Stephen Ray Vaughan, known as Stevie Ray Vaughan,
was an American musician, singer, songwriter,
and record producer. In spite of a short-lived
mainstream career spanning seven years, he
is widely considered one of the most influential
electric guitarists in the history of blues
music, and one of the most important figures
in the revival of blues in the 1980s. Allmusic
describes him as "a rocking powerhouse of
a guitarist who gave blues a burst of momentum
in the '80s, with influence still felt long
after his tragic death."
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Vaughan
began playing guitar at the age of seven,
inspired by his older brother Jimmie. In 1971,
he dropped out of high school and moved to
Austin the following year. He played gigs
with numerous bands, earning a spot in Marc
Benno's band, the Nightcrawlers, and later
with Denny Freeman in the Cobras, with whom
he continued to work through late 1977. He
then formed his own group, Triple Threat Revue,
before renaming the band Double Trouble after
hiring drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy
Shannon. He gained fame after his performance
at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1982, and
in 1983 his debut studio album, Texas Flood,
charted at number 38. The ten-song album was
a commercially successful release that sold
over half-a-million copies. After achieving
sobriety in late 1986, he headlined concert
tours with Jeff Beck in 1989 and Joe Cocker
in 1990 before his death in a helicopter crash
on August 27, 1990, at the age of 35.
Vaughan was inspired musically by American
and British blues rock. He favored clean amplifiers
with high volume and contributed to the popularity
of vintage musical equipment. He often combined
several different amplifiers together and
used minimal effects pedals. Chris Gill of
Guitar World commented: "Stevie Ray Vaughan's
guitar tone was as dry as a San Antonio summer
and as sparkling clean as a Dallas debutante,
the product of the natural sound of amps with
ample clean headroom. However, Vaughan occasionally
used pedals to augment his sound, mainly to
boost the signal, although he occasionally
employed a rotating speaker cabinet and wah
pedals for added textural flair."
Vaughan received several music awards during
his lifetime and posthumously. In 1983, readers
of Guitar Player voted him as Best New Talent
and Best Electric Blues Guitar Player. In
1984, the Blues Foundation named him Entertainer
of the Year and Blues Instrumentalist of the
Year, and in 1987 Performance Magazine honored
him with Rhythm and Blues Act of the Year.
Earning six Grammy Awards and ten Austin Music
Awards, he was inducted into the Blues Hall
of Fame in 2000 and the Musicians Hall of
Fame in 2014. Rolling Stone ranked Vaughan
as the twelfth greatest guitarist of all time.
Family and early life
Vaughan's ancestry has been traced as far
back as the nineteenth century, to his great-grandfather
Robert Hodgen LaRue. Robert had a daughter
named Laura Belle LaRue, Vaughan's paternal
grandmother. She married a man from Arkansas
named Thomas Lee Vaughan. They moved onto
a region of land in Rockwall County and made
their living off of sharecropping. On September
6, 1921, Thomas and Laura had a son they named
Jimmie Lee Vaughan; people called him Jim.
Jim, who dropped out of school at the age
of sixteen, enlisted to serve with the United
States Navy on the outbreak of World War II.
After returning from service, Jim met Martha
Cook while working as an attendant at a 7-Eleven
convenience store in Dallas; they married
on January 13, 1950. Stephen Ray Vaughan was
born on October 3, 1954, in Dallas, Texas;
he was three-and-a-half years younger than
his brother Jimmie. Jim secured a job as an
asbestos worker, an occupation that involved
rigorous, manual effort. The family frequently
moved, living in other states such as Arkansas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma before
ultimately moving to the Oak Cliff suburb
of Dallas. A shy and insecure boy, Vaughan
was deeply affected by his childhood experiences.
Jim 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 of Jim's violence.
First instruments
In the early 1960s, Vaughan's admiration for
Jimmie resulted in him trying different instruments
such as the drums and saxophone. In 1961,
for his seventh birthday, Vaughan received
his first guitar, a toy with only three strings.
Learning by ear, he diligently committed himself,
following along to songs by the Nightcaps,
particularly "Wine, Wine, Wine" and "Thunderbird".
He listened to blues artists such as Albert
King, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters, and rock
guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie
Mack, as well as jazz guitarists including
Kenny Burrell. In 1963, he acquired his first
electric guitar, a Gibson ES-125T, as a hand-me-down
from Jimmie.
Soon after he acquired the electric guitar,
Vaughan joined his first band, the Chantones.
Their first gig 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 Underground, playing professionally
at local bars and clubs. He received Jimmie's
Fender 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 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 had enough so he quit and devoted
his life to a music career.
Music career
Early years
In May 1969, after leaving the Brooklyn Underground,
Vaughan joined a band called the Southern
Distributor. He had learned The Yardbirds'
"Jeff's Boogie" and played the song at the
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." 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 the band parted ways. 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. Within a
few years, they began performing together
in a band called Krackerjack.
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. In mid-1970, they performed
at the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas,
where ZZ Top asked 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."
