Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan were a generation apart in age but were brothers of the guitar and the blues.
Albert was one of the three kings of the blues along with B.B. and Freddie. He was a left-hander who learned to play a right-handed guitar upside down. Even later in his career when he could afford a proper left-handed instrument, he would continue to string it upside down. His style and tone would influence the generation of guitarists which followed. His most famous work was for the legendary Stax label, and “Born Under A Bad Sign” remains his signature song. He died of a heart attack, 12/21/92, at the age of 69.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was ranked #7 by Rolling Stone Magazine on its list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time and was inducted into The Blues Hall Of Fame in the year 2000. He was a leading light of the modern electric blues scene, as his first five studio albums (which spanned 1983-1990) all reached at least platinum status in The United States.
On August 27, 1990, he boarded a helicopter shortly after completing a jam with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, his brother Jimmie, and Robert Cray at The Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconsin, before an estimated crowd of 30,000. Less than five minutes after take-off he was dead.
Vaughan was an Albert King acolyte. On December 6, 1983, they joined together for a memorable performance for the Canadian television In Session program. The series would pair musicians who were similar in style but had rarely if ever played together. King and Vaughan would never share the stage again.
In Session was released as a CD during 1999 and would top the blues charts in The United States. It was King’s biggest selling album. Now it has been reissued with an accompanying DVD of the performance. The only thing better than hearing Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan play together is to see them play together.
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