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Stevie Ray Vaughan
Photo: Bbadventure / Bob Bissett, Adventure Photography, 1983 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Texas

Stevie Ray Vaughan

This artist is no longer with us.
Born: October 3, 1954, Dallas, Texas · Died: August 27, 1990, East Troy, Wisconsin (helicopter crash)• United States
Texas BluesBlues Rock
Instruments
Fender Stratocaster ("Number One"), Voice
Labels
Epic
from
Texas
Born
October 3, 1954, Dallas, Texas
His grave marker in Dallas reads simply: "Thank you ... for all the love you passed our way." Stevie Ray Vaughan had exactly seven years of mainstream career — from his 1983 debut to a helicopter crash in August 1990 — and in that time became, by Rolling Stone's own repeated reckoning, one of the greatest guitarists who ever lived. He was born Stephen Ray Vaughan on October 3, 1954, in Dallas, Texas, to Jimmie Lee Vaughan and Martha Jean Cook, and named after his father. His older brother Jimmie Vaughan, three years his senior, was already playing guitar, and Stevie followed him into it after receiving a toy Sears guitar for his seventh birthday in 1961. He was entirely self-taught, learning by ear from records by Albert King, Otis Rush, Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix, and by age six he had also begun stealing sips of his father's drinks — the start of an alcoholism that would shadow most of his life (Kilde: Wikipedia). He joined his first band, the Chantones, in 1965, and moved through a string of Dallas-area outfits — Southern Distributor, Krackerjack, Marc Benno's Nightcrawlers — before dropping out of high school and relocating to Austin in 1972, where the blues scene offered more room to play the music he actually loved. He joined Paul Ray and the Cobras in 1975, formed the short-lived Triple Threat Revue in 1977, and in May 1978 formed the band that would carry his name into history: Double Trouble, with bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton (Kilde: Wikipedia). The breakthrough came at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 17, 1982, where his blistering, uncompromising set caught the attention of David Bowie, who hired him to play lead guitar on "Let's Dance" that December. Producer John Hammond — the same A&R legend who had signed Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen — brought him to Epic Records in March 1983, and on June 13, 1983, Double Trouble released "Texas Flood," cut essentially live in a matter of days. It reached only number 38 on the album chart but proved, decisively, that there was still a hungry audience for hard, traditional electric blues (Kilde: Wikipedia). "Couldn't Stand the Weather" followed in 1984, "Soul to Soul" in 1985, and by then his addictions — a quart of whiskey and a quarter-ounce of cocaine on his worst days — had reached a crisis point. In September 1986, after collapsing from near-fatal dehydration during a European tour, he entered Peachford Hospital in Atlanta for treatment, followed by further rehabilitation in Austin. He got sober and returned to touring that November. By the sessions for "In Step" (1989) — the album that gave him his only number-one hit, "Crossfire" — he described himself as feeling, for the first time, "in step with life, in step with myself, in step with my music" (Kilde: Wikipedia). He headlined Carnegie Hall in 1984 and Madison Square Garden in 1989, collaborated across genres with Jackson Browne and Eric Clapton, and continued to define his sound through original compositions like "Pride and Joy" and "Lenny" — an instrumental written for his first wife, Lenora "Lenny" Bailey, whom he married in 1979 and divorced in 1988 — alongside definitive covers of Larry Davis's "Texas Flood," Guitar Slim's "The Things That I Used to Do," and Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" (Kilde: Wikipedia). On August 27, 1990, shortly after headlining a bill with Eric Clapton at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin, Vaughan boarded a Bell 206B helicopter at 12:50 a.m. bound for Chicago's Midway Airport, along with four others including agent Bobby Brooks and Clapton's bodyguard Nigel Browne. In dense fog with visibility under two miles, the helicopter struck a nearby ski hill moments after takeoff. All five aboard died instantly. The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the crash to pilot error — the pilot lacked helicopter instrument certification (Kilde: Wikipedia). He was 35. His albums have sold more than 15 million copies in the United States alone in the decades since, and in 2015 he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside his Double Trouble bandmates (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Musical Influence

Stevie Ray Vaughan single-handedly proved in 1983 that hard, traditional electric blues still had a mainstream audience, reviving the genre's commercial fortunes and directly influencing a generation of guitarists who came after him. Rolling Stone has twice ranked him among the twenty greatest guitarists of all time, and his albums have sold more than 15 million copies in the United States alone in the decades since his death — commercial success he never lived to see (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Influences

Albert KingJimi HendrixLonnie MackOtis Rush

Family and personal life

Father
Jimmie Lee Vaughan

1921–1986; Stevie was named after him.

