The man:
upped and died,
had paid for the tickets
brushed up on the Blues
slid some riffs and a few spliffs
- got well and truly stoned
bless him and the solid strings he played.
I can honestly say:
we sat outside the Apollo
in Ardwick, in Frank's beat-up Cortina
the night you should
have played there
and wondered
what we would have heard-
Big John fell asleep; can-in-hand
as usual
Frank sang out of tune
Gwen was mucking fuddled on MerryDown Cider
and me, well I hark back in time,
remember looking up
as the guy from the Apollo
climbed up a ladder
pulling down your name
letter by letter
Stevie Ray Vaughan - playing tonight!
Honorable mention
Adding your comment:
Sighhh...And bless you & the liquid ink you spill, my Friend. Poignant, visceral, raw & profound...Much like The Man himself. The image of pulling down the letters of his name...heart~wrenching. Brava, Poetesse Extraordinaire. Good luck in Richard's contest, Sweetie. 
I certainly remember our classic quizzes of R&B & Motown...but I don't think we ever mentioned people like Leslie Gore or ABBA, Gill. 
I dunno; I don't think Percy Sledge, Fats Domino, Etta James & others of their kind qualify as "pop", which is lighter music than those we've mentioned over the years. Yes, I quite agree with you. Stevie Ray had an aura about him. His blues went soul~deep...they still do, for many of us. Muddy's gonna love it, Sweetie. 
