Dallas Blues Society
- Denny Freeman and the Cobras (live albumLive albumA live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
) (2000) - Crosscut (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) - Twang Bang (2006) - V8
See also
- List of Texas blues musicians
- List of electric blues musicians
- List of Austin City Limits performers
- Never Ending TourNever Ending TourThe Never Ending Tour is the popular name for Bob Dylan’s endless touring schedule since June 7, 1988. During the past 23+ years, musicians have come and gone and the band has continued to evolve...