''What's the Word'' is the second studio album by 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 ...

-based

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

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 Records ...

, released in 1980. Like its predecessor, the album initially sold poorly, but is now regarded as a successful white blues recording. The 2000 CD reissue on Benchmark Records contains three bonus tracks, two of which were recorded live at Club Koda, Austin, Texas.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Kim Wilson; except where indicated # "Runnin' Shoes" (Traditional,

Juke Boy Bonner Weldon H. Philip Bonner, better known as Juke Boy Bonner (March 22, 1932 – June 29, 1978) was an American blues singer, harmonica player, and guitarist. He was influenced by Lightnin' Hopkins, Jimmy Reed, and Slim Harpo. He accompanied himself ...

) – 3:38 # "You Ain't Nothin' But Fine" (

Sidney Simien Sidney Simien (April 9, 1938 – February 25, 1998), known professionally as Rockin' Sidney, was an American R&B, zydeco, and soul musician who began recording in the late 1950s and continued performing until his death. He is best known for his ...

Floyd Soileau James Floyd Soileau (born November 2, 1938) is an American record producer. Biography Soileau was born in Faubourg, a small community between Ville Platte and Washington, Louisiana. He grew up speaking Cajun French and did not speak English un ...

) – 1:48 # "Low-Down Woman" – 3:15 # "Extra Jimmies" (Jimmie Vaughan, Keith Ferguson) – 2:35 # "Sugar Coated Love" (Audrey Butler, J.D. Miller) – 3:00 # "Last Call for Alcohol" (Vaughan, Kim Wilson) – 2:55 # "The Crawl" (Raymond Victoria, Wayne Shuler) – 2:15 # "Jumpin Bad" (Vaughan, Wilson) – 2:25 # "Learn to Treat Me Right" – 3:07 # "I'm a Good Man (If You Give Me A Chance)" – 2:50 # "Dirty Work" – 3:00 # "That's Enough of That Stuff" – 2:05

Bonus tracks on some editions

# "Band Introduction by C-Boy" – 0:21 # "Bad Boy" (Live) (

Eddie Taylor Eddie Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. Biography Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing ...

) – 3:11 # "

Scratch My Back ''Scratch My Back'' is the eighth studio album (and fifteenth album overall) by English musician Peter Gabriel, his first in eight years. It was released in February 2010. The album, recorded at Air Lyndhurst and Real World Studios during 2009, ...

" (Live) ( James Moore) – 5:06 # "Los Fabulosos Thunderbirds" (Vaughan, Ferguson, Wilson) – 1:10 * "Los Fabulosos Thunderbirds" is track 13 on some earlier Chrysalis releases.

Personnel

Musicians

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 ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

, simultaneous drums and harp on "Los Fabulosos Thunderbirds" *

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 ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Keith Ferguson – bass *Fran Christina –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(tracks 2, 4, 6, 8-10, 12)

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

on "Los Fabulosos Thunderbirds" * Mike Buck – drums (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 11)

Technical

Denny Bruce Denny Bruce (born in 1944 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) is an American record producer and artist manager. While living in Los Angeles in 1965 Denny was hired by Frank Zappa as a second drummer with The Mothers of Invention. After 6 months he cont ...

– producer * Bob Sullivan –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Frank DeLuna – mastering

References

External links

Official Site
{{Authority control 1980 albums The Fabulous Thunderbirds albums Albums produced by Denny Bruce Chrysalis Records albums