Photograph of Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Stevie Ray Vaughan

Overview

Stephen "Stevie" Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954August 27, 1990), born in Dallas, Texas, was an American blues guitarist. His broad appeal made him one of the world's most influential electric blues guitarists. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stevie Ray Vaughan #7 in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan.

Life and career

Early life
Vaughan was born at 10:13 am on October 3, 1954 in Dallas, Texas and was raised in that city's Oak Cliff neighborhood. Neither of his parents had any strong musical talent but were avid music fans. They would take Vaughan and his older brother Jimmie to concerts to see Fats Domino, Jimmy Reed, and Bob Wills.

Even though Vaughan initially wanted to play the drums as his primary instrument, Michael Quinn gave him a guitar when he was eight years old. Vaughan's brother, Jimmie Vaughan, gave him his first guitar lessons. Vaughan was later quoted in Guitar Player Magazine as saying, "My brother Jimmie actually was one of the biggest influences on my playing. He really was the reason I started to play, watching him and seeing what could be done." After his brother showed him a few basic chords, Vaughan taught himself to play. He played entirely by ear and never learned how to read sheet music. By the time he was 13 years old he was playing in clubs where he met many of his blues idols. A few years later he dropped out of Justin F. Kimball High School and moved to Austin to pursue music. Vaughan's talent caught the attention of guitarist Johnny Winter, and blues-club owner Clifford Antone.
Adult Life and Career
Vaughan's first recording band was called Paul Ray and the Cobras. They played at clubs and bars in Austin during the mid-1970s, and released one single. Vaughan later recorded two other singles under the band name The Cobras. Following the break-up of The Cobras, he formed Triple Threat in late 1975, which included bassist Jackie Newhouse, drummer Chris Layton, vocalist Lou Ann Barton, and sax player Johnny Reno. Barton left the band in 1978 to pursue a solo career, followed by Reno in 1979. The three remaining members started performing under the name Double Trouble, inspired by an Otis Rush song of the same name. Vaughan became the band's lead singer.

Tommy Shannon, the bass player on Johnny Winter's early albums, replaced Newhouse in 1981. A popular Austin act, Vaughan soon attracted the attention of musicians David Bowie and Jackson Browne. Both Browne and Bowie first caught Vaughan at the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival, where some members of the audience booed the band because they disliked Double Trouble's hard blues sound; the crowd response was quite different when they were subsequently invited to headline "Blues Night" at the festival in 1985.

In November, 1982, Vaughan recorded in Jackson Browne's studio in downtown Los Angeles. The recordings were brought to the attention of A&R man John Hammond and became Double Trouble's critically acclaimed first album, Texas Flood (1983), produced by Hammond; it featured the top-20 hit "Pride and Joy" and sold 500,000 copies, earning the band a Gold Record. Additionally the album was nominated for a Grammy and its song "Rude Mood" was nominated for best rock instrumental. Vaughan won three categories in the Guitar Player's Readers Poll: "Best New Talent", "Best Blues Album", and "Best Electric Blues Guitarist" (beating out none other than Eric Clapton). He became only the second guitarist in history to win three Guitar Player awards in one year (the first is Jeff Beck). Vaughan won the "Best Electric Blues Guitarist" award every year until 1991.

Also in 1983 Bowie featured Vaughan on his 1983 album Let's Dance. Vaughan was even asked to go on tour with Bowie, but declined so he could continue to play with Double Trouble.

The band's next album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, was recorded in January 1984. During the summer of 1984 Vaughan and Double Trouble appeared on numerous TV shows, including Rockpalast, Much Music, and Solid Gold. During the Grammy awards of 1984, Vaughan, along with George Thorogood, presented Chuck Berry with a lifetime achievement award. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" from Couldn't Stand The Weather was nominated for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance".

These bookings were preparing the band for a night at Carnegie Hall in New York City on October 4, 1984. The show featured one Double Trouble "set" and the other with guests Dr. John on keyboards, George Rains on drums, Jimmie Vaughan on guitar, Roomful of Blues Horns, and singer Angela Strehli. The group rehearsed in September 1984 at the Caravan of Dreams in Fort Worth, Texas.

In November, Vaughan won two W.C. Handy National Blues Awards: "Entertainer of the Year" and "Blues Instrumentalist of the Year." It was the first time a white person won either award. During this time, he also began recording with one of his earliest idols, blues-rock guitar pioneer Lonnie Mack, to produce the album Strike Like Lightning on the Alligator label.