Attending Justin F. Kimball High School during
the early 1970s, Vaughan's late-night gigs
contributed to his neglect in his studies,
including music theory; he would often sleep
during class. Although his musical career
pursuit was disapproved by many of the school's
administrators, he was encouraged by many
to strive for a career in art, including his
art teacher. In his sophomore year, he attended
an evening class for experimental art at Southern
Methodist University, but bailed when it conflicted
with rehearsal. Vaughan later spoke of his
dislike of the school and stated that he had
to receive a daily note from the principal
about his grooming.
First recordings
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. In late January 1971, feeling
confined by playing pop hits with Liberation,
Vaughan formed his own band, Blackbird. After
growing tired with 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 Country
Club, a 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.
By the end of the year, he joined a rock band,
Krackerjack; he performed with them for less
than three months.
In March 1973, Vaughan joined Marc Benno's
band, the Nightcrawlers, after meeting Benno
at a jam session years before. The band featured
vocalist Doyle Bramhall, who met Vaughan when
he was twelve years old. The next month, Vaughan
and 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'". Soon afterward,
he and the Nightcrawlers traveled back to
Austin without Benno. In mid-1973, they signed
a contract with Bill Ham, manager for ZZ Top,
and played various gigs across the South,
though many of them were disastrous. 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.
In 1975, Vaughan joined a six-piece band called
Paul Ray and the Cobras that included guitarist
Denny Freeman and saxophonist Joe Sublett.
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". 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.
In March, readers of the Austin Sun voted
them as Band of the Year. 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.
Vaughan toured with the Cobras during much
of 1977, but near the end of September, after
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. 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.
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
In mid-May 1978, Clark left to form his own
group and Vaughan renamed the band Double
Trouble, taken from the title of an Otis Rush
song. Following the recruit of bassist Jackie
Newhouse, Pharaoh quit in July, and was briefly
replaced by Jack Moore, who had moved to Texas
from Boston; he performed with the band for
about two months. Vaughan then began looking
for a drummer and soon after, he met Chris
Layton through Sublett, who was his roommate.
Layton, who had recently parted ways with
Greezy Wheels, was taught by Vaughan to play
a shuffle rhythm. When Vaughan offered Layton
the position, he agreed. In early July, Vaughan
befriended Lenora Bailey, known as "Lenny",
who became his girlfriend, and ultimately
his wife, a marriage that lasted for six and
a half years.
In early October 1978, Vaughan and Double
Trouble earned a frequent residency performing
at one of Austin's most popular nightspots,
the Rome Inn. During a performance, Edi Johnson,
an accountant at Manor Downs, noticed Vaughan.
She remembered: "I'm not an authority on music—it's
whatever turned me on—but this did." She
recommended him to Manor Downs owner Frances
Carr and general manager Chesley Millikin,
who was interested in managing artists, and
saw Vaughan's musical potential. After Barton
quit Double Trouble in mid-November 1979,
Millikin signed Vaughan to a management contract.
Vaughan also hired Robert "Cutter" Brandenburg
as road manager, whom he had met in 1969.
Addressing him as Stevie Ray, Brandenburg
convinced Vaughan to use his middle name on
stage.
In October 1980, bassist Tommy Shannon attended
a Double Trouble performance at Rockefeller's
in Houston. Shannon, who was playing with
Alan Haynes at the time, participated in a
jam session with Vaughan and Layton halfway
through their set. Shannon later commented:
"I went down there that night, and I'll never
forget this: it was like, when I walked in
the door and I heard them playing, it was
like a revelation—'That's where I want to
be; that's where I belong, right there.' During
the break, I went up to Stevie and told him
that. I didn't try to sneak around and hide
it from the bass player [Jackie Newhouse]—I
didn't know if he was listening or not. I
just really wanted to be in that band. I sat
in that night and it sounded great." Almost
three months later, when Vaughan offered Shannon
the position, he readily accepted.
Montreux Jazz Festival
Although popular in Texas at the time, Double
Trouble failed to gain national attention.
The group's luck progressed when record producer
Jerry Wexler recommended them to Claude Nobs,
organizer of the Montreux Jazz Festival. He
insisted that the festival's blues night would
be great with Vaughan, whom he called "a jewel,
one of those rarities who comes along once
in a lifetime", and Nobs agreed to book Double
Trouble on July 17.
Vaughan opened with a medley arrangement of
Freddie King's song "Hide Away" and his own
fast instrumental composition, "Rude Mood".
Double Trouble went on to perform renditions
of Larry Davis' "Texas Flood", Hound Dog Taylor's
"Give Me Back My Wig", and Albert Collins'
"Collins Shuffle", as well as three original
compositions: "Pride and Joy", "Love Struck
Baby", and "Dirty Pool". The set ended with
boos from the audience. People's James McBride
wrote:
"He seemed to come out of nowhere, a Zorro-type
figure in a riverboat gambler's hat, roaring
into the '82 Montreux festival with a '59
Stratocaster at his hip and two flame-throwing
sidekicks he called Double Trouble. He had
no album, no record contract, no name, but
he reduced the stage to a pile of smoking
cinders and, afterward, everyone wanted to
know who he was."
