Stevie vs Goliath: The moment Stevie Ray Vaughan went toe to toe with Albert King
They say it’s never a good idea to meet your heroes. You can either spend all your time imagining them living up to this idealistic image that you’ve built them up to be, only for the reality to be so far removed from what you’d conjured in your mind, or you get so starstruck and embarrass yourself in front of your idol that there’s absolutely no coming back from the shame. However, there are times where it doesn’t end up being so disastrous, and for legendary guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, there were no nerves when it came to being in the presence of those he looked up to.
As something of a childhood prodigy, Vaughan was always destined for greatness as a guitar player. Having been inspired to play the six-string by his older brother Jimmie when he was only seven years old, the guitar became his life from a young age. Among his earliest influences were rock players such as Jimi Hendrix and blues legends such as Muddy Waters, but arguably above all was Albert King; a bluesman who sits in the estimation of most of his peers as having been one of the greatest players to pick up a guitar.
Following in his brother’s footsteps once again, Vaughan moved from Dallas to Austin at the age of 18 to pursue a career as a musician and quickly became known on the local circuit for his incredible ability. After joining various bands in the area, such as The Nighthawks and Paul Ray and the Cobras, many musicians were clamouring to play alongside the talented young upstart, but he would soon get a chance to show off his skills to one of his aforementioned idols.
As a regular at Antone’s, a local club that used to see other legends of blues such as Lightnin’ Hopkins and Buddy Guy walk through their doors, it was here that he had his opportunity to go toe to toe with Albert King. In 1977, when Vaughan was still only 23 years old, he’d be presented with the chance of a lifetime when King performed at the venue.
Jimmie Vaughan, who may have been a little more grounded than his younger brother, realised that King was an unmatchable force as a guitarist. “He’s like Goliath with the guitar,” he once said. “He’s the meanest, baddest guitar player you’ve ever heard of.” It seemed impossible that a young Vaughan would be able to battle it out against King’s years of experience and come out the other side not having been shown up.
Recalling how the two first came to perform alongside one another, Jimmie said that it was a packed-out Saturday night at Antone’s and that club owner Clifford Antone approached King with an offer. “Clifford says, ‘Hey, I have this kid that I want you to sit in and play with’,” Jimmie recalled of the occasion. “They were thinking he was gonna do a number on him, but Stevie plugged in and started playing Albert King licks, and doing them really good. So Albert just went okay and took him under his wing.”
This particular encounter may well have been what changed the course of Vaughan’s fortune, and while he went on to spend the rest of his tragically short career working alongside some equally impressive names, the opportunity to work alongside King perhaps stands above all. “You don’t go ask Albert King ‘can I sit in?’,” said Jimmie. “He was crazy.”
