In the 1940s he led the Californian based band, the 'Porky Freeman Trio'. One of his early hits, "Porky's Boogie Woogie on Strings", began rock and roll's evolution out of Western swing.[3] As a session musician he backed many of the popular musicians of the time.
His early experimentation with the electric guitar led to several patents for the instrument.[4][5][6] One of the patents, 'Single Pickup Frequency Control For String Instrument',[5] led to legal wrangling with Fender.[citation needed]
Discography
Year
Part #
Titles
Notes
Morris Lee Records
1944
115/116
Red Murrell & The Rhythm Boys: What The Sergeant Said [W-471] (v: Red Murrell [Porky's rhythm guitarist]) // The Rhythm Boys: Porky's Boogie Woogie On Strings [W-472] (i)
ARA (American Recording Artists) Records
1945
114
Bob Crosby & His Orchestra: On The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe [9757] (v: Peggy Lee) // Porky Freeman Trio: On The Night Train To Memphis [12164] (i)
1945
118
Rum And Coca-Cola [12165] (v: Ruth Foxe) // Boogie Woogie On Strings [12163] (i)
^Doyle, Peter (2005). Echo and Reverb: Fabricating Space in Popular Music Recording, 1900-1960. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN0-8195-6794-9. Porky Freeman began adapting boogie bass patterns to the electric guitar in the mid-1940s
^La Chapelle, Peter (2007). Proud to Be an Okie: Cultural Politics, Country Music, and Migration to Southern California. University of California Press. p. 95. ISBN978-0-520-24888-5. Porky Freeman and Red Murrell, the session musicians on Jack Guthrie's 'Oakie Boogie,' even recorded a guitar instrumental, 'Porky's Boogie Woogie on Strings' which many enthusiast argued invoked Memphis barrelhouse music and anticipated rock and roll. Cut during the war, the independent release proved so popular that Freeman and Murrell released it and put it on both side of the disc to keep jukebox listeners from wearing out the groove.