According to road manager Don Opperman: "The
way I remember it, the 'ooos' and the 'boos'
were mixed together, but Stevie was pretty
disappointed. Stevie [had] just handed me
his guitar and walked off stage, and I'm like,
'Are you coming back?' There was a doorway
back there; the audience couldn't see the
guys, but I could. He went back to the dressing
room with his head in his hands. I went back
there finally, and that was the end of the
show." According to Vaughan: "It wasn't the
whole crowd [that booed]. It was just a few
people sitting right up front. The room there
was built for acoustic jazz. When five or
six people boo, wow. It sounds like the whole
world hates you. They thought we were too
loud, but shoot, I had four army blankets
folded over my amp, and the volume level was
on 2. I'm used to playin' on 10!" The performance
was filmed and later released on DVD in September
2004.
On the following night, Double Trouble was
booked in the lounge of the Montreux Casino,
with Jackson Browne in attendance. Browne
jammed with Double Trouble until the early
morning hours and offered them free use of
his personal recording studio in downtown
Los Angeles. In late November, the band accepted
his offer and recorded ten songs in two days.
While they were in the studio, Vaughan received
a telephone call from musician David Bowie,
who met him after the Montreux performance,
and he invited him to participate in a recording
session for his next studio album, Let's Dance.
In January 1983, Vaughan recorded guitar on
six of the album's eight songs, including
the title track and "China Girl". The album
was released on April 14, 1983 and sold over
three times as many copies as Bowie's previous
album.
National success
In mid-March 1983, Gregg Geller, vice president
of A&R at Epic Records, signed Double Trouble
to the label at the recommendation of record
producer John Hammond. Soon afterward, Epic
financed a music video for "Love Struck Baby",
which was filmed at the Cherry Tavern in New
York City. Vaughan recalled: "We changed the
name of the place in the video. Four years
ago I got married in a club where we used
to play all the time called the Rome Inn.
When they closed it down, the owner gave me
the sign, so in the video we put that up behind
me on the stage."
With the success of Let's Dance, Bowie requested
Vaughan as the featured instrumentalist for
the upcoming Serious Moonlight Tour, realizing
that he was an essential aspect of the album's
groundbreaking success. In late April, Vaughan
began rehearsals for the tour in Las Colinas,
Texas. When contract renegotiations for his
performance fee failed, Vaughan abandoned
the tour days before its opening date, and
he was replaced by Earl Slick. Vaughan commented:
"I couldn't gear everything on something I
didn't really care a whole lot about. It was
kind of risky, but I really didn't need all
the headaches." Although contributing factors
were widely disputed, Vaughan soon gained
major publicity for quitting the tour.
On May 9, the band performed at The Bottom
Line in New York City, where they opened for
Bryan Adams, with Hammond, Mick Jagger, John
McEnroe, Rick Nielsen, Billy Gibbons, and
Johnny Winter in attendance. Brandenburg described
the performance as "ungodly": "I think Stevie
played every lick as loud and as hard and
with as much intensity as I've ever heard
him." The successful performance earned Vaughan
a positive review published in the New York
Post, asserting that Double Trouble outperformed
Adams. "Fortunately, Bryan Adams, the Canadian
rocker who is opening arena dates for Journey,
doesn't headline too often", wrote Martin
Porter, who claimed that after the band's
performance, the stage had been "rendered
to cinders by the most explosively original
showmanship to grace the New York stage in
some time."
Texas Flood
After acquiring the recordings from Browne's
studio, Double Trouble began assembling the
material for a full-length LP. The album,
Texas Flood, opens with the track "Love Struck
Baby", which was written for Lenny on their
"love-struck day". He composed "Pride and
Joy" and "I'm Cryin'" for one of his former
girlfriends, Lindi Bethel; they are both musically
similar, but their lyrics are opposite perspectives
of their prior relationship. Along with covers
of Howlin' Wolf, The Isley Brothers, and Buddy
Guy, the album included Vaughan's cover of
Larry Davis' "Texas Flood", a song in which
he became strongly associated with. "Lenny"
served as a tribute to his wife, which he
composed at the end of their bed.
Texas Flood featured cover art by illustrator
Brad Holland, who is known for his artwork
for Playboy and The New York Times. Originally
envisioned with Vaughan sitting on a horse
depicting a promotable resemblance, Holland
painted an image of him leaning against a
wall with a guitar, using a photograph as
a reference. Released on June 13, 1983, Texas
Flood peaked at number 38 and ultimately sold
half a million copies. While Rolling Stone
editor Kurt Loder asserted that Vaughan did
not possess a distinctive voice, according
to Allmusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine,
the release was a "monumental impact". Billboard
described it as "a guitar boogie lovers delight".
Agent Alex Hodges commented: "No one knew
how big that record would be, because guitar
players weren't necessarily in vogue, except
for some that were so established they were
undeniable ... he was one of the few artists
that was recouped on every record in a short
period of time."
