The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
blues scene, the band won a
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with
Takoma/
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...
and later signed with
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
. In 2011, they signed with
Severn Records
Severn Records is an American independent record label that concentrates on blues music. Its motto is "Roots Music for the 21st Century".
History
On July 11, 1997, a company named Echo Records was incorporated in Maryland by David Earl. By the t ...
.
Their first two albums were released in 1979 and 1980, with
Kim Wilson
Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for the Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s, " Tuff Enuff" (which was the group's only Top 40 ...
's lead vocals and harmonica,
Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant ...
as lead guitarist, and
Keith Ferguson on bass guitar. Mike Buck was on drums for the first album but left the band and was replaced by Fran Christina on the second. Both albums initially sold through the small number printed (about 3000 units) and are now regarded as significant blues recordings. The Thunderbirds' blues style mixed
Texas blues
Texas blues is blues music from Texas. As a regional style, its original form was characterized by jazz and swing influences. Later examples are often closer to blues rock and Southern rock.
History
Texas blues began to appear in the early 1900 ...
with the harmonica-laced
swamp blues
Swamp blues is a type of Louisiana blues that developed in the Black communities of Southwest Louisiana in the 1950s.Malone, Evelyn Levingston, "Swamp Blues: Race And Vinyl From Southwest Louisiana" (2016). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertation ...
sounds of
Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo (born James Isaac Moore; January 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970) was an American blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spiri ...
and
Lazy Lester
Leslie Johnson (June 20, 1933 – August 22, 2018), better known as Lazy Lester, was an American blues musician who sang and played the harmonica and guitar. In a career spanning the 1950s to 2018, he pioneered swamp blues, and also played ha ...
—both of whom the Thunderbirds
covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
. The band's third album, ''Butt-Rockin, released in 1981, took the band closer to old
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
and added additional musicians playing piano and
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
.
Although the Fabulous Thunderbirds had become favorites of fellow musicians—opening shows for the likes of the
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
and
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
—and had been critically well-received, the band's
records
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
did not sell well. Chrysalis dropped the band following the release of ''T-Bird Rhythm'', leaving the band without a contract for four years. While still in limbo, the Fabulous Thunderbirds continued to play concerts across the U.S. During this time, bassist Keith Ferguson left the band and was replaced by Preston Hubbard, a former member of
Roomful of Blues
Roomful of Blues is an American blues and swing revival big band based in Rhode Island. With a recording career that spans over 50 years, they have toured worldwide and recorded many albums. Roomful of Blues, according to the ''Chicago Sun-Tim ...
.
Also during this time, the band was featured on the 1983 Carlos Santana album ''
Havana Moon''. In 1985, the band finally landed another recording contract with
Epic/
Associated Associated may refer to:
*Associated, former name of Avon, Contra Costa County, California
* Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto, a school in Canada
*Associated Newspapers, former name of DMG Media, a British publishing company
See also
*Associati ...
.
The single "
Tuff Enuff
''Tuff Enuff'' is a 1986 studio album by Texas-based blues rock band The Fabulous Thunderbirds, which pointed the band in a more mainstream direction. The single "Tuff Enuff" was featured in the films ''Gung Ho'' and '' Tough Guys'', as was the ...
" was featured in the 1986 film ''
Gung Ho
''Gung ho'' () is an English term, with the current meaning of "overly enthusiastic or energetic". It originated during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) from a Chinese term, ( zh, hp=gōnghé, l=to work together), short for Chinese ...
''. It was also featured in the film ''
Tough Guys
''Tough Guys'' is a 1986 American action comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach, Charles Durning, Dana Carvey and Darlanne Fluegel. It is the eighth film of Touchstone Pictures, and the final ...
'', as was the follow-up single, "Wrap It Up", which went to number 50 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. "Tuff Enuff" remains the band's only Top 40 hit, peaking at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The album ''Tuff Enuff'' went gold in several countries and was subsequently certified platinum in the United States, with sales of over one million. The band's music was also used in the 1987 movie ''
Hot Pursuit
Hot pursuit is a legal term.
