Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble with The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Keep It To Yourself

This is a live performance by Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band Double Trouble who are joined on stage with members from The Fabulous Thunderbirds. They play the song "Keep It To Yourself" which is a typical blues shuffle in E.
On stage, as far as I can tell, are: Stevie Ray Vaughan, his brother Jimmie Vaughan, Kim Wilson (from TFTB), Chris Layton (drums), and Tommy Shannon (bass).
The performance is from 1987 at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and it was recorded on the riverboat S.S. Presidente. I'm guessing this was a double billing kind of thing where one band opened for the other, and then they all sort of did this jam to end things off.
It's a great performance. Of course the Vaughan Brothers deliver a couple of great blues solos, and Kim Wilson does a pretty good harmonica solo as well.
And over all great and enjoyable performance.

Enjoy ; )

Stevie Ray Vaughan & W.C. Clark - Insturmental Jam

This is a performance video by Stevie Ray Vaughan that I only recently discovered. It features Stevie Ray Vaughan and fellow Texan musician W.C. Clark on the bass. As the song is an instrumental jam there is no song title.
W.C. Clark is a Texan blues, funk and jazz musician. He plays both guitar and bass. He first learned the guitar at around age fourteen and then moved on to playing bass. In the 1970's he formed a band called "Triple Threat Revue" where he played with Lou Ann Barton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He played in many bands in this period and also played with Stevie's brother Jimmie Vaughan in another band.
This instrumental jam is a true gem among SRV fans. It's really great to hear how well he fits in with the whole funk thing. Also his soloing and rhythm playing on this is spot on perfect. I know they probably rehearsed this prior to the performance, or more correctly, I'm assuming that, but who knows maybe it really is all improvised. All I know is that it is a really good performance and Stevie's abilities as a guitarist really shine through.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds & Stevie Ray Vaughan - The Crawl

This is a live performance by Texan blues rock band The Fabulous Thunderbirds, the performance is from 1984.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds was the group that Stevie's brother Jimmie Vaughan played in from its formation in 1976 to 1989. Jimmie left the group to play in a duo with his brother, but these plans were foiled by Stevie's unfortunate death in 1990. After that the band has gone through a huge number of line-up changes.
This is a great song. There's a lot of influence from surf guitar on this definitely a lot of Dick Dale in the sound of it. Also love the musical breaks on it that includes the audience and the part where they play the guitars on their backs. Also Stevie is playing a Telecaster. I think this is the first time I've ever seen him do that. I've seen him play guitars with humbucker pick ups on rare occasions, but never a Telecaster. So it's a first. It's a great song and great solos from both Stevie and Jimmie.

Enjoy ; )

Carlos Santana, Jimmie Vaughan, Cesar Rosas & Stevie Ray Vaughan Jam at Costa Mesa

This is a live performance by a big group of guitarists doing a jam. The live performance is presumably from Costa Mesa in California. I haven't been able to find a song title, so I assume they're just jamming.
It starts off with Carlos Santana doing a solo. Then it goes over to Los Lobos lead guitarist Cesar Rosas who do an aggressive, but very good solo. Then it goes to the highlight of the performance which is Jimmie Vaughan's solo. He really plays it slow and with a lot of feeling. It's fun because you'd think that he'd be out of his element with this latin/jazz thing, but his playing fits right in. It's very soulful and very impressive.
At the end Stevie starts a solo, but the clip cuts off before he finishes. I assume the tape must have run out or something since I haven't been able to find the full performance including Stevie's entire solo.
It's a little sad, but on this particular performance it didn't seem like he could outdo his brother any way. Jimmie's playing is just amazing on this.
A great jam session with some of the best guitarists ever.

Enjoy ; )

Freddie King - I'm Tore Down

This is a live performance from blues guitarist Freddie King playing the song "I'm Tore Down" which is not his most famous song, but still quite known thanks to, as is the case with many of his track, being covered by famous blues artists with more mainstream appeal. The song was released in 1961 and it reached no. 5 on the American R&B charts.
Freddie is one of those guitarist who has influenced both the American and British blues boom. He was known for his aggressive and creative style of improvising. Artists who are influenced by Freddie include, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Gary Moore.
Many of Freddie's songs have been covered by famous acts. This song has been covered by John Mayer and Eric Clapton (Clapton embeded below).

I think Clapton does a very good job. He definitely adds his own unique and fast style of playing to it. And had a bigger horn section at the recording. Both versions are worth checking out though.

Enjoy ; )

Albert Collins, Jimmie Vaughan & Stevie Ray Vaughan - Frosty

This is a live performance from a trio of blues guitarists who are all legends in their own right, but together they equal one hell of a performance! The trio consists of Albert Collins, Jimmie Vaughan and his brother Stevie Ray Vaughan.
They play the classic Albert Collins song "Frosty". This instrumental was one of Collins' hugely successful instrumental pieces. And it was recorded around 1958 at the beginning of Collins' recording career.
Collins is famous for his use of open minor tunings combined with the use of a capo on the guitar. This technique is credited by Collins to his cousin Willow Young. Collins was also famous for his entertainment skills and showmanship. He would often, as he also does in this clip, get up close and personal with his audience. He also very often continued playing through the PA system after he left the building. One time he left the stage, continued playing, went to a pizza place, ordered a pizza and several minutes after he returned onto the stage have it delivered on stage. A great player indeed.
I really think this is a great performance. It cuts straight into Stevie doing a solo, then goes onto his brother Jimmie Vaughan doing a solo and then for a large part of the video Collins is soloing. He is soloing for the longest time and it shows respect that the Vaughan Brothers stepped back and let Collins take the stage for the biggest part of the performance. Another funny thing is that Jimmie is actually playing one of Stevie's guitars. He is playing Stevie's "Charley Stratocaster", a custom built guitar given to Stevie by Charley Wirz. (You can tell from the slight difference in body-shape and the lipstick pick-ups.
It's a great performance from three blues legends. Gotta love that!!

Enjoy ; )

Jimmie Vaughan - Tick Tock

This is a performance by Jimmie Vaughan and a bunch of other artists. It's from the Stevie Ray Vaughan memorial concert commemorating the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan on August 27th 1990.
There were many artists present at the concert, and Jimmie sort of controlled the jam on a lot of the performances, and also starts off this performance. Present were: Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, Art Neville & Double Trouble.
The song is from the album Family Style by The Vaughan Brothers. It was the last album Stevie did, and he had always wanted to do a collaborative album with his brother.
This song sticks out as different, as it is about the world joining hands in peace, and in that sense a very beautiful blues ballad. In this performance the song is sung by a choir which helps give it a certain atmosphere.

Enjoy ; )

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Wall of Denial

This is a clip of Stevie Ray Vaughan performing his song "Wall of Denial" from his 1989 album "In Step". It's the fourth studio album by Stevie and the last album he did with Double Trouble. The last studio album of Stevie was the album "Family Style" done with his brother Jimmie Vaughan.
The main theme throughout "In Step" was Stevie's recent sobriety, what went before, and the fact that he had come out clean and sober on the other side.
The performance is from "The Late Show" with David Letterman, probably from a promotion tour for the album.
The album won for "Best Contemporary Blues Album" at the 1990 Grammys.

Enjoy ; )