Albert
King never got the mass recognition he deserved. He always seemed
to be in the shadow of another King. But among Blues guitarists and
fans of the craft, he was a master. Austin, Texas’ Stevie Ray
Vaughan, 31 years King’s junior, exploded onto the national
scene in 1983, first as guitarist on David Bowie’s “Let’s
Dance,” followed by his own smash hit “Pride and Joy.”
When the two met onstage at Antone’s in 1973, they formed an
ongoing friendship. This bond culminated with the December 1983 live
recording titled In Session, originally produced for the Canadian
TV concert series of the same name. The recording, originally issued
on Stax Records, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Blues album chart,
selling more than 300,000 units. On
June 30, Stax Records — the imprint upon which King made his
most legendary recordings in the 1960s and ’70s — will
reissue In Session with digital remastering and three sets of liner
notes by Fantasy and Stax Records’ Bill Belmont, and journalists
Lee Hildebrand and Dan Forte.
www.stax.com
The
two were flanked by the solid rhythm section of Tony Llorens on
organ and piano, his brother Michael on drums, and bassist Gus Thornton
— the same outfit that accompanied King on his two post-Stax
Fantasy albums — San Francisco ’83 and I’m in
a Phone Booth Baby. And with the exception of “Pride and Joy,”
Vaughan’s only vocal on the session, all of the tunes are
from King’s concert repertoire. Included are “Call It
Stormy Monday” (the signature song of T-Bone Walker, who hailed
from Dallas’ Oak Cliff section in which Vaughan was born and
raised years later), “Match Box Blues,” “Blues
at Sunrise,” “Don’t Lie to Me,” “Turn
it Over,” “Ask Me No Questions,” and the instrumental
“Overall Junction.”
King
continued to record and tour until his death from a massive heart
attack in Memphis in 1992. He was 69 and enjoyed a full life in the
Blues. Vaughan wasn’t so fortunate. At the height of his career
on August 27, 1990, he was killed in a helicopter crash at Alpine
Valley, Wisconsin. He was 35. In Session stands as their only known
recording together.
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