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Stevie
Ray Vaughan |
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BORN: October 3, 1954, Dallas, TX
DIED: August 27, 1990, East Troy, WI
With his astonishingly accomplished guitar playing, Stevie Ray Vaughan
ignited the blues revival of the '80s. Vaughan drew equally from
bluesmen like Albert King, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters and rock &
roll players like Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, as well as the stray
jazz guitarist like Kenny Burrell, developing a uniquely eclectic and
fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre.
Vaughan bridged the gap between blues and rock like no other artist had
since the late '60s. For the next seven years, Stevie Ray was the
leading light in American blues, ... continue
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consistently selling out concerts while his albums regularly went gold. His
tragic death in 1990 only emphasized his influence in blues and American rock
& roll.
Born and raised in Dallas, Stevie Ray Vaughan began playing guitar as a child,
inspired by older brother Jimmie. When he was in junior high school, he began
playing in a number of garage bands, which occasionally landed gigs in local
nightclubs. By the time he was 17, he had dropped out of high school to
concentrate on playing music. Vaughan's first real band was the Cobras, who
played clubs and bars in Austin during the mid-'70s. Following that group's
demise, he formed Triple Threat in 1975. Triple Threat also featured bassist
Jackie Newhouse, drummer Chris Layton, and vocalist Lou Ann Barton. After a few
years of playing Texas bars and clubs, Barton left the band in 1978. The group
decided to continue performing under the name Double Trouble, which was inspired
by the Otis Rush song of the same name; Stevie Ray became the band's lead
singer.
For the next few years, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble played the Austin
area, becoming one of the most popular bands in Texas. In 1982, the band played
the Montreux Festival and their performance caught the attention of David Bowie
and Jackson Browne. After Double Trouble's performance, Bowie asked Vaughan to
play on his forthcoming album, while Browne offered the group free recording
time at his Los Angeles studio, Downtown; both offers were accepted. Stevie Ray
laid down the lead guitar tracks for what became Bowie's Let's Dance album in
late 1982. Shortly afterward, John Hammond, Sr. landed Vaughan and Double
Trouble a record contract with Epic and the band recorded their debut album in
less than a week at Downtown.
Vaughan's debut album, Texas Flood, was released in the summer of 1983, a few
months after Bowie's Let's Dance appeared. On its own, Let's Dance earned
Vaughan quite a bit of attention, but Texas Flood was a blockbuster blues
success, receiving positive reviews in both blues and rock publications,
reaching number 38 on the charts, and crossing over to album rock radio
stations. Bowie offered Vaughan the lead guitarist role for his 1983 stadium
tour, but Stevie Ray turned him down, preferring to play with Double Trouble.
Stevie Ray and Double Trouble set off on a successful tour and quickly recorded
their second album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, which was released in May of
1984. The album was more successful than its predecessor, reaching number 31 on
the charts; by the end of 1985, the album went gold. Double Trouble added
keyboardist Reese Wynans in 1985, before they recorded their third album, Soul
To Soul. The record was released in August, 1985 and was also quite successful,
reaching number 34 on the charts.
Although his professional career was soaring, Vaughan was sinking deep into
alcoholism and drug addiction. Despite his declining health, Stevie Ray
continued to push himself, releasing the double live album Live Alive in October
of 1986 and launching an extensive American tour in early 1987. Following the
tour, Vaughan checked into a rehabilitation clinic. The guitarist's time in
rehab was kept fairly quiet and for the next year, Stevie Ray and Double Trouble
were fairly inactive. Vaughan performed a number of concerts in 1988, including
a headlining gig at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and wrote his
fourth album. The resulting record, In Step, appeared in June of 1989 and became
his most successful album, peaking at number 33 on the charts, earning a Grammy
for Best Contemporary Blues Recording, and going gold just over six months after
its release.
In the spring of 1990, Stevie Ray recorded an album with his brother Jimmie,
which was scheduled for release in the fall of the year. In the late summer of
1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble set out on an American headlining tour. On
August 26, 1990, their East Troy, WI gig concluded with an encore jam featuring
guitaritsts Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, and Robert Cray. After the
concert, Stevie Ray Vaughan boarded a helicopter bound for Chicago. Minutes
after its 12:30 AM takeoff, the helicopter crashed, killing Vaughan and the
other four passengers. Vaughan was only 35 years old.
Family Style, Stevie Ray's duet album with Jimmie Vaughan, appeared in October
and entered the charts at number seven; . Family Style began a series of
posthumous releases that were as popular as the albums Stevie Ray released
during his lifetime. The Sky is Crying, a collection of studio outtakes compiled
by Jimmie Vaughan, was released in October of 1991; it entered the charts at
number ten and went platinum three months after its release. In the Beginning, a
recording of a Double Trouble concert in 1980, was released in the fall of 1992
and the compilation Greatest Hits was released in 1995. ~ Stephen Thomas
Erlewine, All Music Guide