Hot Pursuit may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Hot Pursuit'' (1984 TV series), a 1984 NBC television series
* ''Hot Pursuit'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 Court TV television series
* ''Hot Pursuit'' (1987 film) ...
''. The Vaughan–Wilson composition "Twist It Off" appears in the 1987
Michael J. Fox
Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American retired actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1 ...
and
Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...
film ''
Light of Day
''Light of Day'' is a 1987 American musical drama film starring Michael J. Fox, Gena Rowlands and Joan Jett in her film debut. It was written and directed by Paul Schrader. The original music score was composed by Thomas Newman and the cinemato ...
'' and on the issued soundtrack. The band also appears in the film performing the song live. The Fabulous Thunderbirds' next album, ''
Hot Number'', fell off the
charts
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...
quickly. But following that, their recording of "
Powerful Stuff
''Powerful Stuff'' is a 1989 studio album by Texas based blues rock band The Fabulous Thunderbirds. It was recorded in Memphis and produced by Terry Manning.
It was the last studio album to feature Jimmie Vaughan before leaving for a solo career. ...
" was a success, based in part on its inclusion in the 1988 film ''
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...
''.
Jimmie Vaughan left the band in 1990 to record a long-awaited album with his brother
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...
, "Family Style". Following Stevie Ray's death in 1990, Jimmie pursued a full-time solo career.
The band then embarked on a long series of lineup changes and albums throughout the 1990s. The Fabulous Thunderbirds replaced Vaughan with two guitarists,
Duke Robillard
Michael John "Duke" Robillard (born October 4, 1948) is an American guitarist and singer. He founded the band Roomful of Blues and was a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Although Robillard is known as a rock and blues guitarist, he also play ...
and Kid Bangham.
Long-time drummer Fran Christina left in 1996 and went on to join with Marcia Ball and later Doug Sahm's Last Real Texas Blues Band.
Doug "Kid" Bangham left the band after three years to pursue a solo career and open the Carver School of Music and the Carver Institute of Rock in Carver, Massachusetts.
In the early 1990s, Kim Wilson recorded a pair of solo albums while continuing to tour with the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
In 1994, the band recorded its ninth album, ''Roll of the Dice'', which was released on
Private Music
Private Music was an American independent record label founded in 1984 by musician Peter Baumann as a "home for instrumental music". Baumann signed Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and his former ...
in 1995.
''High Water'' followed in 1997, although this was actually a collaboration between Wilson and studio musicians
Steve Jordan and
Danny Kortchmar
Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, ...
issued under the Fabulous Thunderbirds name.
Former bassist Keith Ferguson died of liver failure on April 29, 1997, at the age of 50.
On the evening of February 16, 2000, the Fabulous Thunderbirds were the first band ever to be broadcast on the Internet using high-definition cameras. The companion DVD, ''Invitation Only'', is one of the first high-resolution multi-track recordings of a live concert event. The companion CD ''Live!'' was released in 2001.
The band recorded ''Painted On'' in 2005, produced by Steve Berlin (of
Los Lobos
Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, ...
) and featuring Rachel Nagy of the Detroit Cobras on the track ''Love Speaks Louder Than Words''. Guitarist
Nick Curran
Nick Curran (September 30, 1977 – October 6, 2012) was an American blues/rock and roll singer and guitarist. He has been likened to T-Bone Walker, Little Richard, The Sonics, Doug Sahm, Misfits, and The Ramones .
Early life
Nick Curran w ...
joined Wilson on vocals for ''Two Time Fool''.
In 2016, Kim Wilson announced that the Fabulous Thunderbirds for 2016 will be Steve Gomes on bass, Kevin Anker on keyboards, Wes Watkins on drums, with holdover Johnny Moeller on guitar.
