Albert Collins, the Master of the Telecaster and the Iceman, built one of the most recognizable guitar sounds in blues history by breaking nearly every conventional rule. This episode traces his journey from Leona, Texas, where a booked-up piano tutor led a cousin to hand him a guitar tuned to open F minor, through twelve years of ranch work and truck driving while he honed his craft at Houston jam sessions, to his breakthrough when Canned Heat saw him play at the Ponderosa in 1968 and helped land him a deal with Imperial Records.

The story does not stop at the Fillmore West. We follow the collapse of Tumbleweed Records, the years Collins spent doing construction work, including a remodeling job on Neil Diamond's house, and the way his wife Gwen pushed him back onto the stage. His 1978 signing with Alligator Records and the album Ice Pickin ...