In late January 1985, the band went on a 6-night Japanese tour with various interviews and performances. In March, the band started to produce their third album Soul to Soul. Reese Wynans, a former keyboardist with Captain Beyond and Delbert McClinton's band, was added to the band not long after. The album's production lasted for two months. On April 10 Vaughan played "The Star Spangled Banner" for opening day of the National League baseball season at the Houston Astrodome (supposedly he didn't get a good audience response from that crowd; he did, at least, get to meet former New York Yankee great Mickey Mantle afterwards). Soul to Soul was released on September 30, 1985; Vaughan received his fifth Grammy nomination: "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for one of its songs, "Say What!".

In the following months of 1986, Vaughan and Double Trouble went on tour in New Zealand. It was around this time that he met Janna Lapidus, a touring model in New Zealand.

In the summer, the band was considering ideas of a new album, particularly a live album. Shows were set up at the Austin Opera House and at the Dallas Starfest. Audiences saw Vaughan struggle through these shows, as some of the original recordings were filled with technical difficulties.

On August 27, 1986, the Vaughan brothers' father, Big Jim, passed away of heart failure. The boys rushed home to comfort their mother, yet had little time to mourn. A funeral was arranged two days later. After the funeral was finished, a jet rushed Vaughan to Montreal, Quebec, where he played the Miller Beer Festival in Jarry Park.

The recordings in both Dallas and Austin, as well as the Montreux Jazz Festival, were edited and later released on Live Alive in November 1986.
Drugs and Alcoholism
Drug addiction and alcoholism took a toll on Vaughan in mid-1986. Cocaine and Crown Royal whiskey were among his addictions. After becoming acutely ill in Germany while on tour, Vaughan managed to struggle through three more shows, but was soon admitted into a hospital in London. Dr. Victor Bloom, who has helped Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend with their addictions, told Vaughan if he hadn't come to the hospital he would have died in a month. After a struggle to get sober in London, he then flew to Atlanta, Georgia to a rehabilitation center. He eventually recovered fully from his addictions and became a teetotaler.
Redemption
Upon his return from rehab, Vaughan did a number of works with other artists including Dick Dale (making a cameo appearance as himself performing a duet of "Pipeline" in the movie Back To The Beach which was then released as a single), Jennifer Warnes, and Stevie Wonder (playing "Superstition" on the MTV special "Stevie Wonder's Characters").

In 1988, Vaughan continued to tour with Double Trouble throughout Scandinavia. Vaughan and Double Trouble recorded In Step in February 1989, which was their fourth studio album and praised by some as the band's best work since Texas Flood. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Vaughan shared a headline tour with guitarist Jeff Beck in the fall of 1989. In his beloved Austin, the city he made the "Live Music Capital of the World", Vaughan was presented with a proclamation from the mayor declaring November 26, 1989 Stevie Ray Vaughan Day.

On January 3, 1990, Vaughan gave an AA speech and addressed the Aquarius Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. On January 30, 1990, Vaughan made his first appearance on MTV Unplugged, sharing the stage with Joe Satriani.

Vaughan spoke two years earlier about wanting to help produce an album with his brother, Jimmie Vaughan. That time came in March 1990 when the Vaughan Brothers went to work at the Dallas Sound Labs in Dallas, Texas, the same studio used to record Soul to Soul.

Around this time, Stevie spoke of singing beginning to hurt him with a condition he liked to call "hamburger throat." He had acupuncture done to his neck, but had to take cortisone shots to relieve the pain, which made his face puff up.
Death
On August 25, 1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble finished up the summer leg of the tour with shows at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, just outside of East Troy, Wisconsin. The show also featured Robert Cray and his Memphis Horns along with Eric Clapton's set. Alex Hodges, Double Trouble's tour manager, arranged flight by helicopter with Omni Flights.

The next morning on August 26, 1990, Vaughan had what he described as a "horrible" nightmare. He dreamt that he was at his own funeral and saw thousands of mourners. He felt "terrified, yet almost peaceful". He shared this story with his bandmates and some trusted crew members. The band played that night, as bass player Tommy Shannon hopped a helicopter already back to Chicago after they finished.

Eric Clapton played his set next. At the end of the show, as fog settled over the audience in the arena, Clapton introduced Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Cray, and Jimmie Vaughan. The musicians chose the appropriate titled "Sweet Home Chicago", a blues classic written by Robert Johnson.

After the 15-minute jam, the lights went up and the musicians went backstage to trade compliments. Clapton and Vaughan talked about future dates in London to pay a tribute to Jimi Hendrix.

