Jimmie Vaughan has looked back on the time T-Bone Walker miraculously came to his rescue when he was trying to get into his first-ever B.B King gig.
Sneaking into gigs is a rite of passage for countless aspiring musicians – but to experience an evening in the company the King, a young Vaughan needed the help of another blues legend.
Like his brother, Stevie Ray, Vaughan is a prolific bluesman in his own right, having spent much of his life rubbing shoulders with blues guitar legends and learning plenty of tricks along the way. He’s also benefited from those friendships in other ways, too.
“I was 13 when I saw B.B. [King] for the first time, at the Central Forest Club in Texas, which was an old movie theatre,” Vaughan says in the new issue of Guitarist. “He was playing there all weekend. So I'm standing out front, and the Sunday matinee show had already started, but I was too young to get in.
“Then T-Bone Walker walked by with two little girls – his granddaughters, I suppose – and said, ‘Well, let me talk to 'em, son, see if we can get you in the side door.’”
Walker’s influence was enough to get him in, and Vaughan was able to witness a legendary guitarist he would later call a friend.
“He was absolutely fabulous that night,” Vaughan remembers. “I went on tour with him several times, and when we did the Austin City Limits tribute to my brother Stevie [in 1995], we had BB King, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray Buddy Guy.
“Just to watch B.B. playing close up was amazing. He was a fabulous guitar player and a great singer, but he was never stuck-up. He would always go the extra mile. He would always talk to you, ask you what was going on.”
King passed away at the ripe old age of 89 in 2015. He left behind an expansive back catalogue of 40+ studio records and a legacy as a man who always supported the next generation. Just ask Joe Bonamassa, who was 13 when he first opened for him.
“Does it feel strange that BB King has been gone for a decade now?” Vaughan asks. “Well, he's not gone to me. I still listen to him, all the time. He was my hero, y'know?”
The new issue of Guitarist is out now. Head to Magazines Direct to pick up a copy.
In related news, Jimmie Vaughan recently discussed longevity, Strats, and recording the Porky’s Revenge soundtrack with a Beatle in a new Guitar World interview.
B.B. King, meanwhile, is to have his legendary life, legacy, and his main guitar, Lucille, chronicled in a forthcoming biopic. It's entitled Lucille, and its got some key figures involved.
