American guitarist (1944–2021)
Denny Freeman
Denny Freeman - Austin Music Awards - SXSW (2013).
Birth name Dennis Edward Freeman Born (1944-08-07 ) August 7, 1944
Orlando, Florida , USDied April 25, 2021(2021-04-25) (aged 76)
Austin, Texas , US Genres
Texas blues ,
electric blues Occupation(s) Guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter Instrument(s) Guitar, piano,
organ Years active 1970–2021 Website
Official website
Musical artist
Dennis Edward Freeman
[1] (August 7, 1944 – April 25, 2021) was an American
Texas and
electric blues guitarist.
[2] Although he is primarily known as a guitar player, Freeman also played piano and electronic organ, both in concert and on various recordings. He worked with
Stevie Ray Vaughan ,
Jimmie Vaughan ,
Bob Dylan ,
Angela Strehli ,
Lou Ann Barton ,
James Cotton ,
Taj Mahal ,
Barry Goldberg and
Percy Sledge amongst others.
[3]
[4]
Early life
Freeman was born in
Orlando, Florida , on August 7, 1944.
[3]
[5] He spent his adolescence 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 .
[1]
[4]
Career
Freeman started his career as co-lead guitarist in the Cobras with Stevie Ray Vaughan.
[2] He became a founding member of Southern Feeling in 1972, along with
W. C. Clark and
Angela Strehli .
[6] He later recorded with
Lou Ann Barton .
[2] 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 .
[1]
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.
[1] Freeman played with
Bob Dylan 's backing band between 2005 and 2009.
[7] 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.
[8] During a 2006 interview with
Rolling Stone , Dylan spoke about his current band:
This is the best band I've ever been in, I've ever had, man for man. When you play with guys a hundred times a year, you know what you can and can't do, what they're good at, whether you want 'em there. It takes a long time to find a band of individual players. Most bands are gangs. Whether it's a
metal group or
pop rock , whatever, you get that gang mentality. But for those of us who went back further, gangs were the mob. The gang was not what anybody aspired to. On this record (Modern Times ) I didn't have anybody to teach. I got guys now in my band, they can whip up anything, they surprise even me.
[9]
Denny Freeman - Austin Music Awards Hall of Fame Induction (2010).
Stu Kimball, Bob Dylan, Donnie Herron, George Recile, Tony Garnier and Denny Freeman (L - R) performing in
Bologna , Italy (2005)
Clem Burke played the drums on Freeman's solo offering, Twang Bang (2006).
[10]
Later life
Freeman was inducted into the Austin Music Awards Hall of Fame in 2009.
[11]
Freeman died on April 25, 2021, in
Austin, Texas . He was 76, and was diagnosed with abdominal cancer several weeks before his death.
[3]
[12]
Credits
Freeman co-wrote "Baboom/Mama Said" on The Vaughan Brothers' 1990 album,
Family Style
[2]
He played piano on
Jimmie Vaughan 's 1994 album, Strange Pleasure ,
[13] and organ on his 1998 follow-up, Out There .
[14]
He co-wrote "Boom Boom in the Zoom Zoom Room" on
Blondie 's 1999
No Exit album.
[15]
Freeman played guitar on
Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band's
Grammy Award winning live album,
Shoutin' in Key (2000).
[16]
He played guitar on
Percy Sledge 's 2004 album, Shining Through the Rain , and co-wrote with Fontaine Brown the song "Love Come and Rescue Me".
[17]
He played guitar on Bob Dylan’s 2006 album
Modern Times .
[8]
Freeman played guitar, organ and piano on
Doyle Bramhall 's 2007 album, Is It News .
[18]
He played guitar on two of
Barry Goldberg 's albums, Stoned Again (2002) and In the Groove (2018).
[19]
Discography
Blues Cruise (1986) – Amazing
[20]
Out of the Blue (1987) – Amazing
[20]
Denny Freeman (1991) – Amazing
[20]
A Tone for My Sins (1997) – Dallas Blues Society
[20]
Denny Freeman and the Cobras (live album) (2000) – Crosscut (Germany)
[20]
Twang Bang (2006) – V8
[20]
Diggin on Dylan (2012) – V8 Records
[20]
See also
References
^
a
b
c
d Gray, Michael (2006).
The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia (1st ed.). Continuum.
ISBN
0-8264-2974-2 .
^
a
b
c
d Forte, Dan.
"Denny Freeman" .
Allmusic . Retrieved February 13, 2010 .
^
a
b
c Blackstock, Peter (April 26, 2021).
" 'As soulful as humans get': Austin guitar great Denny Freeman remembered by music community" . Austin American-Statesman . Archived from
the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021 .
^
a
b
"Denny Freeman biography" . Dennyfreeman.com. Archived from
the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2010 .
^ Santelli, Robert (2001).
The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia . Penguin Books.
ISBN
978-0-14-100145-6 .
^
"Artist Info: Angela Strehli" . Archived from
the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2010 .
^
Bentley, Bill (December 2, 2011).
"Ten Fingers: Denny Freeman returns" .
The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved February 17, 2019 .
^
a
b
"CD Album: Bob Dylan - Modern Times (2006)" . 45worlds.com . Retrieved April 26, 2021 .
^
Jonathan Lethem (August 21, 2006).
"The Genius of Bob Dylan" .
Rolling Stone . Archived from
the original on September 1, 2006. Retrieved April 30, 2009 .
^
"Twang Bang - Denny Freeman | Credits" .
AllMusic . August 8, 2006. Retrieved October 13, 2015 .
^
"Austin Music Awards - 2009 Hall of Fame" .
The Austin Chronicle . The Austin Chronicle Corp. Retrieved February 8, 2017 .
^
"Denny Freeman, the Graceful Guitarist Who Made Everyone Sound Better, Has Died" . The Austin Chronicle . April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021 .
^
"Strange Pleasure - Jimmie Vaughan | Credits" .
AllMusic . Retrieved October 13, 2015 .
^
"Out There - Jimmie Vaughan | Credits" .
AllMusic . June 9, 1998. Retrieved October 13, 2015 .
^ Becky Byrkit (February 23, 1999).
"No Exit - Blondie | Songs, Reviews, Credits" .
AllMusic . Retrieved October 13, 2015 .
^
"Shoutin' in Key: Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band Live - Taj Mahal | Credits" .
AllMusic . Retrieved October 13, 2015 .
^
"Shining Through the Rain - Percy Sledge | Credits" .
AllMusic . August 31, 2004. Retrieved October 13, 2015 .
^
"Is It News - Doyle Bramhall | Credits" .
AllMusic . September 4, 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2015 .
^
"Denny Freeman | Credits" . AllMusic . Retrieved April 13, 2021 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Denny Freeman – Album Discography" .
AllMusic . Retrieved April 26, 2021 .
External links
International National Artists