Mother
Martha Jean Cook

1928–2009.

Brother
Jimmie Vaughan

Guitarist, three years older; introduced Stevie to guitar.

Wife
Lenora "Lenny" Bailey

Married 1979, divorced 1988; the instrumental "Lenny" was written for her.

Formative experiences

  • •1961: Receives a toy Sears guitar for his seventh birthday. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1972: Drops out of high school and moves to Austin, Texas. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1978: Forms Double Trouble with Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1982: Montreux Jazz Festival performance leads David Bowie to hire him for "Let's Dance." (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1983: "Texas Flood" released June 13, proving there was still an audience for traditional electric blues. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1986: Enters treatment at Peachford Hospital, Atlanta, after a near-fatal collapse; gets sober. (Kilde: Wikipedia)

Instruments & Equipment

Guitar

Fender Stratocaster ("Number One")

His primary, heavily modified 1963/1962-composite Stratocaster used throughout his career.

Stories & Anecdotes

"Began stealing sips of his father's drinks at age six — the start of a lifelong struggle with alcoholism. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"His 1982 Montreux performance was initially booed by parts of the jazz-festival crowd before David Bowie sought him out afterward. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Wrote the instrumental "Lenny" as a tribute to his first wife, Lenora Bailey. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Described feeling "in step with life, in step with myself, in step with my music" for the first time while recording "In Step" after achieving sobriety. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Died alongside four others, including Eric Clapton's bodyguard, when their helicopter crashed in fog shortly after leaving an Alpine Valley concert bill they had shared. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"His grave marker in Dallas reads: "Thank you ... for all the love you passed our way." (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

Collaborators

Double Trouble (Tommy Shannon, Chris Layton)

His backing band from 1978 onward; inducted with him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

David Bowie

Hired him to play lead guitar on "Let's Dance" (1983) after seeing him at Montreux.

Eric Clapton

Shared the bill at Alpine Valley Music Theatre the night of the fatal helicopter crash.

Jimmie Vaughan

His older brother, guitarist, and earliest musical influence.

Watch & Listen

Featured

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Texas Flood (Live From Austin, TX)

The title track that launched his career, cut essentially live in the studio.

stevierayvaughnVEVO

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Pride And Joy (Live at Montreux 1982)

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Pride And Joy (Live at Montreux 1982)

Stevie Ray Vaughan ~Voodoo Child ~ Live From Austin TX

Stevie Ray Vaughan ~Voodoo Child ~ Live From Austin TX

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

YearTitleProducerStudioLabelChartSalesMusiciansYouTubeNotes
1983Texas FloodJohn Hammond, Richard Mullen—Epic Records——Tommy Shannon (Bass), Chris Layton (Drums)Debut album, recorded essentially live; proved the mainstream audience for traditional electric blues.
1984Couldn't Stand the WeatherRichard Mullen, Stevie Ray Vaughan—Epic Records————
1985Soul to SoulRichard Mullen, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble—Epic Records——Tommy Shannon (Bass), Chris Layton (Drums), Reese Wynans (Keyboards)— Keyboardist Reese Wynans joined Double Trouble during these sessions.
1986Live AliveStevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble—Epic Records———The only official live album released during his lifetime.
1989In StepJim Gaines—Epic Records——Tommy Shannon (Bass), Chris Layton (Drums), Reese Wynans (Keyboards)Recorded after he achieved sobriety; includes his only #1 hit, "Crossfire."

Famous songs

01Texas Flood
02Pride and Joy
03Cold Shot
04Tightrope
05Crossfire
06Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

External links

YouTube Music Wikipedia

Sources

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