One day in late 1995, I was driving to a town at the very top of New York state, just south of the Quebec border.
Suddenly, as I was passing through what seemed like the middle of nowhere (I might've been in the heart of New York's awesome Adirondack Mountains) a strange song came on the radio.
Because the radio reception in the mountains was terrible and full of static, I couldn't hear the song clearly. But it sounded like a "new" Stevie Ray Vaughan song; the guitar playing and the vocals sounded very much like that of the late SRV, who had been dead for five boring years.
I could make out a few of the lyrics, which included stuff like "that Texas sound,""soul to soul" and "I've been gone too long." It was as if SRV was saying howdy from the grave!
I remained confused by the mystery "SRV" song — until a few months later, when I found out (through my brother, who also had heard the song and decided to track it down, pre-Google) that it was written and recorded by a guitarist named Corey Stevens, a huge Vaughan fan.
Feel free to check out the song, "Gone Too Long," below. Hopefully you can see why I was so bewildered that day. Remember, the reception in my car was terrible!
Stevens, a fine guitarist in his own right (with a huge discography, according to Wiki), is able to take on the personas of a host of blues and rock greats, most notably SRV. He also does a fine Eric Clapton.
"Gone Too Long" is available on Stevens' 1995 album Blue Drops of Rain (Eureka Records), which is pictured above. The album also features a cover of SRV's "Lenny" (See the bottom video below).
To see what Stevens is up to these days (and to catch one of his shows), visit coreystevens.com.