On June 16, Vaughan gave a performance at
Tango nightclub in Dallas, which celebrated
the album's release. Assorted VIPs attended
the performance, including Ted Nugent, Sammy
Hagar, and members of The Kinks and Uriah
Heep. Jack Chase, vice president of marketing
for Epic, recalled: "The coming-out party
at Tango was very important; it was absolutely
huge. All the radio station personalities,
DJs, program directors, all the retail record
store owners and the important managers, press,
all the executives from New York came down—about
seven hundred people. We attacked in Dallas
first with Q102-FM and [DJ] Redbeard. We had
the Tango party—it was hot. It was the ticket."
The Dallas Morning News reviewed the performance,
starting with the rhetorical question, "What
if Stevie Ray Vaughan had an album release
party and everybody came? It happened Thursday
night at Tango ... The adrenalin must have
been gushing through the musicians' veins
as they performed with rare finesse and skill."
Following a brief tour in Europe, Hodges arranged
an engagement for Double Trouble as The Moody
Blues' opening act during a two-month tour
of North America. Hodges stated that many
people disliked the idea of Double Trouble
opening for The Moody Blues, but asserted
that a common thread that both bands shared
was "album-oriented rock". Shannon described
the tour as "glorious": "Our record hadn't
become that successful yet, but we were playing
in front of coliseums full of people. We just
went out and played, and it fit like a glove.
The sound rang through those big coliseums
like a monster. People were going crazy, and
they had no idea who we were!" After appearing
on the television series Austin City Limits,
the band played a sold-out concert at New
York City's Beacon Theatre. Variety wrote
that their ninety-minute set at the Beacon
"left no doubt that this young Texas musician
is indeed the 'guitar hero of the present
era.'"
Couldn't Stand the Weather
In January 1984, Double Trouble began recording
their second studio album, Couldn't Stand
the Weather, at the Power Station, with John
Hammond as executive producer and engineer
Richard Mullen. Layton later recalled working
with Hammond: "He was kind of like a nice
hand on your shoulder, as opposed to someone
that jumped in and said, 'Let's redo this,
let's do that more.' He didn't get involved
in that way at all. He was a feedback person."
As the sessions began, Vaughan's cover of
Bob Geddins' "Tin Pan Alley" was recorded
while audio levels were being checked. Layton
remembers the performance: "... we did probably
the quietest version we ever did up 'til that
point. We ended it and [Hammond] said, 'That's
the best that song will ever sound,' and we
went, 'We haven't even got sounds, have we?'
He goes, 'That doesn't matter. That's the
best you'll ever do that song.' We tried it
again five, six, seven times—I can't even
remember. But it never quite sounded like
it did that first time."
During recording sessions, Vaughan began experimenting
with other combinations of musicians, including
Fran Christina and Stan Harrison, who played
drums and saxophone respectively on the jazz
instrumental, "Stang's Swang". Jimmie Vaughan
played rhythm guitar on his cover of Guitar
Slim's "The Things That I Used to Do" and
the title track, the latter of which Vaughan
carries a worldly message in his lyrics. According
to musicologist Andy Aledort, Vaughan's guitar
playing throughout the song is marked by steady
rhythmic strumming patterns and improvised
lead lines, with a distinctive R&B and soul
single-note riff, doubled in octaves by guitar
and bass.
Couldn't Stand the Weather was released on
May 15, 1984, and two weeks later it had rapidly
outpaced the sales of Texas Flood. It peaked
at number 31 and spent 38 weeks on the charts.
The album includes Vaughan's cover of Jimi
Hendrix's song, "Voodoo Child", which provoked
inevitable comparisons to Hendrix. According
to Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine,
Couldn't Stand the Weather "confirmed that
the acclaimed debut was no fluke, while matching,
if not bettering, the sales of its predecessor,
thereby cementing Vaughan's status as a giant
of modern blues." According to authors Joe
Nick Patoski and Bill Crawford, the album
"was a major turning point in Stevie Ray Vaughan's
development" and Vaughan's singing improved.
Carnegie Hall
On October 4, 1984, Vaughan headlined a performance
at Carnegie Hall that included many guest
musicians. For the second half of the concert,
he added Jimmie as rhythm guitarist, drummer
George Rains, keyboardist Dr. John, Roomful
of Blues horn section, and featured vocalist
Angela Strehli. The ensemble rehearsed for
less than two weeks before the performance,
and despite the solid dynamics of Double Trouble
for the first half of the performance, according
to Patoski and Crawford, the big band concept
never entirely took form. Before arriving
at the engagement, the venue sold out, which
made Vaughan extremely excited and nervous
as he did not calm down until halfway through
the third song. A benefit for the T.J. Martell
Foundation's work in leukemia and cancer research,
he was an important draw for the event. As
his scheduled time slot drew closer, he indicated
that he preferred traveling to the venue by
limousine to avoid being swarmed by fans on
the street; the band took the stage around
8:00 p.m. The audience of 2,200 people, which
included Vaughan's wife, family and friends,
transformed the venue into what Stephen Holden
of The New York Times described as "a whistling,
stomping roadhouse".