Double Trouble drummer, Chris Layton, recalls his last conversation with Vaughan backstage. He then remembers Vaughan saying he had to call his girlfriend, Janna Lapidus, back in Chicago. He headed out the door to the helicopters.

The musicians expected a long bus ride back to Chicago. Vaughan was informed by a member of Clapton's crew that three seats were open on one of the helicopters returning to Chicago with Clapton's crew, enough for Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, and Jimmie Vaughan's wife Connie. It turned out there was only one seat left, which Stevie Ray Vaughan requested from his brother, who obliged. Vaughan strapped himself next to Clapton's crew. It was 12:44 am. Pilot Jeffrey Browne guided the copter off the ground as the lights flashed below. Moments after takeoff, the helicopter crashed into a ski slope. All on board were killed but they found it hard to tell if all were killed instantly, this is because it is believed by very few that Vaughan was the only person to notice the hill before the helicopter crashed into it. This is because Stevie's body was the only body found outside of the wreckage and the rest onboard were found inside. It is possible that he may have survived the actual crash and may have jumped moments before the helicopter hit the Ski Slope, but only died because no one realized that the crash had occurred until the helicopter failed to arrive in Chicago which took over a full day. This would've left him in the middle of nowhere with critical injuries for over 24 hours. The wreckage was only found with the help of its locator beacon., However, one local resident familiar with the sounds of helicopters lifting off from the resort and assuming a flight path to Chicago can recall an abrupt silence of helicopter rotor noise. The main cause of the crash was believed to be pilot error. Chris Layton, Jimmie and his wife were waiting for their copter so they could leave. However they had not found out about the news until they returned to the motel in Chicago. The next morning Stevie Ray Vaughan's brother Jimmie and good friend Eric Clapton were called to identify the bodies.

The media initially reported that Vaughan and his band had been killed in the crash. Chris Layton saw this on the news and had security let him into Vaughan'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.
Posthumous events and recognition
September 1990 saw the release of Family Style. The 1991 compilation album The Sky Is Crying was the first of several posthumous Vaughan releases to achieve chart success. Jimmie Vaughan later co-wrote and recorded a song in tribute to his brother and other deceased blues guitarists, entitled "Six Strings Down". Many other artists recorded songs in remembrance of Vaughan, including Eric Johnson, Buddy Guy and Steve Vai (The track 'Jibboom' of the album 'The Ultra Zone' recorded in 1999).

In 1991, Texas governor Ann Richards proclaimed October 3, Vaughan's birthday, to be "Stevie Ray Vaughan Day." An annual motorcycle ride and concert in Central Texas benefits the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Scholarship Fund.

In 1992, the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation released the Stevie Ray Vaughan Signature Stratocaster, which Vaughan had helped design. It was a reproduction of his battered 1959 Fender Stratocaster, which he had affectionately named "Number One" (and sometimes referred to as his "first wife"). As of 2007, the model is still in production. It depicts "Number One" as it would have been brand-new in 1963, though when Vaughan bought it in 1974 it was already badly weathered. In 2004, Fender also released a limited edition exact replica of "Number One".

In 1994, the city of Austin erected the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Statue at Auditorium Shores on Lady Bird Lake, the site of a number of Vaughan's concerts. It has become one of the city's most popular tourist attractions.

Musicians such as John Mayer, Robert Randolph, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Colin James, Jonny Lang, Los Lonely Boys, Mike McCready, Eric Johnson and Doyle Bramhall II have cited Vaughan as an influence.

The last guitar that Vaughan played prior to his death is on display in the Hard Rock Cafe in Gatlinburg.

In 2008, Stevie Ray Vaughan will become eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Musical influences and style

Vaughan's blues style was strongly influenced by many blues guitarists. Foremost among them were Albert King, who dubbed himself Stevie's "godfather", Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, and Jimi Hendrix. The song "Rude Mood" is a direct derivative (according to SRV himself) of a Lightnin' Hopkins tune called "Lightning Sky Hop". He was also strongly influenced by early blues-rock guitarist Lonnie Mack, who, according to Vaughan himself, "really taught me to play guitar from the heart" (Davis, History of the Blues, DaCapo 2003, p. 246). Vaughan, who had idolized Mack since childhood, produced and played on Mack's 1985 Alligator Records album "Strike Like Lightning" and covered two Mack tunes from the early 1960s, "Wham!" and "Chicken-Pickin'" (which Vaughan renamed "Scuttle-Buttin'").

