Freddie King was deep into his final chapter when he stepped onto the stage at France’s Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival in October 1975. Less than a year later, the “Texas Cannonball” would be gone at 42. Now, Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts gathers that performance in full for the first time, arriving April 18, 2026 as a Record Store Day exclusive 3-LP set from Elemental Music, with CD and digital editions following April 24.
Drawn from original ORTF recordings and restored for this release, the Nancy concert captures King at a moment when his sound bridged the blues clubs that formed him and the larger rock audiences he’d come to command. By 1975, he was no longer simply the architect of instrumentals like “Hide Away” and “Sen-Sa-Shun.” He was leading a road-tested band across Europe, folding Chicago grit, Texas swing, and amplified swagger into a set designed for festival stages.
Across sixteen performances, King moves between extended blues workouts and crossover staples that had become fixtures of his mid-’70s shows. “Sen-Sa-Shun” locks into a groove alongside Magic Sam’s “Lookin’ Good.” “Have You Ever Loved a Woman” unfolds into B.B. King’s “Whole Lot of Lovin’.” Standards including “Sweet Little Angel,” “Got My Mojo Working,” “The Things I Used to Do,” “Sweet Home Chicago,” “Messin’ with the Kid,” “Danger Zone,” and “Stormy Monday” share space with Dave Mason’s “Feelin’ Alright” and Don Nix’s “Goin’ Down” — material that reflected King’s expanding reach without abandoning his roots.
The band — Alvin Hemphill (organ), Ed Lively (guitar), Lewis Stephens (piano), Benny Turner (bass), and Calep Emphrey (drums) — had settled into a working chemistry by the time they hit France. Stephens, who toured with King during that European run, remembers it as a “blistering” five- or six-week stretch through France. “Freddie had truly hit his stride as a blues-rock star in Europe and the U.S.,” he reflects.
The release was produced in cooperation with the Freddie King Estate by Zev Feldman, whose archival projects have brought renewed attention to pivotal live recordings. In his statement for the project, Feldman notes: “Freddie King is and remains a king indeed — a defining figure in blues and rock guitar. These recordings capture a moment when he was transcending audiences and influencing players around the world. It’s also been deeply meaningful to work with his daughter, Wanda King, as we set out not only to release this music, but to celebrate Freddie’s legacy and the impact he made. These performances present him at his very best — and they’re thrilling to hear.”
In newly commissioned liner notes, veteran journalist and blues historian Cary Baker situates the performance within the final, defining chapter of King’s career, drawing attention to the urgency and command that marked his last great run of international shows. The package also includes reflections from King’s daughter and estate administrator Wanda King, along with an appreciation from ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons, who writes, “At this show in Nancy — just a year before his untimely departure — the Texas Cannonball poured it on in a big way.”
For listeners tracing the arc of King’s career, the Nancy set documents an artist who had nothing left to prove — and was still pushing forward. Nearly five decades later, the performance stands as a reminder of how completely Freddie King inhabited a stage, whether in a South Side club or before tens of thousands overseas.
