Song: “Superstition”
Stevie Ray Vaughan’s legendary cover of this Stevie Wonder classic simply soars
I recently put my old vinyl double-album of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s incredible Live Alive on the turntable. When the needle dropped on Side 2, his ripping cover of Stevie Wonder’s 1972 hit “Superstition” exploded out of the speakers, and the house was bouncing.
“Superstition” was always meant to be played by a great guitarist. Wonder wrote it with Jeff Beck in mind. The two recorded a rough demo, but Beck took too long to get his completed version together, so by the time he had finished it, Wonder’s version had become a big hit.
This left a bad taste in Beck’s mouth, and he let it be known in the press. Wonder didn’t appreciate the comments, and the two officially had a beef.
No other cover of “Superstition” made a dent until Stevie Ray Vaughan’s version.
Vaughan’s mainstream career spanned only seven years before his untimely death in a 1990 helicopter crash — but what a seven years. In that time, he became known as a guitarist par excellence, bringing searing blues riffs back to rock music in a big way.
SRV is a guitar and music legend, covering a song by another music legend, with lyrics that remain sadly relevant these days as people blindly embrace AI, OA, and MAHA, all of which have more in common with astrology and Ouija boards than with evidence and scientific rigor:
When you believe in things that you don’t understand
You will suffer
Superstition ain’t the way
Stay skeptical and reality-based, and enjoy!