Stevie Ray Vaughn Channel -
I love this video. I take it everywhere I go. Watch it all the time. Keep a perfect quality file of it. It is absolutely the BEST example of the mastery this man had of the guitar. He rapes and owns it, dripping sweat and slicing with razor sharp precision...poor little beat up guitar ☺ Stephen "Stevie" Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 -- August 27, 1990) was an American blues-rock guitarist, whose broad appeal made him an influential electric blues guitarist. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stevie Ray Vaughan #7 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, and Classic Rock Magazine ranked him #3 in their list of the 100 Wildest Guitar Heroes in 2007. Vaughan was born on October 3, 1954, in Dallas, Texas, and was raised in the city's Oak Cliff neighborhood. Neither of his parents had any strong musical talent but they were avid music fans and took he & older brother Jimmie to concerts to see Fats Domino, Johnny Williamson III, 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 seven years old. Vaughan's brother, Jimmie Vaughan, gave him his first guitar lessons. In 1975 he started Triple Threat, which in 1978 became Double Trouble with Vaughan as lead singer. From Austin, their success spread throughout Texas. In the early 1980s, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger saw Vaughan and Double Trouble playing at a club, and invited them to play at a private party in New York. This led to their acquaintance with producer Jerry Wexler, who managed to get them their first big break performing at the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival. David Bowie had Vaughan play lead guitar on his next album, Let's Dance. A contract with Epic followed, as well as their first album release in 1983, the successful Texas Flood, which charted at number 38 and gained positive reviews. After a successful tour, their second album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, charted at number 31 in 1984 and went gold in 1985. Their third album, Soul to Soul, charted at number 34 in 1985. Drugs and alcohol took a toll on Vaughan by mid-1986. Cocaine and Crown Royal whiskey were his drugs of choice. Vaughan would dissolve cocaine in his whiskey for a morning "pick-me-up". This ritual caused ulcers. Yet, he carried on and put out Live Alive in 1986 & toured America in 1987. Then after a German tour, he was admitted into a hospital in London. Dr. Victor Bloom, who had helped Clapton and Townshend with their addictions, told Vaughan that if he had not 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 in Alcoholics Anonymous. Vaughan and Double Trouble recorded In Step in February 1989, their fourth studio album, which was 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 mayor declared November 26, 1989 "Stevie Ray Vaughan Day". On January 3, 1990, Vaughan gave a speech to the Aquarius Chapter of AA. On January 30, Vaughan made his first appearance on MTV Unplugged in NYC. It was originally scheduled for Vaughan to do a closing jam with Joe Satriani, but Vaughan said he had to leave right away. Around this time, Vaughan said that singing was becoming painful for him due to a condition he called "hamburger throat". He received acupuncture to his neck, but still had to take cortisone shots to relieve the pain, which caused his face to swell. On August 25-26, 1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble finished the summer portion of the In Step Tour with shows at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, just outside of East Troy, Wisconsin. Clapton and Vaughan talked about future dates in London to pay a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. The musicians had expected a long bus ride back to Chicago. However, Vaughan was informed that a seat was open on one of the helicopters returning to Chicago with Clapton's crew. Stevie took it. At 12:44 a.m. pilot Jeffrey Browne guided the helicopter off the ground. Moments after takeoff the helicopter crashed into a ski slope and all five on board were killed. Vaughan's was the only body found outside of the wreckage, suggesting he may have survived the initial crash. Chris Layton and Jimmie Vaughan did not find out about the crash until they returned to the motel in Chicago. Jimmie Vaughn identified the body next AM. The coroner's report stated cause of death was exsanguination caused by severing of the aorta. The media initially stated the entire band was killed. Layton and Double Trouble's bass player, Tommy Shannon, called their families to let them know they were all right. SRV lies at Laurel Land Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas.
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