Vaughan is recognized for his distinctive guitar sound, which was partly based on using heavy guitar strings (anything from 13- to 16-gauge sets) that he tuned down a half-step. Vaughan's sound and playing style, which often incorporated simultaneous lead and rhythm parts, drew frequent comparisons to Hendrix; Vaughan covered several Hendrix tunes on his studio albums and in performance, such as "Little Wing", "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", and "Third Stone from the Sun". He was also heavily influenced by Freddie King, another Texas bluesman, mainly in the use of tone and attack; King's heavy vibrato can clearly be heard in Vaughan's playing. Another stylistic influence was Albert Collins. By utilizing his index finger as a pick a la Albert Collins, he was able to coax various tonal nuances from his amplifiers.

There were many comparisons between Hendrix and Vaughan in terms of playing style and to this day many fans of both artists still debate who was more proficient. Like Hendrix, Vaughan worked with only the support of bass and drums for a long time before Wynans joined the group. Also like Hendrix, he exhibited an amazing command of feedback, volume, and distortion. Like Jimi, he could play lead and rhythm simultaneously with the rare ability to rattle out massive chord clusters and piercing barrages of single notes with incredible precision, drenching them in exotic tones produced by pickup switches, wah-wah pedals, and overamplification.

Vaughan preferred to make use of the immediate tonal capabilities of his guitar amplifiers, adding few effects. His effects in the mid-80's included the TS-9 version of the Ibanez Tube Screamer, a Vox wah-wah pedal, and a MXR Loop Selector. Vaughan was also well known for using the Fender Vibratone speaker cabinet. He acquired one in January 1984 and used about 3 of these throughout his career until his death. Despite rumors, Vaughan never used a real Leslie speaker in his career. Vaughan also had a Boss DC-2 Dimension C chorus stompbox for a warbly, bright chorus effect. He also used loud volumes for dynamic, coaxing effects from the natural overdriven performance of his amplifiers.

Vaughan's guitars and musical equipment

Vaughan's main guitars were Fender Stratocasters. His most famous was a sunburst 1962 Strat with a Brazilian rosewood veneer fingerboard fretted with Dunlop 6100 Jumbo fretwire; it had 1962 stamped on the neck and body, but 1959 written on the pickups leading Vaughan to mistakenly believe it was assembled in 1962 from 1959 parts. On this particular guitar, he also had a left-handed tremolo installed. He had it installed, most likely due to Jimi Hendrix's influence on his playing style. This guitar was known as Number One. It had a D-shaped thick neck that was perfect for his large hands and thick fingers. It possessed a deep, dark growl of a tone that was immediately identifiable. The guitar also had a prismatic sticker just below the bridge with the word "Custom" in script letters. This sticker was given to Vaughan by a friend soon after he bought it in 1973. It should be noted Vaughan was given this guitar, known as Number One, as a gift by notable guitarist, Austinite and music shop owner Ray Henning, of Ray Henning's Heart of Texas Music. Vaughan also had some custom-made stick-on plastic letters reading "SRV" on one of the body cavities. Even though Number One used all stock Fender Strat parts, about the only original parts it possessed by 1990 were the body and the pickups. Over the years, Vaughan and Rene Martinez, his guitar tech, replaced the pickguard, tremolo, and neck. The guitar was meticulously examined by Fender Custom Shop workers to gather specifications for a run of 100 exact copies in early 2004. The pickups were never overwound purposely, but were from a batch of pickups made at Fender in 1959 that had been overwound by mistake, producing Number One's distinctive sound. The neck was damaged during a stage accident, and a spare was used from another of Vaughan's Stratocasters. After he died, the original neck was put back on and the guitar was given to his brother.

The actual Stevie Ray Vaughan signature model (first introduced in 1992) is modeled after SRV's original guitar. This American-made Artist Signature Strat features an early ’60s “oval” neck shape, pao ferro fingerboard with 21 jumbo frets, three Fender Texas Special single-coil pickups, gold-plated hardware, inverted left-hand vintage tremolo unit and distinctive “SRV” pickguard. Few rare examples made during the first year of production were available with a Brazilian rosewood neck.

