The Fabulous Thunderbirds is a blues rock band that got started in 1974, the group being best known for the massive 1986 hit Tuff Enuff. After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas area, the band earned a recording contract with Chrysalis Records and later signed to Arista.

Their unique style mixes Texas blues with the harmonica-laced swamp blues sounds of the likes of Slim Harpo and Lazy Lester, both of whom the T-Birds have covered. Their third album, 1981’s Butt Rockin’, took the band closer to classic R&B while featuring added piano and brass section sounds played by additional musicians. The band broke into the mainstream in 1986 with their album Tuff Enuff, selling more than one million copies and making the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 that same year. The single of the same name was featured in the Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster film Tough Guys alongside their follow-up single, which they titled Wrap It Up. A lively, powerful tune, Tuff Enuff  has been played frequently over the years on many rock radio stations. The band’s music was also played in John Cusack’s 1987 movie Hot Pursuit.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been nominated for Grammy Awards six times and for Blues Music Awards more than 20 times. They continue to tour internationally, selling out venues and headlining festivals with the current line-up of original member Kim Wilson on lead vocals and harmonica, Johnny Moeller on guitar, Bob Welsh on keyboards and guitar, Rudy Albin on drums and Steve Kirsty on bass.

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