Bentley's Bandstand
When David Bowie’s single “China Girl” hit the airwaves in the first half of the ‘80s, the leadoff notes of the guitar solo slithered from the song like a lethal rattlesnake. They were the kind of blues lines that could have only been played by a handful of people, and the early money was on Albert King. The sound had a devastating economy of power that King was famous for. And at the time, not many had heard Stevie Ray Vaughan outside Austin. But the few who had, including Bowie, had had their minds blown by the young Texan’s talent, and when Vaughan’s credit on “China Girl” surfaced, along with album companion “Let’s Dance,” literally a star was born. This live 1983 recording from a Canadian television program is proof positive that both King and Vaughan drank from the same deep well of eternal blues, and shows the older musician’s influence on his protégé to be a special wonder. Albert King really needs no introduction. By the early ‘80s he was a blues giant, and his familiar Flying V Gibson guitar became a deadly instrument in King’s big hands. Though he never had the huge crossover appeal of B.B. King, for those who saw blues as a lifeline in a harsh world Albert King sat alone on the throne. Stevie Ray Vaughan had first performed with him in 1973, an acolyte of songs like “Born Under a Bad Sign” and “Personal Manager,” going to school on the way King could make his fiery notes feel like they were fresh out of the frying pan. Their pairing here is history come alive, and both guitarists seem completely at home. King is clearly in control, and except for Vaughan’s vocal on his original “Pride and Joy,” he leads the way on the friendly cutting session playfully giving Vaughan plenty of room to play but also making sure he knew who the real boss was. Both men are gone now, but rare recordings like In Session remind us of a time when blues giants still walked the earth side by side.
