STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN
Stephen Ray Vaughan (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.
Born and raised in Dallas, Vaughan began playing guitar at age seven, initially inspired by his elder
brother, Jimmie Vaughan. 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 and established it
as part of the Austin music scene; it soon became one of the most popular acts in Texas. He
performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1982, where David Bowie saw him play. Bowie contacted
him for a studio gig which resulted in Vaughan playing blues guitar on the album Let's Dance (1983),
before being discovered by John Hammond who interested major label Epic Records in signing
Vaughan and his band to a record deal. 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. Playing his guitar behind his back or plucking the strings with his teeth as Jimi Hendrix
did, he earned fame in Europe, which later resulted in breakthroughs for guitar players like Robert
Cray, Jeff Healey, Robben Ford, and Walter Trout, amongst others.
During the majority of his life, Vaughan struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction. 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 highly demanded 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 and Vaughan's family later filed a wrongful
death lawsuit against Omniflight Helicopters which was settled out of court. Vaughan's music
continued to achieve commercial success with several posthumous releases and has sold over 15
million albums in the United States alone. In 2003, David Fricke of Rolling Stone ranked him the
seventh greatest guitarist 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.
Contents
● 1
● Family and early life
○ 1.1
○ First instruments
○
● 2
● Music career
○ 2.1
○ Early years
○
○ 2.2
○ First recordings
○
○ 2.3
○ Double Trouble
■ 2.3.1
■ Drug charge and trial
■
■ 2.3.2
■ Montreux Jazz Festival
■
■ 2.3.3
■ National success
■
■ 2.3.4
■ Texas Flood
■
■ 2.3.5
■ Couldn't Stand the Weather
■
■ 2.3.6
■ Carnegie Hall
■
■ 2.3.7
■ Soul to Soul
■
■ 2.3.8
■ Live Alive
■
■ 2.3.9
■ Drugs and alcohol
■
■ 2.3.10
■ Live Alive tour
■
■ 2.3.11
■ In Step
■
● 3
● Death
●
● 4
● Musical style
●
● 5
● Equipment
○ 5.1
○ Guitars
○
○ 5.2
○ Amplifiers and effects
○
● 6
● Legacy
○ 6.1
○ Awards and honors
○
● 7
● Discography
●
● 8
● See also
●
● 9
● Notes
○ 9.1
○ Footnotes
○
○ 9.2
○ Citations
○
● 10
● Sources
●
● 11
● Further reading
●
● 12
● External links
●
Family and early life[edit]
Vaughan's grandfather, Thomas Lee Vaughan, married Laura Belle LaRue and moved to Rockwall
[1][nb 1]
County, Texas where they lived by sharecropping.
[3]
Stevie's father, Jimmie Lee Vaughan, was born on September 6, 1921. Jimmie Vaughan, also
known as Jim and Big Jim, dropped out of school at age sixteen and enlisted in the U.S. Navy during
World War II. After his discharge from the military, he married Martha Jean (née Cook; 1928–2009)
[4]
on January 13, 1950. They had a son, Jimmie, in 1951. Stephen was born at Methodist Hospital
on October 3, 1954, in Dallas. Big Jim secured a job as an asbestos worker. The family moved
frequently and lived in other states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma before
ultimately moving to the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. A shy and insecure boy, Vaughan was deeply
affected by his childhood experiences. His father struggled with alcohol abuse and often terrorized
his family and friends with his bad temper. In later years, Vaughan recalled that he had been a victim
[5]
of his father's violence. His father died on August 27, 1986, exactly four years before Vaughan
[6]
himself.
First instruments[edit]
In the early 1960s, Vaughan's admiration for his brother Jimmie resulted in his trying different
[7][nb 2]
instruments such as the drums and saxophone. In 1961, for his seventh birthday, Vaughan
[9][nb 3]
received his first guitar, a toy guitar from Sears with a Western motif. Learning by ear he
diligently committed himself, following along to songs by the Nightcaps, particularly "Wine, Wine,
[11][nb 4]
Wine" and "Thunderbird". He listened to blues artists such as Albert King, Otis Rush, and
Muddy Waters, and rock guitarists including Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, as well as jazz guitarists
[13]
including Kenny Burrell. In 1963, he acquired his first electric guitar, a Gibson ES-125T, as a
[14]
hand-me-down from Jimmie.
[15]
Soon after he acquired the electric guitar, Vaughan joined his first band, the Chantones, in 1965.
Their first show was at a talent contest held in Dallas' Hill Theatre, but after realizing that they could
not perform a Jimmy Reed song in its entirety, Vaughan left the band and joined the Brooklyn
[15]
Underground, playing professionally at local bars and clubs. He received Jimmie's Fender
[16]
Broadcaster, which he later traded for an Epiphone Riviera. When Jimmie left home at age
sixteen, Vaughan's apparent obsession with the instrument caused a lack of support from his
[17]
parents. Miserable at home, he took a job at a local hamburger stand, where he washed dishes
and dumped trash for seventy cents an hour. After falling into a barrel of grease, he grew tired of the
[18]
job and quit to devote his life to a music career.