Introduced by Hammond as "one of the greatest
guitar players of all time", Vaughan opened
with "Scuttle Buttin'", wearing what he described
as a "Mexican tuxedo". Double Trouble went
on to perform renditions of "Voodoo Child",
"Tin Pan Alley", Elmore James' "The Sky Is
Crying", and W. C. Clark's "Cold Shot", along
with four original compositions including
"Love Struck Baby", "Honey Bee", "Couldn't
Stand the Weather", and "Rude Mood". During
the second half of the performance, Vaughan
performed covers by Larry Davis, Buddy Guy,
Guitar Slim, Albert King, Jackie Wilson, and
Albert Collins. The set ended with Vaughan
performing a cappella versions of "Lenny"
and "Rude Mood".
The Dallas Times-Herald wrote that Carnegie
Hall "was full of stomping feet and swaying
bodies, kids in blue jeans hanging off the
balconies, dancing bodies that clogged the
aisles." The New York Times asserted that,
despite the venue's "muddy" acoustics, their
"blaring set" was "filled with verve", and
Vaughan's playing was "handsomely displayed".
Jimmie Vaughan later commented: "I was worried
the crowd might be a little stiff. Turned
out they're just like any other beer joint."
Vaughan commented: "We won't be limited to
just the trio, although that doesn't mean
we'll stop doing the trio. I'm planning on
doing that too. I ain't gonna stay in one
place. If I do, I'm stupid." The performance
was recorded and later released as an official
live LP. The album was released on July 29,
1997 by Epic Records; it was ultimately certified
gold.
Immediately after the concert, Vaughan attended
a private party at a downtown club in New
York, which was sponsored by MTV, where he
was greeted by an hour's worth of supporters.
On the following day, Double Trouble made
an appearance at a record store in Greenwich
Village, where they signed autographs for
fans. In late October 1984, the band toured
Australia and New Zealand, which included
one of their first appearances on Australian
television—on Hey Hey It's Saturday—where
they performed "Texas Flood", and an interview
on Sounds. On November 5 and 9, they played
sold-out concerts at the Sydney Opera House.
Upon returning to the US, Double Trouble went
on a brief tour in California. Soon afterward,
Vaughan and Lenny went to the island of Saint
Croix, on the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean
Sea, where they had spent some time vacationing
in December. The next month, Double Trouble
flew to Japan, where they appeared for five
performances, including at Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan
in Osaka.
Soul to Soul
In March 1985, recording for Double Trouble's
third studio album, Soul to Soul, began at
the Dallas Sound Lab. As the sessions progressed,
Vaughan became increasingly frustrated with
his own lack of inspiration. Vaughan was also
allowed a relaxed pace of recording the album,
which contributed to a lack of focus due to
excesses in drugs and alcohol. Roadie Byron
Barr later recalled: "The routine was to go
to the studio, do dope, and play ping-pong."
Vaughan, who found it increasingly difficult
to be able to play rhythm guitar parts and
sing at the same time, wanted to add another
dimension to the band, so he hired keyboardist
Reese Wynans to record on the album; he joined
the band soon thereafter.
During the album's production, Vaughan appeared
at the Houston Astrodome on April 10, 1985,
where he performed a slide guitar rendition
of the US national anthem, "The Star-Spangled
Banner"; his performance was met with booing.
Upon leaving the stage, Vaughan acquired an
autograph from Mickey Mantle, who was a former
player for the New York Yankees. Astrodome
publicist Molly Glentzer wrote in the Houston
Press: "As Vaughan shuffled back behind home
plate, he was only lucid enough to know that
he wanted Mickey Mantle's autograph. Mantle
obliged. 'I never signed a guitar before.'
Nobody asked Vaughan for his autograph. I
was sure he'd be dead before he hit 30." Although
critics compared his performance to Jimi Hendrix's
rendition at Woodstock in 1969, Vaughan later
explained the issue: "I heard they even wrote
about it in one of the music magazines and
they tried to put the two versions side by
side. I hate that stuff. His version was great."
Released on September 30, 1985, Soul to Soul
peaked at number 34 and remained on the Billboard
200 through mid-1986, eventually certified
gold. Critic Jimmy Guterman of Rolling Stone
wrote: "There's some life left in their blues
rock pastiche; it's also possible that they've
run out of gas." According to Patoski and
Crawford, sales of the album "did not match
Couldn't Stand the Weather, suggesting Stevie
Ray and Double Trouble were plateauing". Vaughan
commented: "As far as what's on there song-wise,
I like the album a lot. It meant a lot to
us what we went through to get this record.
There were a lot of odds and we still stayed
strong. We grew a lot with the people in the
band and immediate friends around us; we learned
a lot and grew a lot closer. That has a lot
to do with why it's called [Soul to Soul]."
