The Fabulous Thunderbirds

In business since 1974, Texas blues band The Fabulous Thunderbirds has featured many musicians along the way, including Jimmie Vaughan, Duke Robillard and singer/harmonica player Kim Wilson, the only member present since its inception. The Austin-based band is a regular at Antone's, where they perform as headliners or as guests of visiting big names. After a debut album of the same name released by the Takoma label in 1979, the band attracted the attention of Chrysalis for the recording of What's the Word (1980), Butt Rockin' (1981) and T-Bird Rhythm (1982), before gaining wider notoriety with Tuff Enuff (1986), after opening for The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. This fifth album, produced by Dave Edmunds for the CBS label, was buoyed by the success of the title track, which reached number 13 in the charts. Winners of a W.C. Handy Blues Award, The Fabulous Thunderbirds continued with Hot Number (1987) and Powerful Stuff (1989), their last album with Jimmie Vaughan, replaced by Duke Robillard and Kid Bangham on Walk That Walk, Talk That Talk (1991). Back on independent labels, the band was produced and accompanied by Danny Kortchmar for Roll of the Dice (1995) with guitarist Kid Ramos, followed by High Water (1997), a trio featuring Kim Wilson, Steve Jordan and Kortchmar. Then in decline, The Fabulous Thunderbirds were revived in 2004 with the arrival of guitarists Nick Curran and Kirk Fletcher for the album Painted On (2005), produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. After further changes of musicians, a new line-up with Johnny Moeller (guitar) and his brother Jay Moeller (drums) recorded On the Verge (2013). In 2016, keyboardist Kevin Anker joins the sessions for Strong Like That (2016). Following the death of former bassist Keith Ferguson in 1997, his replacement Preston Hubbard, present from 1985 to 1993, dies in turn on August 17, 2016, and keyboardist Gene Taylor, a member from 1993 to 2005, dies on February 20, 2021. In 2024, The Fabulous Thunderbirds resurfaced on the Stony Plain label with the album Struck Down, featuring contributions from Billy Gibbons, Bonnie Raitt, Keb' Mo', Elvin Bishop, Mick Fleetwood and Taj Mahal.

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