The Fabulous Thunderbirds
| The Fabulous Thunderbirds | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Rock and roll , blues rock |
| founding | 1974 |
| Website | fabulousthunderbirds.com |
| Founding members | |
| Jimmie Vaughan | |
Vocals, harmonica
|
Kim Wilson |
| Keith Ferguson | |
| Mick Buck | |
| Current occupation | |
Vocals, harmonica |
Kim Wilson |
Vocals, guitar |
Nick Curran |
guitar |
Kirk Eli Fletcher |
bass |
Ronnie James Weber |
Drums |
Jimi Bott |
| Gene Taylor | |
| former members | |
| Jimmie Vaughan | |
Singing, guitar, piano
|
Danny Kortchmar |
guitar |
Duke Robillard |
guitar |
Kid Bangham |
guitar |
Doyle Bramhall |
guitar |
Kid Ramos |
bass |
Preston Hubbard († 2016) |
bass |
Harvey Brooks |
Vocals, bass, drums |
Steve Jordan |
Drums |
Fran Christina |
The Fabulous Thunderbirds is an American band that started out as a pure blues band. It was founded in 1974 by Stevie Ray Vaughan's older brother Jimmie Vaughan. He was also able to win over Kim Wilson, Keith Ferguson and Mick Buck for his project.
Band history
In 1979 the band recorded their debut album , which combined rock'n'roll, country rock and rhythm & blues in a traditionally played way . During the recording of What's the Word Buck left the band, Fran Christina came in for him. In 1981 the blues album Butt Rockin 'was released . In 1982 the album T-Bird Rhythm, produced by Nick Lowe , came out , which also featured strong blues.
A short time later, the band lost their record deal, whereupon Ferguson left the band. He was replaced by Preston Hubbard. Dave Edmunds was the producer of the album Tuff Enuff in 1986 , which produced the single releases Tuff Enuff and Wrap It Up . It became the band's greatest success. The album also features pianist Chuck Leavell from the Allman Brothers and David Hidalgo and César Rosas from Los Lobos .
The album Hot Number (1987) and the accompanying single Stand Back were not as successful as their predecessor; even though the record received critical acclaim, the songs were too similar to Tuff Enuff's . The same was true of Powerful Stuff (1989) and the single of the same name.
In 1990 Vaughan officially got out, and Duke Robillard took his place. The album Walk That Walk, Talk That Talk, recorded at this time, flopped. Jimmy Vaughan can be heard on this album alongside Duke Robillard, but is not mentioned. He describes the recording sessions as "hellish" because of the arguments with Wilson. Soon after, the Fabulous Thunderbirds parted ways.
In 1993 Wilson arranged a reunion for which he was able to win Doyle Bramhall. They recorded the album Wrap It Up , which also flopped but got very good reviews. The following album, Roll the Dice , also received critical acclaim, was recorded with the line-up of Wilson, Christina, Gene Taylor, Danny Kortchmar, Kid Ramos and Harvey Brooks.
Kortchmar and Steve Jordan joined Wilson on the 1997 production High Water .
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 US
|
|||
| 1981 | Butt rockin ' |
US176 (7 weeks) US |
First published: March 1981
|
| 1986 | Tuff Enuff |
US13  (53 weeks)US |
First published: January 1986
|
| 1987 | Hot number |
US49 (15 weeks) US |
First published: July 1987
|
| 1989 | Powerful stuff |
US118 (7 weeks) US |
First published: April 1989
|
more publishments
- 1979: Girls Go Wild
- 1980: What's the Word
- 1982: T-Bird Rhythm
- 1987: portfolio
- 1991: The Essential
- 1991: Walk That Walk, Talk That Talk
- 1992: Hot Stuff: The Greatest Hits
- 1993: Wrap It Up
- 1995: Roll of the Dice
- 1996: Different Tacos
- 1997: High Water
- 2001: Live
- 2005: Painted On
- 2013: On the Verge
- 2016: Strong Like That
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
US
|
|||
| 1986 | Tuff Enuff Tuff Enuff |
US10 (19 weeks) US |
First published: March 1986
|
| Wrap It Up Tuff Enuff |
US50 (10 weeks) US |
First published: July 1986
|
|
| 1987 | Stand Back Hot Number |
US76 (5 weeks) US |
First published: June 1987
|
| 1988 | Powerful Stuff Powerful Stuff |
US65 (7 weeks) US |
First published: August 1988
|