Lenny was a 1965 maple-neck that was named after his wife, Lenora. It had a very bright, thin sound and had a hollowed out sound due to the fact that the guitar was hollowed out to fit 4 humbuckers. Supposedly, Vaughan found this guitar in a pawnshop, but couldn't afford to buy it. One of Vaughan's roadies, Byron Barr, bought it and he and Lenora presented it to Vaughan for his birthday in 1976. According to the story, Lenora was supposed to pay Byron for the guitar; she started a pool party with her friends to collect the money, but it was Vaughan who eventually settled the debt, with cash and a leather jacket. Its neck was originally a thin rosewood, but Vaughan replaced it with a thicker non-Fender maple neck, that was given to him by friend Billy Gibbons. Lenny can be seen and heard on "Live at the El Mocambo". He played it sometimes at the end of the set during the encore, playing the song of the same name, Lenny. Vaughan also used the guitar during the song "Riviera Paradise", this can also be seen and heard on the DVD "Live From Austin Texas". After his divorce from his wife and the meeting of the new love in his life, Janna Lapidus, he started calling this guitar "Scotch". Despite other information from various sources, this shouldn't be confused with the butter-colored guitar, as described below. The Fender Custom Shop is currently making replicas for this guitar, coming out on December 12, 2007.

The 1961 butter-colored Strat was bought by Vaughan in the fall of 1985. He gave away another guitar and bought this piece. It was all stock except for the tiger-striped pickguard, made by Rene Martinez. He usually used this guitar on the song "Leave My Girl Alone".

Charley was a custom-made Stratocaster built for him by the late Charley Wirz, a friend and owner of Charley's Guitar Shop in Dallas, Texas. It was made for Vaughan in late 1983, but had a neck plate with the engravement "More In '84". It had three Danelectro lipstick tubes and it had a hardtail bridge. The guitar was also rewired with 1 tone knob and 1 volume. This guitar was said by Vaughan to have a lot of "bite" in the guitar's tone.

Red was a 1962 Strat bought in late 1983 at Charley's Guitar Shop. The finish was originally sunburst, but was repainted fiesta red. In 1986, a left-handed neck was installed on this guitar to emulate the sound and feel of Jimi Hendrix.

Main was a custom-made Hamiltone Strat given to Vaughan as a gift from Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top on April 29, 1984. The guitar was originally supposed to be made in 1979 with "Stevie Vaughan" inlayed with mother-of-pearl in the fingerboard. The plan was crushed when Vaughan started using his middle name. It had cream-colored plastic binding around the body and neck. It was also constructed of 2-piece maple wood and originally had white EMG pickups, an onboard preamp, and Gibson-style "bell" knobs. For the making of the Couldn't Stand The Weather music video, Vaughan used Main instead of Number One. He said that he didn't want to ruin the circuitry in his "first wife" and didn't like the tone in "Main". Byron Barr, Vaughan's guitar tech at the time, rewired it with a standard Strat system. The guitar also had a jazzy and jangly-type tone.

Butter was the original yellow Strat originally owned by Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge. It was Vince who donated it to Charley's Guitar Shop. They painted it yellow and Vaughan bought it in 1981. It had a 'swimmingpool' route for four humbuckers. Despite this, it only had a neck single-coil pickup, controlled by one volume knob and one tone knob. The guitar was stolen from him in 1985 and never recovered.

Vaughan also played a guitar made by deceased Minneapolis, MN, luthier, Roger Benedict. A semi-hollow, Alder-built guitar called the Groove Master was a model of choice for Vaughan. It is a seafoam-green Stratocaster-shaped guitar with three lipstick pickups.

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan owned and played a custom Stratocaster-shaped double-neck guitar named "Family Guitar", built by Robin Guitars of Houston, Texas. This guitar had two maple necks, each with a different scale length and a pointy "drooped"-style reversed headstock with locking machine heads and was equipped with Rio Grande single-coil pickups. The latter is tuned an octave higher than a standard guitar, producing a sharper sound similar to that of a mandolin. Both have also occasionally used a Danelectro guitar/bass double-neck with lipstick pickups during various live performances worldwide.

In total, Vaughan owned 34 guitars throughout his career.

Jimmie Vaughan has possession of all of his brother's guitars, save for the only one released to the public, Lenny. It was sold in the Eric Clapton guitar auction for more than $600,000.

Around early 1985, his pedal board consisted of an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, MXR Loop Selector, Vox Wah-Wah, and the Fender Vibratone's footswitch.

His amps around this time were 2 black-face Fender Vibroverbs, Fender Vibratone, Fender Super Reverb, a blackface and silverface Twin Reverb.

In a recent publication of Guitar World, they revealed a Soldano SLO-100 amp head that Vaughan commissioned before he died. Mike Soldano built Vaughan a customized SLO-100 after repairing a few of Stevie's amps. Stevie told Mike that he was not happy with the fact that he had to crank his amps to such high volume and use pedals in order to get his overdriven tones. Soldano offered to build an amp for Stevie that would allow him to get his tones from the amp without any overdrive or distortion pedals. The amp that Soldano ended up giving Stevie was a customized SLO-100 with a switch that would cut mid frequencies after 700 Hz. The amp was delivered to Stevie a few months before his death. Stevie never had enough time to fully incorporate the new amp into his rig. The amp was returned to Soldano since it was never paid for and therefore not part of Vaughan's estate. Mike Soldano currently keeps the amp in his shop.

