About
Thematically, “Freddie Freeloader” is something of an orphan in Kind of Blue. In his liner notes for the original release, Bill Evans describes this tune as:
a 12-measure blues form given new personality by effective melodic and rhythmic simplicity.
As Ashley Kahn notes in his book on the album’s making, the initial tune recorded was also its least melancholy. Not coincidentally, it’s the only one on which the famously melancholic Bill Evans does not perform.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
According to the documentary Kind of Blue: Made in Heaven and an anecdote from the jazz pianist Monty Alexander the song was named after an individual named Freddie who would frequently try to see the music Davis and others performed without paying (freeloading = getting in for for free).
The name may have also been inspired by Red Skelton’s most famous character, Freddie the Freeloader the hobo clown.