Live Alive
After touring for nine and a half months,
Epic requested a fourth album from Double
Trouble as part of their contractual obligation.
Vaughan decided that they would record the
LP, Live Alive, during three live appearances
in Austin and Dallas. On July 17 and 18, the
band performed sold-out concerts at the Austin
Opera House, and July 19 at the Dallas Starfest.
They used recordings of these concerts to
assemble the LP, which was produced by Vaughan.
Shannon was backstage before the Austin concert
and told manager Alex Hodges that both Vaughan
and himself were "headed for a brick wall".
Guitarist Denny Freeman attended the Austin
performances; he called the shows a "musical
mess, because they would go into these chaotic
jams with no control. I didn't know what exactly
was going on, but I was concerned." Both Layton
and Shannon remarked that their work schedule
and drugs were causing the band to lose focus.
According to Wynans: "Things were getting
illogical and crazy."
The Live Alive album was released on November
17, 1986, and the only official live Double
Trouble LP made commercially available during
Vaughan's lifetime, though it never appeared
on the Billboard 200 chart. Though many critics
claimed that most of the album was overdubbed,
engineer Gary Olazabal, who mixed the album,
asserted that most of the material was recorded
poorly. Vaughan later admitted that it was
not one of his better efforts; he recalled:
"I wasn't in very good shape when we recorded
Live Alive. At the time, I didn't realize
how bad a shape I was in. There were more
fix-it jobs done on the album than I would
have liked. Some of the work sounds like [it
was] the work of half-dead people. There were
some great notes that came out, but I just
wasn't in control; nobody was."
European tour
When the European tour of the Soul to Soul
Tour began in September 1986, Vaughan's abuse
of drugs and alcohol had reached a peak, using
a quarter-ounce of cocaine and drinking a
quart of whiskey a day. On September 28, Double
Trouble performed at Pfalzbau in Ludwigshafen,
Germany; after the show, Vaughan became ill.
He was taken to a local hospital and was diagnosed
with near-death dehydration. The band gave
a performance at Volkshaus in Zurich, Switzerland
on the following night; according to Layton:
"That show was probably the weakest I've ever
heard him play—no energy and we were all
really tired. Couldn't hardly even make it
through the show." The next day, Vaughan checked
into The London Clinic, where he was diagnosed
with severe internal bleeding and a month
away from death.
On October 2, 1986, Double Trouble appeared
at London's Hammersmith Palais, where Vaughan
accidentally fell from a narrow plank after
leaving the stage. The remainder of the tour,
which included thirteen shows, was canceled.
On October 13, Vaughan returned to the United
States and checked into Peachford Hospital
in Atlanta, where he spent four weeks in rehabilitation;
Shannon, who had also abused drugs and alcohol,
checked into a rehab facility in Austin.
In Step
In October 1988, Vaughan began recording his
fourth studio album with Double Trouble, In
Step; he enjoyed the chance the album gave
him to express his experience with sobriety.
Vaughan brought with him his deep devotion
to music and sobriety, which had an impact
on the band's positive attitude during the
album. His goal to improve his guitar playing
on the album was largely driven by a desire
to make better music, or as drummer Chris
Layton put it, more "essential music". Many
of the songs written for In Step were composed
during the Live Alive Tour. The album was
stylistically unlike their previous albums,
with less blues and more original, groove-oriented
material.
In January 1990, Vaughan gave a speech at
an AA meeting; a recording and transcript
of the speech have been widely circulated
on the internet. On January 30, Vaughan made
a guest appearance on MTV Unplugged in New
York City, performing "Rude Mood", "Pride
and Joy", and "Testify". In March, Vaughan
collaborated with his brother, Jimmie, to
record Family Style, produced by Nile Rodgers
which was released on September 25, 1990.
Containing ten songs, the album was a long-awaited
project for both brothers; Jimmie said that
the sessions "seemed natural" and "almost
like we were back home". Vaughan said, "We've
probably gotten closer making this record
than we have been since we were little kids
at home, and I can honestly say I needed it."
In August 1990, Double Trouble opened for
Eric Clapton during two concerts held at Alpine
Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin.
The second of the two shows took place on
August 26 and featured a jam session, including
Vaughan, with Clapton, Robert Cray, Buddy
Guy, and Jimmie Vaughan, who performed "Sweet
Home Chicago" as the finale to Clapton's set;
Clapton introduced them as "the best guitar
players in the entire world". Drummer Chris
Layton recalled the conversation he had with
Vaughan backstage after the show:
The conversation was actually very light;
there was nothing heavy in it. It was just
like, 'this is a great coupla nights and wasn't
it great to be here,' and talked about the
record that he and Jimmie just made, how they
had a lot of fun and that was exciting. He
was looking forward to that coming out and
looking forward to us making another record.
He was in great spirits. I mean, we just had
two great nights and we talked about all kinds
of stuff, talked about the son that my wife
and I were getting ready to have–we didn't
know it was a boy–but just anything and
everything. We talked for, I guess, almost
30 minutes.