Grammy Awards

GRAMMY Winner Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble (Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Reese Wynans) Genre Blues

GRAMMY Category Best Contemporary Blues Album - or Contemporary Blues Recording

Year 1993 - 35th Annual GRAMMY Awards

Title of the Work The Sky Is Crying (Album)

Artist Performing Work Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble ---- GRAMMY Winner Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble (Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Reese Wynans) Genre Rock

GRAMMY Category Best Rock Instrumental Performance

Year 1993 - 35th Annual GRAMMY Awards

Title of the Work Little Wing (Track) Artist Performing Work Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble ---- GRAMMY Winner The Vaughan Brothers (Stevie Ray Vaughan And Jimmie Vaughan)

Genre Blues

GRAMMY Catergory Best Contemporary Blues Recording

Year 1991 - 33rd Annual GRAMMY Awards

Title of the Work Family Style (Album)

Artist Performing Work Stevie Ray Vaughan And Jimmie Vaughan

---- GRAMMY Winner The Vaughan Brothers (Stevie Ray Vaughan And Jimmie Vaughan)

Genre Rock

GRAMMY Catergory Best Rock Instrumental Performance

Year 1991 - 33rd Annual Grammy Awards

Title of the Work "D/FW" (Track)

Artist Performing Work Stevie Ray Vaughan And Jimmie Vaughan

---- GRAMMY Winner Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble (Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Reese Wynans) Genre Blues

GRAMMY Category Best Contemporary Blues Album - or Contemporary Blues Recording

Year 1990 - 32nd Annual GRAMMY Awards

Title of the Work In Step (Album)

Artist Performing Work Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble ---- GRAMMY Winner J.B. Hutto And The New Hawks (Brian Bisesi), John Hammond, Koko Taylor And The Blues Machine (Steve Freund, Willie Hays, Emmet Maestro Sanders, Koko Taylor, Bay Williams), Luther Guitar Junior Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Reese Wynans) Genre Blues

GRAMMY Category Best Traditional Blues Album - or - Best Traditional Blues Recording

Year 1985 - 27th Annual GRAMMY Awards

Title of the Work Blues Explosion

Artist Performing Work John Hammond, Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble, Sugar Blue, Koko Taylor And The Blues Machine, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, J.B. Hutto And The New Hawks

Discography

Studio albums
# Texas Flood (1983) # Couldn't Stand the Weather (1984) # Soul to Soul (1985) # In Step (1989) # Family Style (with brother Jimmie Vaughan as "The Vaughan Brothers", 1990) # The Sky Is Crying (posthumous compilation) (1991)
Official live audio releases
# In the Beginning (recorded 1980) # In Session (with Albert King, recorded 1983) # Live at Carnegie Hall (recorded 1984) # Live Alive (recorded 1985 and 1986) # Live At Montreux 1982 & 1985 (recorded 1982 & 1985) # Live At The El Mocambo (recorded 1983)(video release) # Live From Austin, Texas (Recorded from concerts of 1983 and 1989)(video release) # <i>Live in Tokyo (Recorded on January 24, 1985) (video import release)
Compilations
# </i>Greatest Hits (1995) # The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Volume 1 (1999) # Blues at Sunrise (2000) # SRV (box set, with early recordings, rarities, hits, and live material) (2000) # The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (2002) # Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues - Stevie Ray Vaughan (2003) # The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Volume 2 (2006)

* A cover of "Texas Flood" appears in the original
Guitar Hero video game.

* A cover of "Pride and Joy" appears in the video game
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock<i>.

* Parts of "Pride And Joy" were aired on a commercial for the Nissan Altima

Notes and references

Who is Stevie Ray Vaughan connected to?
Add a Connection
...It ranges from Soul with Joss Stone to pop with Britney Spears, to Dance with the Shapeshifters, and even to rock with guitar heroes like Stevie Ray Vaughan or Eric Clapton....
Upon his return from rehab, Vaughan did a number of works with other artists including Dick Dale (making a cameo appearance as himself performing a duet of "Pipeline" in the movie Back To The Beach which was then released as a single), Jennifer Warnes, and Stevie Wonder (playing "Superstition" on the MTV special "Stevie Wonder's Characters")...
...Many other artists recorded songs in remembrance of Vaughan, including Eric Johnson, Buddy Guy and Steve Vai (The track 'Jibboom' of the album 'The Ultra Zone' recorded in 1999)....
...By now, Raitt was clean and sober, having broken her substance abuse — for which she would credit Stevie Ray Vaughan in a Minnesota State Fair concert ref,ref the night after Vaughan's 1990 death. Following this highly acclaimed broadcast, she began working on new material...
...Kimball High School and moved to Austin to pursue music. Vaughan's talent caught the attention of guitarist Johnny Winter, and blues-club owner Clifford Antone.