This lineup plus drummer Rob Stupka recorded the album ''Strong Like That'' released in August 2016.
Former bassist Preston Hubbard (born on March 15, 1953 in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
) was found dead at his home in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Missouri, on August 17, 2016, at the age of 63. Former keyboardist, Gene Taylor died on February 20, 2021.
Lineups
![Duke Robillard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Duke_Robillard.jpg)
*Timeline
*
*
Timeline
ImageSize = width:1000 height:550
PlotArea = left:200 bottom:120 top:0 right:45
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1974 till:01/02/2020
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1974
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1974
Colors =
id:voc value:red legend:Vocals
id:harm value:gray(0.5) legend:Harmonica
id:g value:green legend:Guitars
id:key value:purple legend:Keyboards
id:b value:blue legend:Bass
id:dr value:orange legend:Drums
id:alb value:black legend:Studio_releases
LineData =
at:01/01/1979 layer:back
at:01/05/1980
at:01/01/1981
at:01/01/1982
at:01/01/1986
at:01/01/1987
at:01/01/1989
at:01/12/1991
at:01/08/1995
at:12/08/1997
at:14/07/2005
at:01/01/2013
at:01/01/2016
PlotData =
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,–4)
bar:Kim Wilson from:start till:end color:voc
bar:Kim Wilson from:start till:end color:harm width:3
bar:Jimmie Vaughan from:start till:01/07/1990 color:g
bar:Duke Robillard from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1993 color:g
bar:Doug "Kid" Bangham from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1993 color:g
bar:Kid Ramos from:01/07/1993 till:01/09/2002 color:g
bar:Troy Gonyea from:01/09/2002 till:01/07/2005 color:g
bar:Kirk Fletcher from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2008 color:g
bar:Nick Curran from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2007 color:g
bar:Nick Curran from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2007 color:voc width:3
bar:Johnny Moeller from:01/07/2007 till:end color:g
bar:Mike Keller from:01/07/2008 till:01/01/2016 color:g
bar:Gene Taylor from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/2007 color:key
bar:Kevin Anker from:01/01/2016 till:end color:key
bar:John Melancon from:start till:01/07/1979 color:b
bar:Keith Ferguson from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1985 color:b
bar:Preston Hubbard from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1993 color:b
bar:Willie Campbell from:01/07/1993 till:01/09/2002 color:b
bar:Ronnie James Weber from:01/09/2002 till:01/07/2007 color:b
bar:Randy Bermudes from:01/07/2007 till:01/01/2016 color:b
bar:Steve Gomes from:01/01/2016 till:end color:b
bar:Mike Buck from:start till:01/07/1979 color:dr
bar:Fran Cristina from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1996 color:dr
bar:Jimi Bott from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1999 color:dr
bar:Jimi Bott from:01/07/2000 till:01/05/2002 color:dr
bar:Jimi Bott from:01/09/2002 till:01/05/2007 color:dr
bar:Richard Innes from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 color:dr
bar:Steve Hodges from:01/05/2002 till:01/09/2002 color:dr
bar:Jay Moeller from:01/07/2007 till:01/01/2016 color:dr
bar:Wes Watkins from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2019 color:dr
bar:Nico Leophonte from:01/01/2019 till:end color:dr
Discography
Albums
*''
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974.
Career
After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...
'' (1979)
*''
What's the Word'' (1980)
*''
Butt Rockin''' (1981)
*''
T-Bird Rhythm'' (1982)
*''
Tuff Enuff
''Tuff Enuff'' is a 1986 studio album by Texas-based blues rock band The Fabulous Thunderbirds, which pointed the band in a more mainstream direction. The single "Tuff Enuff" was featured in the films ''Gung Ho'' and '' Tough Guys'', as was the ...
'' (1986)
*''
Hot Number'' (1987)
*''
Powerful Stuff
''Powerful Stuff'' is a 1989 studio album by Texas based blues rock band The Fabulous Thunderbirds. It was recorded in Memphis and produced by Terry Manning.
