Shelter Records: Going Down

Freddy King, one of the “Three Kings of the Blues,” had a musical career that spanned from 1956 until his untimely death in 1976. His performance at the Texas Pop Festival brought him to the attention of Leon Russell and he was signed as an early artist to the fledgling Shelter Records after his contract with Atlantic’s Cotillion subsidiary was fulfilled in 1970. In all, King recorded three albums for Shelter.

His first Shelter LP was “Getting Ready,” and to provide King the proper atmosphere for this release, Shelter booked him into the legendary Chess Studios at 2120 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Although King hadn’t had a charting single since 1961, Shelter continued to issue 45s in hopes that his new rock-tinged version of the blues would catch on with the record buying public. Unfortunately, they didn’t.

Photo on the outside of the Chess studios in 2006

King’s first single for Shelter was “Going Down,” which was written by label mate Don Nix. Nix and Russell produced the recording. As you will discover (if you haven’t already), “Going Down” rocks.