Los Angeles, CA (Top40 Charts/ Conqueroo) If blues legends Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan were still alive, they'd be blown away by the reaction to their 28-year-old live collaboration. The 1983 performance, shot in Hamilton, Ontario for the TV series In Session, has sold an astounding 344,889 units as both an audio CD and combined CD/DVD, according to
Nielson Soundscan. The deluxe CD/DVD twofer, released on November 9, 2010 on Stax Records, presently sits at No 3 on the Billboard Blues Catalog Chart, in which seven albums out of the Top 15 feature Vaughan. The CD/DVD will be available at Starbucks outlets beginning February 15, 2011.
Throughout the month of December 2010, In Session was carried in 90% of PBS markets throughout the U.S., culminating in one of the most successful pledge shows in recent memory.
The In Session CD/DVD package was the recipient of many great press reviews. "This was a rare, never-to-be-repeated summit, and the groove was deep, dynamic - and masterful," said USA Today. "The performance was awe-inspiring, and in retrospect, bittersweet: It was the first and last time the two would ever play together on stage," noted the Christian Science Monitor. News 8 in Austin, Texas declared, "For guitar players and blues fanatics, this is church." Guitar International opined, "This is what the blues is all about: music solidarity, longevity, and resilience." And Blues Revue called the package "Essential for fans of either of these blues guitar icons."
According to Robert Smith, Concord Music Group VP of A&R, Artist & Content Development, "There are things that come along, once in a great while, that just beg to be discovered. In Session with Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of those gems. The purity and simplicity of the performance, the capturing of the moment, is just so powerful. In this age of multi-camera, high-definition shoots, it really proves that it is what is in the show that counts. PBS's success with it is growing proof of how special the show is. Their success has led to the growing awareness, and sales, of an absolutely great piece of musical history."
