07.14.06
History :
Stevie Ray Vaughan,(October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990), born in Dallas, Texas, was an American blues guitarist, known as one of the most influential electric blues musicians in history.
Vaughan was born and raised in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, but dropped out of Sunset High School and moved to Austin to pursue music. After playing in a series of bands, Vaughan formed the blues rock combo Double Trouble with drummer Chris Layton and bassist Jackie Newhouse in the late 1970s. Tommy Shannon replaced Newhouse in 1981. A popular local draw, Vaughan soon attracted attention from David Bowie and Jackson Browne, and played on albums with both. Bowie first caught Vaughan at the Montreux Jazz Festival where initially a few members of the audience, who disliked his hard blues sound, booed Vaughan during his first visit in 1982, though most of the crowd cheered him during his second visit in 1985, as can be witnessed in the “Live at Montreux” DVD. Bowie featured Vaughan on his Let’s Dance album in the songs “Let’s Dance”, “Modern Love” and “China Girl”.
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s debut album was released in 1983. The critically acclaimed Texas Flood (produced by John Hammond) featured the top-20 hit “Pride and Joy” and sold well in both blues and rock circles. The follow-up albums Couldn’t Stand the Weather (1984) and Soul to Soul (1985) also sold well, though they did not become as respected as the debut album. Drug addiction and alcoholism took a toll on Vaughan in the mid-1980s, and after suddenly vomiting blood while in Germany on tour, he managed to struggle through three more shows before entering a drug rehabilitation program in Atlanta, Georgia later that year. He ultimately recovered fully from his addictions, save cigarettes, and became a teetotaler. Upon his return from rehab, Vaughan recorded In Step (1989), which is often considered his best work since Texas Flood; it won a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Blues Record.
Musical influences and style
Vaughan’s blues playing style was strongly influenced by Albert King, who dubbed himself Stevie’s “godfather”, and by other blues musicians such as Otis Rush and Buddy Guy. Stevie is recognized for his distinctive guitar sound, which was partly based on using heavy thirteen-gauge guitar strings. Vaughan’s sound and playing style, which often features simultaneous lead and rhythm parts, also draws frequent comparisons to that of Jimi Hendrix; Vaughan covered several Hendrix tunes on his studio albums and in performance, such as Little Wing, Voodoo Chile, Come On! (Part III), and Third Stone from the Sun. He was also heavily influenced by Freddie King, another Texas great, mainly through the use of tone and attack. King’s heavy vibrato can clearly be heard in Vaughan’s playing. another stylistic influence was Albert Collins. His right hand attack, by using his index finger was utilized extensively by SRV, snapping the string against the fretboard.
Accidental death
Vaughan’s comeback was cut short when, in the early morning of August 27, 1990, he died in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin. After a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theater, where earlier in the evening he appeared with Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and his older brother Jimmie Vaughan, the musicians expected a long bus ride back to Chicago. Stevie was informed that three seats were open on one of the helicopters returning to Chicago with Clapton and his crew, enough for Stevie, Jimmie, and Jimmie’s wife Connie. It turned out there was only one seat left, which Stevie requested from his brother; Jimmie obliged. Taking off into deep fog, the helicopter crashed moments later into a ski slope on the side of a hill within the Alpine Valley Resort. Vaughan, the pilot, and members of Clapton’s crew (his agent, assistant tour manager, and a bodyguard) died on impact. No one realized that the crash had occurred until the helicopter failed to arrive in Chicago, and the wreckage was only found with the help of its locator beacon.
After the news media got word of the helicopter crash, they stated that Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band had been killed in the crash. Chris Layton (Double Trouble’s drummer) saw this on the news and had security let him into Stevie’s motel room. Layton saw that the bed was made and the clock radio was playing the Eagles’ song, ‘Peaceful, Easy Feeling’, which includes the lyrics “I may never see you again”. Layton and Shannon then called their families to let them know they were okay.
Stevie Ray Vaughan is interred in the Laurel Land Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Stevie Ray Vaughan”.
