Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians in the history of blues music, and one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He was the younger brother of guitarist Jimmie Vaughan.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
August 27, 1990 (aged 35)
Laurel Land Memorial Park, Dallas
32°40.417′N 96°48.771′W / 32.673617°N 96.812850°W
Stevie Vaughan, SRV
Musician, singer, songwriter
- Lindi Bethel (1973–1979)
- Janna Lapidus (1986–1990)
Jimmie Vaughan (brother)
- Guitar
- vocals
1965–1990
- Double Trouble
- The Vaughan Brothers
Born and raised in Dallas, Vaughan began playing guitar at age seven, initially inspired by his brother Jimmie. In 1972, he dropped out of high school and moved to Austin, where he began to gain a following after playing gigs on the local club circuit. Vaughan joined forces with Tommy Shannon on bass and Chris Layton on drums as Double Trouble in 1978. The band established itself in the Austin music scene and soon became one of the most popular acts in Texas. They performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1982, where David Bowie saw Vaughan play. Bowie contacted him for a studio gig in December where he played blues guitar on the album Let's Dance (1983). John Hammond heard a demo album that Vaughan and Double Trouble had recorded and interested major label Epic Records in signing them to a record deal in March 1983. Within months, they achieved mainstream success for the critically acclaimed debut album Texas Flood. With a series of successful network television appearances and extensive concert tours, Vaughan became the leading figure in the blues revival of the 1980s.
Vaughan struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction for most of his life. He also struggled with the personal and professional pressures of fame and his marriage to Lenora "Lenny" Bailey. He successfully completed rehabilitation and began touring again with Double Trouble in November 1986. His fourth and final studio album In Step reached number 33 in the United States in 1989; it was one of Vaughan's most critically and commercially successful releases and included his only number-one hit, "Crossfire". He became one of the world's most popular blues performers, and he headlined Madison Square Garden in 1989 and the Beale Street Music Festival in 1990.
On August 27, 1990, Vaughan and four others were killed in a helicopter crash in East Troy, Wisconsin, after performing with Double Trouble at Alpine Valley Music Theatre. An investigation concluded that the cause of the accident was pilot error. Vaughan's music continued to achieve commercial success with several posthumous releases and has sold over 15 million albums in the United States alone. Rolling Stone has twice ranked him among the top twenty guitar players of all time. Vaughan was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, along with Double Trouble bandmates Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon, and Reese Wynans.
Music career[edit]
Early years[edit]
In May 1969, after leaving the Brooklyn Underground, Vaughan joined a band called the Southern Distributor.[19] He had learned the Yardbirds' "Jeff's Boogie" and played the song at the band audition. Mike Steinbach, the group's drummer, commented: "The kid was fourteen. We auditioned him on 'Jeff's Boogie,' really fast instrumental guitar, and he played it note for note."[20] Although they played pop rock covers, Vaughan conveyed his interest in the addition of blues songs to the group's repertoire; he was told that he wouldn't earn a living playing blues music and he and the band parted ways.[21] Later that year, bassist Tommy Shannon walked into a Dallas club and heard Vaughan playing guitar. Fascinated by the skillful playing, which he described as "incredible even then", Shannon borrowed a bass guitar and the two jammed.[22][nb 5] Within a few years, they began performing together in a band called Krackerjack.[23]
In February 1970, Vaughan joined a band called Liberation, which was a nine-piece group with a horn section. Having spent the past month briefly playing bass with Jimmie in Texas Storm, he had originally auditioned as bassist. Impressed by Vaughan's guitar playing, Scott Phares, the group's original guitarist, modestly became the bassist.[24] In mid-1970, they performed at the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas, where ZZ Top asked them to perform. During Liberation's break, Vaughan jammed with ZZ Top on the Nightcaps song "Thunderbird". Phares later described the performance: "they tore the house down. It was awesome. It was one of those magical evenings. Stevie fit in like a glove on a hand."[25]
Attending Justin F. Kimball High School during the early 1970s, Vaughan's late-night shows contributed to his neglect of his studies, including music theory; he would often sleep during class.[26] His pursuit of a musical career was disapproved of by many of the school's administrators but he was also encouraged by many people, including his art teacher, to strive for a career in art.[27][nb 6] In his second year, he attended an evening class for experimental art at Southern Methodist University, but left when it conflicted with rehearsal.[27] Vaughan later spoke of his dislike of the school and recalled having received daily notes from the principal about his grooming.[28]
First recordings[edit]
In September 1970, Vaughan made his first studio recordings with the band Cast of Thousands, which included future actor Stephen Tobolowsky. They recorded two songs, "Red, White and Blue" and "I Heard a Voice Last Night", for a compilation album, A New Hi, that featured various teenage bands from Dallas.[29] In late January 1971, feeling confined by playing pop hits with Liberation, Vaughan formed his own band, Blackbird. After growing tired of the Dallas music scene, he dropped out of school and moved with the band to Austin, Texas, which had more liberal and tolerant audiences. There, Vaughan initially took residence at the Rolling Hills Club, a local blues venue that would later become the Soap Creek Saloon. Blackbird played at several clubs in Austin and opened shows for bands such as Sugarloaf, Wishbone Ash, and Zephyr, but could not maintain a consistent lineup.[30] In early December 1972, Vaughan left Blackbird and joined Krackerjack; he performed with them for less than three months.[31]
In March 1973, Vaughan joined Marc Benno's band, the Nightcrawlers, having met Benno at a jam session years before.[32] The band featured vocalist Doyle Bramhall, who met Vaughan when he was twelve years old.[33] The next month, the Nightcrawlers recorded an album at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood for A&M Records. While the album was rejected by A&M, it included Vaughan's first songwriting efforts, "Dirty Pool" and "Crawlin'".[34] Soon afterward, he and the Nightcrawlers traveled back to Austin without Benno.[35] In mid-1973, they signed a contract with Bill Ham, manager for ZZ Top, and played various gigs across the Southern United States, although many of them were unsuccessful.[36] Ham left the band stranded in Mississippi without any way to make it back home and demanded reimbursement from Vaughan for equipment expenses; Ham was never reimbursed.[37][nb 7]
In 1975, Vaughan joined a six-piece band called Paul Ray and the Cobras which included guitarist Denny Freeman and saxophonist Joe Sublett.[38] For the next two-and-a-half years, he earned a living performing weekly at a popular venue in town, the Soap Creek Saloon, and ultimately the newly opened Antone's, widely known as Austin's "home of the blues".[39][nb 8] In late 1976, Vaughan recorded a single with them, "Other Days" as the A-side and "Texas Clover" as the B-side. Playing guitar on both tracks, the single was released on February 7, 1977.[41] In March, readers of the Austin Sun voted them as Band of the Year.[42] In addition to playing with the Cobras, Vaughan jammed with many of his influences at Antone's, including Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Albert King.[43]
Vaughan toured with the Cobras during much of 1977, but near the end of September, when they decided to strive for a mainstream musical direction, he left the band and formed Triple Threat Revue, which included singer Lou Ann Barton, bassist W. C. Clark, and drummer Fredde "Pharaoh" Walden.[44] In January 1978, they recorded four songs in Austin, including Vaughan's composition "I'm Cryin'". The thirty-minute audio recording marks the only known studio recording of the band.[45]