Clifford Antone (October 27, 1949 in Port Arthur, Texas–May 23, 2006 in Austin, Texas) was the founder of a well-known Austin blues club, record label, and a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan and numerous other musicians....

photo by Steve Hopson
...In 1986, Stray Cats got back together in Los Angeles, and recorded the covers-heavy Rock Therapy, which sold poorly. In 1989, they reunited once again for the album Blast Off, which was accompanied by a tour with Stevie Ray Vaughan. No longer with EMI America, they entered the studio with Nile Rodgers for the lackluster Let's Go Faster, issued by Liberation in 1990...
...Toni Price has always composed music on her own terms; she refuses to go out and even does not stand up while performing every Tuesday night at the Continental Club in Austin, where music lovers feel that Toni Price has the same star potential as other musical talents such as Jimmie Vaughan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lyle Lovett, and Nanci Griffith that the town produced. However, she seems uninterested in the dynamics of fame: "My favorite thing someone says to one of my friends is, 'Why isn't she famous?' I love when they say that because that means they think maybe I'm good enough to be famous...


photo by Steve Hopson -- www.stevehopson.com
On August 25, 1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble finished up the summer leg of the tour with shows at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, just outside of East Troy, Wisconsin. The show also featured Robert Cray and his Memphis Horns along with Eric Clapton's set. Alex Hodges, Double Trouble's tour manager, arranged flight by helicopter with Omni Flights...

Robert Cray was among artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and George Thorogood, who got wider radio airplay and regular MTV video exposure during the late 1980s...


photo by Steve Hopson -- www.stevehopson.com

This biography says:

...Its neck was originally a thin rosewood, but Vaughan replaced it with a thicker non-Fender maple neck, that was given to him by friend Billy Gibbons. Lenny can be seen and heard on "Live at the El Mocambo". He played it sometimes at the end of the set during the encore, playing the song of the same name, Lenny...

That biography says:

...Musical inspirations include: The Beatles, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, The Police, Jeff Buckley, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Dave Matthews, Eva Cassidy, Johnny Clegg, Jimi Hendrix,and Stevie Ray Vaughan. * Emma owns (did own, whatever the case) a Les Paul guitar and a Fender Strat (that once belonged to a guitarist from The Ventures)...

That biography says:

Mark Tremonti's all time favorite guitarist is Stevie Ray Vaughan. However, he has mentioned on several occasions that his favorite modern guitarist is Zakk Wylde. He is also influenced by Metallica, Celtic Frost, Audley Freed, and other hard rock & metal guitarists.

This biography says:

...He became only the second guitarist in history to win three Guitar Player awards in one year (the first is Jeff Beck). Vaughan won the "Best Electric Blues Guitarist" award every year until 1991....

That biography says:

...Examples include Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Brian May (who calls him "The Guv'ner"), Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Jack White of The White Stripes, the late Mick Ronson (who said Beck was his guitar idol), Slash, and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan.

That biography says:

* Donny Hathaway's Donny Hathaway Live, which featured noted R&B musicians Willie Weeks (bass guitar) and Cornell Dupree (guitar), has been cited as an influence by numerous artists, including India.Arie and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Brian McKnight, Anthony Hamilton and Frank McComb are among the contemporary artists whose work echoes Hathaway's...

This biography says:

...Vaughan won three categories in the Guitar Player's Readers Poll: "Best New Talent", "Best Blues Album", and "Best Electric Blues Guitarist" (beating out none other than Eric Clapton). He became only the second guitarist in history to win three Guitar Player awards in one year (the first is Jeff Beck)...

That biography says:

...The early 1990s saw tragedy enter Clapton's life again on two occasions. On 27 August 1990 guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was touring with Clapton, and two members of their road crew were killed in a helicopter crash between concerts...

