The thought of Stevie Wonder and Stevie Ray Vaughan collaborating is a dream, overflowing with musical possibilities. But despite seeming too good to be true, it did actually happen – for just two songs. Most impressively of all, Wonder became one of a handful of people to have played Vaughan’s legendary Stratocaster.
The Stevies hooked up with an incredible all-star lineup in 1988 for the MTV special, Stevie Wonder: Characters.
Joining them in the band were Prince & the Revolution bassist Brown Mark, rap duo Salt-n-Pepa, and genre-crossing vocalist Jody Watley.
Perhaps most exciting of all, though, is the backstage footage of Wonder jamming on SRV’s famed No. 1 Stratocaster.
Not using a pick, Wonder plucks mainly with his thumb, eliciting a hefty thump from the wound strings. He plucks E blues scale licks in open position, beginning with a four-note figure that resembles the intro to Superstition.
The weighty, fat tone Wonder gets is quite reminiscent of SRV. Tone may be in the hands, but you can hear that this is Vaughan’s rig.
The clip cuts off after a tantalising 16 seconds.
The full TV segment, below, shows SRV and the band jamming through two Wonder tunes: Superstition, which Vaughan had covered on his 1986 Live Alive LP, and the 1987 single Come Let Me Make Your Love Come Down. The latter is notable for the extended jam (from 8:50) between Messrs Wonder and Vaughan at the end, and the evident joy from both musicians.
Vaughan, notably, did not play his No. 1 Strat for Superstitioninstead opting for his white Charley guitar, a Strat-style instrument with lipstick pickups built for Stevie in 1984 by Dallas guitar tech Charley Wirz.
Even with seemingly programmed drums, the groove that Wonder, Vaughan, and Mark produce is epic.
Vaughan rips out a solo over the outro to Superstitionthe aggressive lipstick pickups in the Charley guitar sounding absolutely awesome.
The other musicians leaving the stage, Vaughan switches to his No 1 Strat for Come Let Me Make Your Love Come Down. Vaughan appears to be improvising throughout this. He doesn’t play any rhythm, just inserting stinging pentatonic fills into the gaps in Wonder’s vocals before the two trade licks over the outro.
With such clear mutual appreciation and musical chemistry between the two artists, it is a shame that they never managed a longer collaboration. It’s one of many ‘what might have been’ absences left by Vaughan’s tragic death in 1990, aged just 35.
Stevie’s brother Jimmie Vaughan recently reflected on the one and only album he made with his sibling. We also recently learned about how Stevie Ray initially missed out on jamming with his hero Lonnie Mack because Lonnie wouldn’t touch anything except a Gibson.
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