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Celebrating five decades of musical greatness, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been the quintessential American band. The group’s distinctive and powerful sound, influenced by a diversity of musical styles, manifested itself into a unique musical hybrid via such barnburners as “Tuff Enuff” and “Wrap It Up”. Co-founder Kim Wilson, the sole original member, still spearheads the group and they are celebrating their recent release Struck Down which received a 2025 Grammy-nomination for Best Traditional Blues album. Struck Down features 9 new songs co-written by Kim Wilson and Steve Strongman, as well as a stellar cover of Memphis Minnie’s song “Nothin’ in Ramblin." The album was produced by Kim Wilson, Steve Strongman & Glen Parrish. Guest musicians include Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Elvin Bishop, Keb’ Mo’, Mick Fleetwood, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) and Terrance Simien.

Leadman Kim Wilson has been nominated for Grammy Awards six times and for Blues Music Awards more than 20 times! Muddy Waters called Wilson his favorite vocalist and the greatest harmonica player since Little Walter. The thread throughout the T-Birds career has been the respect the group commanded for its peerless musicianship and devotion to the sounds of blues, R & B and rock ‘n roll.

For Kim Wilson, the musical journey started in Goleta, California. At 17 he began playing the harmonica. His influences included Little Walter, George “Harmonica” Smith, Lazy Lester and James Cotton. At the same time, Wilson began singing and was deeply impacted by Bobby “Blue” Bland, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rodgers and Muddy Waters. In search of other musicians who shared his love of the blues, Wilson headed to Minneapolis. He stayed there for a year and a half, playing locally, before moving to the burgeoning music scene of Austin, Texas. It was there that he met Jimmie Vaughan and they founded the T-Birds in 1974. The band developed a reputation as a compelling live act and subsequently signed a record deal with CBS/Epic Records.

In 1979, The Fabulous Thunderbirds released their first self-titled album. Primarily blues influenced, it became a cult classic. “Things were wide open back then,” Wilson recalls. “There were hundreds of stages where bands could show what they had.”

In subsequent releases, the band started to incorporate more Cajun, rock ‘n roll and soul influences. The album T-Bird Rhythm marked a creative turning point for the group as it collaborated with noted producer Nick Lowe. In 1986, The Fabulous Thunderbirds reached a commercial peak with the album, Tuff Enuff. The single of the same title as well as the singles “Wrap It Up” and “Look At That”, all went top 40. The song, Tuff Enuff was featured in the film Gung Ho starring Michael Keaton.

For the remainder of the ’80s, the band continued to record and tour, and released the album, Powerful Stuff. Jimmie Vaughn left in 1989 but Wilson kept the group going, incorporating keyboards into the guitar-driven sound. Kim moved back to California in 1996, continuing to cultivate the T-Birds music.