When JIMMIE VAUGHAN and KIM WILSON teamed up to form THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS in 1974, they created a band that helped shape the soul of modern Texas blues. Vaughan's history with that storied band has finally been chronicled in The Jimmie Vaughan Years: Complete Studio Recordings 1978-1989, a comprehensive four-CD box set available December 11th, 2025 via The Last Music Co.
The Jimmie Vaughan Years captures Grammy-winning Vaughan's blues journey after he cut his teeth in Austin's late-60s blues scene, including an early recording produced by legendary American songwriter Doc Pomus and Joel Dorn. The result is a stunning collection, not only of Vaughan's music, but also The Fabulous Thunderbirds, reflecting their impact on the art form.
"It begins with 13 super-rare unreleased cuts from sessions the T-Birds did for Doc Pomus in 1978 for the potential album that never saw daylight, until now," says Last Music founder Malcolm Mills. "The five-hour music compilation then follows their career through all the subsequent releases they made on Takoma, Chrysalis, and Epic until Jimmie left the band to pursue his solo career in 1989 — a total of eight albums."
The Jimmie Vaughan Years includes: The Doc Pomus Recordings 1978, The Fabulous Thunderbirds (Girls Go Wild), What's The Word?, Butt Rockin', T-Bird Rhythm, Tuff Enuff, Hot Number, and Powerful Stuff. The box set is gorgeously packaged in the form of a fully illustrated 12-inch hardback book written and annotated by Bill Bentley, who was an eyewitness to the band's emergence and rise to fame. His notes, combined with pages full of never-before-seen photos and images, bring to life the story of this band in their heyday.
"This is the only collection of its kind of Vaughan's years in the Fabulous Thunderbirds and begins with an album that never saw a release," Bentley says. "In the late 1970s, celebrated songwriter Doc Pomus heard about the Austin band and brought them to New York to record. Pomus felt something important was there in their music and wanted to share it with the world. Noted producer Joel Dorn signed on to participate and they recorded a full album. Unfortunately, it was an incredible set of songs that never saw the light of day."
The band has seen many changes in personnel over the years since its formation in Austin, Texas. Yet the impact they made at the outset — fronted by the electrifying duo of Vaughan and Wilson — set the stage for enduring success, both for the T-Birds and Vaughan, over the last five decades.
"On this new collection, the Doc Pomus album will be given flight," Bentley writes. "It shows how sometimes the best gets lost, but with belief and, yes, good luck, the wrongs get righted. This is an incredible look at what the Fabulous Thunderbirds created at their very beginning, and how it was the kind of album meant to be heard, over 46 years later. In those earliest grooves of one of America's great bands is the passion and power of what those who believe in the blues are able to create and finally fulfill. It's the full circle of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and it ain't nothin' but fine, fine fine."
The box set will not be available as a digital compilation but 12” (blue) vinyl releases of all the individual records are planned for 2026.
Tracklisting below:
THE DOC POMUS RECORDINGS 1978
DIRTY WORK IS GOING ON
THE THINGS I FORGOT TO DO
I SEARCHED ALL OVER
I CAN'T QUIT YOU BABY
I GOT EYES
THIS SHOULD GO ON FOREVER
SHE'S TUFF
SCRATCH MY BACK
SHE'S MY BABY
BABY PLEASE DON'T LIE TO ME
SNAKE HIPS
UNNAMED INSTRUMENTAL
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
GIRLS GO WILD
WAIT ON TIME
SCRATCH MY BACK
RICH WOMAN
FULL-TIME LOVER
POCKET ROCKET
SHE'S TUFF
MARKED DECK
WALKIN' TO MY BABY
ROCK WITH ME
C-BOY'S BLUES
LET ME IN
WHAT’S THE WORD
RUNNIN' SHOES
YOU AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT FINE
LOW-DOWN WOMAN
EXTRA JIMMIES
SUGAR COATED LOVE
LAST CALL FOR ALCOHOL
THE CRAWL
JUMPIN' BAD
LEARN TO TREAT ME RIGHT
I'M A GOOD MAN (IF YOU GIVE ME A CHANCE)
DIRTY WORK
THAT'S ENOUGH OF THAT STUFF
BUTTROCKIN’
I BELIEVE I'M IN LOVE
ONE'S TOO MANY
GIVE ME ALL YOUR LOVIN'
ROLL, ROLL, ROLL
CHERRY PINK AND APPLE BLOSSOM WHITE
I HEAR YOU KNOCKING
TIP ON IN
I'M SORRY
MATHILDA
TELL ME WHY
IN ORBIT
T-BIRD RHYTHM
CAN'T TEAR IT UP ENUFF
HOW DO YOU SPELL LOVE?