That biography says:

...Instead, he sang nine cover songs: *"Use Me" (Bill Withers) *"Ready For Love" (Bad Company) *"Little Ghetto Boy" (Donny Hathaway) *"I Believe To My Soul" (Donny Hathaway) *"You've Got a Friend" (Carole King) *"Empty Arms" (Stevie Ray Vaughan) *"I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" (Donny Hathaway) *"What's Going On?" (Marvin Gaye) *"Whipping Post" (The Allman Brothers Band)...

This biography says:

...After the 15-minute jam, the lights went up and the musicians went backstage to trade compliments. Clapton and Vaughan talked about future dates in London to pay a tribute to Jimi Hendrix....

This biography says:

...Eric Clapton played his set next. At the end of the show, as fog settled over the audience in the arena, Clapton introduced Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Cray, and Jimmie Vaughan. The musicians chose the appropriate titled "Sweet Home Chicago", a blues classic written by Robert Johnson...

That biography says:

...Guy’s songs have been covered by Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayall, Jack Bruce, and others. Several of Guy’s early songs and licks were allegedly stolen by the late Willie Dixon and Guy’s early record companies...

This biography says:

...Jimmie Vaughan later co-wrote and recorded a song in tribute to his brother and other deceased blues guitarists, entitled "Six Strings Down". Many other artists recorded songs in remembrance of Vaughan, including Eric Johnson, Buddy Guy and Steve Vai (The track 'Jibboom' of the album 'The Ultra Zone' recorded in 1999)...

That biography says:

...Widely recognized for his guitar skills, Johnson's stylistic diversity and technical proficiency have drawn praise from Carlos Santana, Allan Holdsworth, Larry Carlton, Steve Morse, Billy Gibbons, Johnny Winter, Jeff Baxter, Prince, B.B. King, Joe Satriani and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. His critically-acclaimed, platinum selling 1990 recording Ah Via Musicom produced the single "Cliffs of Dover", for which Johnson won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

That biography says:

...(the former of which remained a much covered standard for decades especially for Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Anson Funderburgh. The latter has also been widely covered including the version by the pop singer Robert Palmer.)...

That biography says:

...Freddie King admitted when interviewed that his classic, Hideaway, later covered by Eric Clapton, was inspired by an unnamed Hound Dog Taylor instrumental he had heard Taylor perform at the south side Chicago club Mel's Hideaway in the late 1950s. Stevie Ray Vaughan also covered Taylor's best known song Give Me Back My Wig, both in concert and in studio....

That biography says:

...Nalick began her songwriting career in the fifth grade. She officially cites her influences as Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Blind Melon, John Mayer, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others. She says of Vaughan that he is "the guy that I'm going to marry when I get to heaven." In high school, in addition to writing her own songs, she performed with a Rush cover band...

That biography says:

...Jimmie Vaughan, brother of Stevie Ray Vaughan, is quoted as saying: "When my brother Stevie and I were growing up in Dallas, we idolized very few guitarists...

This biography says:

...Kimball High School and moved to Austin to pursue music. Vaughan's talent caught the attention of guitarist Johnny Winter, and blues-club owner Clifford Antone.

This biography says:

...In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stevie Ray Vaughan #7 in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan.

That biography says:

Jimmie Lawrence Vaughan (born on March 20, 1951 in Dallas, Texas) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is the older brother of Stevie Ray Vaughan....

That biography says:

...With the addition of brother Gregg, called back from Los Angeles to sing and replace Wynans on keyboards, at the end of March 1969, the Allman Brothers Band was formed. (Wynans became well known over a decade later as organist with Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble.) After a bit of rehearsing and gigging, the sextet moved up to Macon, Georgia, in April to be near Walden and his Capricorn Sound Studios...

This biography says:

...During this time, he also began recording with one of his earliest idols, blues-rock guitar pioneer Lonnie Mack, to produce the album Strike Like Lightning on the Alligator label....

That biography says:

...These recordings worked a fundamental change in the role of the guitar in rock music and were a major influence upon a generation of guitarists, including Duane Allman and Stevie Ray Vaughan....

This biography says:

...On January 3, 1990, Vaughan gave an AA speech and addressed the Aquarius Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. On January 30, 1990, Vaughan made his first appearance on MTV Unplugged, sharing the stage with Joe Satriani....

That biography says:

...Buddy Guy was highly influenced by Guitar Slim, especially by his stage performances. Albert Collins names Guitar Slim as one of his most important sources of inspiration. Also Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded a cover version of "The Things That I Used to Do".

That biography says:

Susan Tedeschi's voice has been described as a blend of Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin, though she explains this is due to sharing the same influences as the two. Her guitar playing is influenced by Buddy Guy, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King and Doyle Bramhall II.
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