“When we did the tribute to my brother, we had B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy. And just to watch B.B. playing close up was amazing”: Jimmie Vaughan was a garbage man listening to B.B. King. Then he wound up touring with his hero

Jimmy Vaughan plays a Strat as he jams with his hero, B.B. King, who is playing his customary Lucille.

Joe Bonamassa and his band had already cut the instrumental track of Watch Yourself, so I just brought my horn section into the studio and played it how I felt.

I mean, you can play B.B.’s licks, but it would be silly to mimic him, even if you could. So I didn’t play a Gibson semi-hollow, either, because what would that get me? Instead, I took my white Strat, and for my amp I played two of the new Fender Bassmans.

Watch Yourself [1968] is just one of B.B.’s many beautiful songs. I had all his ’60s albums as a teenager and he was a giant influence. The first one I bought was Easy Listening Blues [1962] and I basically learnt guitar from playing along to Live At The Regal [1965].

He was all over the guitar. I loved the way he would trill and vibrato the note – I’ve read interviews where he said he learnt that from Django Reinhardt. Later, I remember listening to The Thrill Is Gone when I was working as a garbage man in the city of Irving, Texas.

I was 13 when I saw B.B. for the first time, at the Central Forest Club in Texas, which was an old movie theatre. 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.

But 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.” So that was my first time seeing B.B. and he was absolutely fabulous that night.

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 B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy. And just to watch B.B. playing close up was amazing.

I’ll always remember how nice he was, too. 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.

Does it feel strange that B.B. King has been gone for a decade now? Well, he’s not gone to me. I still listen to him, all the time. He was my hero, y’know?

• B.B. King's Blues Summit 100 is out now via KTBA Records
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.