In an interview, SRV said it was “A Prayer” and on an Austin City Limits performance, Stevie introduced this by saying it was “This one goes out for all the people still suffering out there tonight”.
Done in one magic take, the recording session was the stuff of legends. Producer Jim Gaines recalls:
Stevie told me he had an instrumental he wanted to try, and I said that I only had nine minutes of tape left,” “He said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s only four minutes long.’ We dimmed the lights and the band started playing this gorgeous song, which went on to six minutes, seven minutes, seven-and-a-half… The performance was absolutely incredible, totally inspired, dripping with emotion—and here we were, about to run out of tape. “I was jumping up and down, waving my arms, but everyone was so wrapped up in their playing that no one was paying me any mind. I finally got Chris’ attention and emphatically gave him the cut sign. He started trying to flag down Stevie, but he was hunched over his guitar with his head bent down. Finally, he looked up, and they brought the song down just in time. It ended, and a few seconds later the tape finished and the studio was silent, except for the sound of the empty reel spinning around.
It has been said by those who knew Stevie best that he considered this to be his masterpiece, as it is his soul that your hearing not just notes and chords. Stevie called it “The King Tone”—the bell-like, crystalline timbre of a Fender Strat played clean, warm and in the in-between (out-of-phase neck-middle and bridge-middle) pickup positions. And he put it to extraordinary use on “Riviera Paradise,” one of his rare but unforgettable forays into the world of Wes Montgomery–inspired jazz blues.
It was the last song he played at what would be his last show, a show that he opened up for Eric Clapton.
After his performance he received a standing ovation that lasted for what seemed like an extended period of time going much longer than what would be considered normal. As he was finishing his bows of gratitude to the crowd you can see Clapton, who also is giving a standing ovation to Stevie. As Stevie was finishing his bow’s of gratitude to the crowd you can see Clapton also giving a standing ovation near the back of the stage. He greeted Stevie as he was leaving the stage and told him that his song was beautiful, powerful, something special. The song pulled him (Clapton) out of his dressing room, that he had to come see this being played, that he was just like the people in the crowd, he was blown away by it. When Clapton took the stage he even told the crowd he was taken by the song and it was the first time in a very long time that he didn’t know what to open with saying how do you even follow that performance.
Stevie took Clapton’s seat on the flight out, he was trying to beat the bad weather said to be coming and there wasn’t room for the two of them, Clapton was being nice and trying to help when he offered up his seat to Stevie. Before Stevie left he told the members of his crew/band that he received what he considered to be the greatest compliment in the history of his life tonight from someone he looked up to since he was a child. It meant so much to him to hear that from Eric Clapton, someone he considered to be one of the all time greatest guitarist in the world. That flight crashed, killing everyone onboard. Clapton was devastated when he learned of the crash and Stevie’s untimely death, he later again talked about Stevie’s performance that night and how he (Clapton) was just like the people in the crowd and was so taken by that beautiful, powerful piece of music, calling it a masterpiece by anyone’s standards and like the artist something special that should be remembered for eternity.
Visits: 372