Then he got up and said, 'I'm gonna go back
down to the dressing room for a minute.' I
don't know, maybe five minutes or so later,
he came back up and he had his jacket on,
he had his bags. He was making this turn,
and I said, 'Hey, what are you doin'?' And
he said, 'I'm gonna go back to Chicago.' I
said 'Well, now?' And he said, 'Yeah, I gotta
get back. I want to call Janna,' his girlfriend,
in New York. I thought, 'Jeez, you could actually
call her anywhere and then call her later,'
but he turned around and said, 'Call me when
you get back. I love you,' and kinda gave
me that wink of the eye he would do. And then
he was gone. He just disappeared into the
night.
Death, autopsy, and burial
On August 27, 1990, Vaughan had just performed
with Double Trouble at Alpine Valley Music
Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. All of the
musicians boarded four helicopters bound for
Chicago, which were waiting on a nearby golf
course. According to a witness, there was
haze and fog with patches of low clouds. Despite
the conditions, the pilots were instructed
to fly over a 1000-foot ski hill. Vaughan,
along with three members of Eric Clapton's
entourage, boarded the third of the four helicopters—a
Bell 206B Jet Ranger—flying to Meigs Field.
At about 12:50 am, the helicopter departed
from an elevation of about 850 feet, veered
to the left and crashed into the hill. All
on board, including the pilot, Jeff Brown,
were killed instantly. In Clapton: The Autobiography,
Clapton explains that, contrary to rumors,
his seat was not given to Vaughan but as indicated
above, three members of Clapton's entourage
were on board with Vaughan at the time of
the crash.
At 4:30 am, Civil Air Patrol was notified
of the accident, eventually locating the crash
site almost three hours later. Both Clapton
and Jimmie Vaughan were asked to identify
the bodies; a Coptic cross necklace, worn
by Vaughan, was given to Jimmie Vaughan. The
Walworth County coroner conducted an autopsy
and found that Vaughan suffered from multiple
internal and skull injuries. The cause of
death was officially stated as "exsanguination
due to transverse laceration of the aorta".
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
a veteran pilot for Alpine Valley suspected
that Brown attempted to fly around the ski
hill, but misjudged the location. Clapton
issued a statement the next day, saying that
the victims "were my companions, my associates
and my friends. This is a tragic loss of some
very special people. I will miss all of them
very much."
Vaughan's memorial was held on August 30,
1990, at Laurel Land Cemetery in Dallas, where
he was buried next to his father, and was
preceded by a private chapel service for close
friends and family. Reverend Barry Bailey
of the United Methodist Church in Fort Worth,
who was Vaughan's AA sponsor, opened the service
with personal thoughts: "We're here to thank
God for this man's life. He was a genius,
a superstar, a musician's musician. He captured
the hearts of thousands and thousands of people.
I am thankful for the impact of this man's
influence on thousands of people in getting
his own life together in the name of God."
Kim Wilson, Jeff Healey, David Bowie, Charlie
Sexton, ZZ Top, Colin James, and Buddy Guy
attended the event. Stevie Wonder, Jackson
Browne, and Bonnie Raitt sang "Amazing Grace"
at the event. Nile Rodgers gave a eulogy,
while a member of the Nightcrawlers read chapters
five and eleven from The Big Book, the 'bible'
of Alcoholics Anonymous. In 1995, the Vaughan
family received an undisclosed settlement
for wrongful death.
Personal life
Vaughan and Lenora "Lenny" Bailey met in 1973
after one of Vaughan's performances with the
Nightcrawlers at La Cucaracha, a nightclub
in east Austin. Although moved by Vaughan's
musical prowess, she was attracted to his
charmingly modest personality. Double Trouble's
song "Love Struck Baby", he said, was written
about her, after claiming July 5 as their
"love struck day". The couple was married
on December 23, 1979, between sets at the
Rome Inn in Austin, using pieces of wire for
rings. Drummer, Chris Layton, described the
ceremony as "spontaneous", saying, "It wasn't
like there was invitations sent out or a certain
group of people attended—it was just whoever
was there was hanging around." Layton also
said their marriage was "pretty excitable
and passionate". The song "Pride and Joy"
is also about her, as well as the instrumental
"Lenny", after she thought "Pride and Joy"
referred to a former girlfriend of Vaughan's.
Upon return to their home in Austin from touring,
Vaughan found the house padlocked, electricity
shut off, and Lenny nowhere to be found. Biographers
Joe Nick Patoski and Bill Crawford wrote that
she "squandered his road earnings on dope
while running around with other men that one
acquaintance glibly described as 'police characters.'"
After she declined to visit Vaughan in treatment
for substance abuse, he filed for divorce
three months later. The case was settled out
of court, with Lenny receiving alimony, plus
$50,000 in cash and twenty-five percent of
net royalties. Vaughan's manager attributes
the demise of their marriage to "jealousy"
and "unfaithfulness", and as a result, they
were both brokenhearted.
