Ultimate Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute? Check Out Corey Stevens' "Gone Too Long"

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 signer-guitarist named Corey Stevens, who is (like me) 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 vocal and guitar characteristics 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 for a more recent live performance of "Lenny").

To see what Stevens is up to these days (and to catch one of his shows), visit coreystevens.com.

Damian Fanelli is the online managing editor at Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado. His New York-based band, the Blue Meanies, has toured the world and elsewhere. Fanelli, a former member of Brooklyn jump-blues/swing/rockabilly band the Gas House Gorillas and New York City instrumental surf-rock band Mister Neutron, also composes and records film soundtracks. He writes GuitarWorld.com's The Next Bend column, which is dedicated to B-bender guitars and guitarists. His latest liner notes can be found in Sony/Legacy's Stevie Ray Vaughan: The Complete Epic Recordings Collection. Follow him on Facebook,Twitter and/or Instagram.