It was the last studio album to feature Jimmie Vaughan before leaving for a solo career. ...
'' (1989)
*''
Walk That Walk, Talk That Talk'' (1991)
*''
Roll of the Dice'' (1995)
*''
High Water
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables can ...
'' (1997)
*''
Painted On'' (2005)
*''Thunderbirds!'' (2009, sold only at shows)
*''On the Verge'' (2013)
*''Strong Like That (2016)
Compilation albums
*''Portfolio'' (1987)
*''The Essential...'' (1991)
*''Hot Stuff: The Greatest Hits'' (1992)
*''Wrap It Up'' (1993)
*''The Fabulous Thunderbirds/What's the Word'' (1993)
*''Butt Rockin'/T-Bird Rhythm'' (1993)
*''
Different Tacos'' (1996)
*''The Best of the Fabulous Thunderbirds'' (1997)
*''Tuff Enuff/Powerful Stuff'' (1999)
*''Thunderbirds Tacos Deluxe'' (2003)
*''
The Best of the Fabulous Thunderbirds: Early Birds Special'' (2011)
*''The Bad and Best of...'' (2013)
Live albums
*''Live from London'' (1985)
*''
Live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
*Live (band), American alternative rock band
* List of albums ...
''
KA ''Invitation Only''(2001)
Singles
*"
Tuff Enuff
''Tuff Enuff'' is a 1986 studio album by Texas-based blues rock band The Fabulous Thunderbirds, which pointed the band in a more mainstream direction. The single "Tuff Enuff" was featured in the films ''Gung Ho'' and '' Tough Guys'', as was the ...
" (1986) No. 10 US, No. 83 AUS
*"Wrap It Up" (1986) No. 50 US
*"Why Get Up" (1986)
*"Stand Back" (1987) No. 76 US
*"How Do You Spell Love" (1987)
*"Wasted Tears" (1988)
*"Powerful Stuff" (1988) No. 65 US
*"Knock Yourself Out" (1989)
Music videos
* "One's Too Many" (1981)
* "I Believe I'm In Love With You" (1981)
* "How Do You Spell Love" (1982)
* "Can't Tear It Up Enuff" (1982)
* "
Tuff Enuff
''Tuff Enuff'' is a 1986 studio album by Texas-based blues rock band The Fabulous Thunderbirds, which pointed the band in a more mainstream direction. The single "Tuff Enuff" was featured in the films ''Gung Ho'' and '' Tough Guys'', as was the ...
" from the film "Gung Ho" (1986)
* "Wrap It Up" (1986)
* "How Do You Spell Love" (1987)
* "Powerful Stuff" (1989)
* "Knock Yourself Out" (1989)
See also
*
Music of Austin
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
*
Music of Texas
The U.S. state of Texas has long been a center for musical innovation and is the birthplace of many notable musicians. Texans have pioneered developments in Tejano and Conjunto music, Rock 'n Roll, Western swing, jazz, punk rock, country, h ...
*
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
*
Texas blues
Texas blues is blues music from Texas. As a regional style, its original form was characterized by jazz and swing influences. Later examples are often closer to blues rock and Southern rock.
History
Texas blues began to appear in the early 1900 ...
*
List of blues musicians
Blues musicians are musical artists who are primarily recognized as writing, performing, and recording blues music. They come from different eras and include styles such as ragtime-vaudeville, Delta and country blues, and urban styles from Chicag ...
*
List of 1980s one-hit wonders in the United States
A one-hit wonder is a musical artist who is successful with one hit song, but without a comparable subsequent hit. The term may also be applied to an artist who is remembered for only one hit despite other successes (such as "Take On Me, Take on ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabulous Thunderbirds, The
American blues musical groups
American blues rock musical groups
Contemporary blues musicians
Musical groups established in 1974
Rock music groups from Texas
Texas blues musicians
Private Music artists
1974 establishments in Texas