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 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, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical mu ...

. 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 ...

'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 in ...

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 190 ...

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 Dissertatio ...

sounds of

Slim Harpo Slim Harpo (born James Isaac Moore; January 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970) was an American blues musician, a leading exponent of the swamp blues style, and "one of the most commercially successful blues artists of his day". He played guitar and ...

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 ...

—both of whom the Thunderbirds covered. 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 wit ...

. 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—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. The single " Tuff Enuff" was featured in the 1986 film '' Gung Ho''. 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 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 ...

''. 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 cinematog ...

'' 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 t ...

quickly. But following that, their recording of " Powerful Stuff" was a success, based in part on its inclusion in the 1988 film '' Cocktail''. 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 pla ...

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 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, Gr ...

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 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 B ...

) 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

*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 Records ...

'' (1979) *'' What's the Word'' (1980) *'' Butt Rockin''' (1981) *'' T-Bird Rhythm'' (1982) *'' Tuff Enuff'' (1986) *'' Hot Number'' (1987) *'' Powerful Stuff'' (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 tabl ...

'' (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 album ...

'' KA ''Invitation Only''(2001) Singles *" Tuff Enuff" (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" from the film "Gung Ho" (1986) * "Wrap It Up" (1986) * "How Do You Spell Love" (1987) * "Powerful Stuff" (1989) * "Knock Yourself Out" (1989)

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