YOU'RE HUMBUGGIN' ME
MY BABE
NEIGHBOR TEND TO YOUR BUSINESS
THE MONKEY
DIDDY WAH DIDDY
LOVER'S CRIME
POOR BOY
TELL ME (PRETTY BABY)
GOTTA HAVE SOME / JUST GOT SOME
TUFF ENUFF
TUFF ENUFF
TELL ME
LOOK AT THAT, LOOK AT THAT
TWO TIME MY LOVIN’
AMNESIA
WRAP IT UP
TRUE LOVE
WHY GET UP
I DON’TCARE
DOWN AT ANTONES
HOT NUMBER
STAND BACK
HOT NUMBER
WASTED YEARS
IT COME TOME NATURALLY
LOVE IN COMMON
HOW DO YOU SPELL LOVE
STREETS OFGOLD
SOFA CIRCUIT
DON’T BOTHER TRYIN’ TO STEAL HER LOVE
IT TAKES A BIG MAN TO CRY
POWERFUL STUFF
ROCK THIS PLACE
KNOCK YOURSELF OUT
MISTAKE NUMBER 1
ONE NIGHT STAND
EMERGENCY
POWERFUL STUFF
CLOSE TOGETHER
NOW LOOSEN UP BABY
SHE’S HOT
RAININ’ IN MY HEART
When JIMMIE VAUGHAN and KIM WILSON teamed up to form THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS in 1974, they created a band that helped shape the soul of modern Texas blues. Vaughan's history with that storied band has finally been chronicled in The Jimmie Vaughan Years: Complete Studio Recordings 1978-1989, a comprehensive four-CD box set available December 11th, 2025 via The Last Music Co.
The Jimmie Vaughan Years captures Grammy-winning Vaughan's blues journey after he cut his teeth in Austin's late-60s blues scene, including an early recording produced by legendary American songwriter Doc Pomus and Joel Dorn. The result is a stunning collection, not only of Vaughan's music, but also The Fabulous Thunderbirds, reflecting their impact on the art form.
"It begins with 13 super-rare unreleased cuts from sessions the T-Birds did for Doc Pomus in 1978 for the potential album that never saw daylight, until now," says Last Music founder Malcolm Mills. "The five-hour music compilation then follows their career through all the subsequent releases they made on Takoma, Chrysalis, and Epic until Jimmie left the band to pursue his solo career in 1989 — a total of eight albums."
The Jimmie Vaughan Years includes: The Doc Pomus Recordings 1978, The Fabulous Thunderbirds (Girls Go Wild), What's The Word?, Butt Rockin', T-Bird Rhythm, Tuff Enuff, Hot Number, and Powerful Stuff. The box set is gorgeously packaged in the form of a fully illustrated 12-inch hardback book written and annotated by Bill Bentley, who was an eyewitness to the band's emergence and rise to fame. His notes, combined with pages full of never-before-seen photos and images, bring to life the story of this band in their heyday.
"This is the only collection of its kind of Vaughan's years in the Fabulous Thunderbirds and begins with an album that never saw a release," Bentley says. "In the late 1970s, celebrated songwriter Doc Pomus heard about the Austin band and brought them to New York to record. Pomus felt something important was there in their music and wanted to share it with the world. Noted producer Joel Dorn signed on to participate and they recorded a full album. Unfortunately, it was an incredible set of songs that never saw the light of day."
