"Vocalist, harmonica player and founding leader Kim Wilson says that's by design. He admits that he wasn't brought up on a strict musical diet of the blues. "I was basically raised on soul music," he says. "Motown, and some Stax." It was only when he picked up the harmonica that he discovered-and fell in love with-the blues. Wilson says that the wide-encompassing style of the band reflects his own musical proclivities, inspired by blues giant James Cotton. "It all goes back to his first record on Verve [1967's The James Cotton Blues Band]," he explains."
"On that record, the powerful singer and blues harpist made a point of not getting hemmed in by the blues idiom. "He did [Eddie Floyd's] 'Knock on Wood.' He did so many different things: Little Milton's 'Need You So Bad,' Sonny Boy [Williamson], Little Walter. He did it all," Wilson says. And that inspired Wilson. "I heard it and realized, 'He's doing everything that I like. And if [that approach is] good enough for him, it's good enough for me.'""
The Fabulous Thunderbirds combine blues, soul, Motown, Stax, R&B and a touch of rock 'n' roll while avoiding strict rock classification. Kim Wilson grew up on soul and discovered the blues after taking up the harmonica. Wilson credits James Cotton's eclectic 1967 record for inspiring a wide-encompassing musical approach that embraces covers and varied influences. The group formed in Austin in 1974 and released a critically praised debut in 1979 that sold poorly. Subsequent albums with guitarist Jimmie Vaughan also saw limited sales, prompting Chrysalis Records to drop the band after reviewing disappointing figures.
Read at Metro Silicon Valley | Silicon Valley's Leading Weekly
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