according to music critic cub koda, king has influenced guitarists such as eric clapton, mick taylor, stevie ray vaughan, and lonnie mack. in michael corcoran's words, king "merged the most vibrant characteristics of both [chicago and texas] regional styles and became the biggest guitar hero of the mid-sixties british blues revivalists, who included eric clapton, savoy brown, chicken shack, and peter green-era fleetwood mac". clapton said in 1985 that king's 1961 song "i love the woman" was "the first time i heard that electric lead-guitar style, with the bent notes ... [it] started me on my path." as "rolling stone" later wrote, "clapton shared his love of king with fellow british guitar heroes peter green, jeff beck and mick taylor, all of whom were profoundly influenced by king's sharpened-treble tone and curt melodic hooks on iconic singles such as 'the stumble,' 'i'm tore down' and 'someday, after awhile.'" king was among many pioneering african-american blues musicians to embrace the british blues scene and tour its club circuit in the late 1960s. robert christgau credited king's embrace of britain with creating his renown as a pioneer of electric blues guitar. in gary graff's "musichound rock" (1996), the entry on king states: "although his reputation rests with his guitar, king also sang with an underrated, powerful style. his lasting influence has insured freddie king's recognition as one of the great postwar blues masters."