The band has seen many changes in personnel over the years since its formation in Austin, Texas. Yet the impact they made at the outset — fronted by the electrifying duo of Vaughan and Wilson — set the stage for enduring success, both for the T-Birds and Vaughan, over the last five decades.
"On this new collection, the Doc Pomus album will be given flight," Bentley writes. "It shows how sometimes the best gets lost, but with belief and, yes, good luck, the wrongs get righted. This is an incredible look at what the Fabulous Thunderbirds created at their very beginning, and how it was the kind of album meant to be heard, over 46 years later. In those earliest grooves of one of America's great bands is the passion and power of what those who believe in the blues are able to create and finally fulfill. It's the full circle of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and it ain't nothin' but fine, fine fine."
The box set will not be available as a digital compilation but 12” (blue) vinyl releases of all the individual records are planned for 2026.
Tracklisting below:
THE DOC POMUS RECORDINGS 1978
DIRTY WORK IS GOING ON
THE THINGS I FORGOT TO DO
I SEARCHED ALL OVER
I CAN'T QUIT YOU BABY
I GOT EYES
THIS SHOULD GO ON FOREVER
SHE'S TUFF
SCRATCH MY BACK
SHE'S MY BABY
BABY PLEASE DON'T LIE TO ME
SNAKE HIPS
UNNAMED INSTRUMENTAL
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
GIRLS GO WILD
WAIT ON TIME
SCRATCH MY BACK
RICH WOMAN
FULL-TIME LOVER
POCKET ROCKET
SHE'S TUFF
MARKED DECK
WALKIN' TO MY BABY
ROCK WITH ME
C-BOY'S BLUES
LET ME IN
WHAT’S THE WORD
RUNNIN' SHOES
YOU AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT FINE
LOW-DOWN WOMAN
EXTRA JIMMIES
SUGAR COATED LOVE
LAST CALL FOR ALCOHOL
THE CRAWL
JUMPIN' BAD
LEARN TO TREAT ME RIGHT
I'M A GOOD MAN (IF YOU GIVE ME A CHANCE)
DIRTY WORK
THAT'S ENOUGH OF THAT STUFF
BUTTROCKIN’
I BELIEVE I'M IN LOVE
ONE'S TOO MANY
GIVE ME ALL YOUR LOVIN'
ROLL, ROLL, ROLL
CHERRY PINK AND APPLE BLOSSOM WHITE
I HEAR YOU KNOCKING
TIP ON IN
I'M SORRY
MATHILDA
TELL ME WHY
IN ORBIT
T-BIRD RHYTHM
CAN'T TEAR IT UP ENUFF
HOW DO YOU SPELL LOVE?
YOU'RE HUMBUGGIN' ME
MY BABE
NEIGHBOR TEND TO YOUR BUSINESS
THE MONKEY
DIDDY WAH DIDDY
LOVER'S CRIME
POOR BOY
TELL ME (PRETTY BABY)
GOTTA HAVE SOME / JUST GOT SOME
TUFF ENUFF
TUFF ENUFF
TELL ME
LOOK AT THAT, LOOK AT THAT
TWO TIME MY LOVIN’
AMNESIA
WRAP IT UP
TRUE LOVE
WHY GET UP
I DON’TCARE
DOWN AT ANTONES
HOT NUMBER
STAND BACK
HOT NUMBER
WASTED YEARS
IT COME TOME NATURALLY
LOVE IN COMMON
HOW DO YOU SPELL LOVE
STREETS OFGOLD
SOFA CIRCUIT
DON’T BOTHER TRYIN’ TO STEAL HER LOVE
IT TAKES A BIG MAN TO CRY
POWERFUL STUFF
ROCK THIS PLACE
KNOCK YOURSELF OUT
MISTAKE NUMBER 1
ONE NIGHT STAND
EMERGENCY
POWERFUL STUFF
CLOSE TOGETHER
NOW LOOSEN UP BABY
SHE’S HOT
RAININ’ IN MY HEART
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