On March 12, 1986, Double Trouble arrived
in New Zealand for a performance at the Wellington
Town Hall, where Vaughan was sitting outside
his hotel room. Janna Lapidus, who was born
in Russia, ran into Vaughan on the street
and immediately struck up a friendship. In
October 1986, while Vaughan was in the London
Clinic for substance abuse, Lapidus visited
him; they both decided to be together after
seeing an older couple in front of them during
a walk in Hyde Park.
During Vaughan's last two years before his
death, he referred to Lapidus as his fiancée.
They often made public appearances together
including a commercial for Europa, a New Zealand-owned
oil company. Janna also appeared in the video
for 'The House is Rockin'. They first lived
at Vaughan's childhood home in Dallas, then
moved to a house on Travis Street on May 3,
1987. Lapidus found modeling work in New York
City, and they relocated to a Manhattan apartment
at Park Avenue and 24th Street in May 1990,
splitting their time between Dallas and New
York City.
Musical style
Vaughan's music took root in blues, rock,
and jazz. He was influenced by the work of
artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Albert King,
B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, Johnny
"Guitar" Watson, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf,
Otis Rush, Guitar Slim, Chuck Berry, and Muddy
Waters. According to nightclub owner Clifford
Antone, who opened Antone's in 1975, Vaughan
jammed with Albert King at Antone's in July
1977 and almost "scared him to death", saying
that "it was the best I've ever saw Albert
or the best I ever saw Stevie". He was also
influenced by jazz guitarists like Django
Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell,
and George Benson. While Albert King had a
substantial influence on Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix
was Vaughan's greatest inspiration. Vaughan
declared: "I love Hendrix for so many reasons.
He was so much more than just a blues guitarist–he
played damn well any kind of guitar he wanted.
In fact I'm not sure if he even played the
guitar–he played music."
Vaughan owed his guitar technique in large
part to Lonnie Mack, who Vaughan observed
in live performance as "ahead of his time".
Mack later recalled his first meeting with
Vaughan in 1978: "We was in Texas looking
for pickers, and we went out to see the Thunderbirds.
Jimmie was saying, 'Man, you gotta hear my
little brother. He plays all your [songs].'
He was playing a little place called the Rome
Inn, and we went over there and checked him
out. As it would be, when I walked in the
door, he was playing 'Wham!' And I said, 'Dadgum.'
He was playing it right. I'd been playing
it wrong for a long time and needed to go
back and listen to my original record. That
was in '78, I believe." Vaughan owed part
of his enduring style—especially his use
of tremolo picking and vibrato—to Mack.
He acknowledged that Mack taught him to "play
guitar from the heart". Vaughan's relationship
with another Texas blues legend, Johnny Winter,
was a little more complex. Although they met
several times, and often played sessions with
the same musicians or even performed the same
material, as in the case of Boot Hill, Vaughan
always refrained from acknowledging Winter
in any form. In his biography, "Raisin' Cain",
Winter says that he was unnerved after reading
Vaughan stating in an interview that he never
met or knew Johnny Winter. "We even played
together over at Tommy Shannon's house one
time." Vaughan settled the issue in 1988 on
the occasion of a Blues Festival in Europe
where both he and Winter were on the bill,
explaining that he has been misquoted and
that "Every musician in Texas knows Johnny
and has learned something from him". Asked
to compare their playing styles in an interview
in 2010, Winter admitted that "mine's a little
bit rawer, I think."
Equipment
Guitars
Vaughan owned and used a variety of guitars
during his career. His guitar of choice, and
the instrument that he became most associated
with, was the Fender Stratocaster, his favorite
being a 1963 body, with a 1962 neck, and pickups
dated from 1959. This is why Vaughan usually
referred to his Stratocaster as a, "1959 Strat."
Vaughan also referred to this instrument as
his "first wife," or, "Number One." Another
favourite guitar, was a slightly later Strat
he named 'Lenny' after his wife, Lenora. While
at a local pawn shop in 1980, Vaughan had
noticed this particular guitar, a 1965 stratocaster
that had been refinished in red, with the
original sunburst finish peeking through.
It also had a 1910 Mandolin inlay just below
the bridge. The pawn shop was asking $300
for it, which was way more than Vaughan had
at the time. Lenny saw how badly he wanted
this guitar, so she got six of their friends
to chip in $50 each, and bought it for him.
The guitar was presented to him on his birthday
in 1980, and that night, after bringing "Lenny"
home with him, he wrote the song, "Lenny."
He started using a borrowed Stratocaster during
high school and used Stratocasters predominantly
in his live performances and recordings, although
he did play other guitars, including custom
guitars.
One of the custom guitars—nicknamed "Main"—was
built by James Hamilton of Hamiltone Guitars
in Buffalo, New York. It was a gift from Billy
Gibbons of ZZ Top. Gibbons had commissioned
Hamilton to build the guitar in 1979. There
were some delays, including having to re-do
the mother of pearl inlay of Vaughan's name
on the fretboard when he changed his stage
name from Stevie Vaughan to Stevie Ray Vaughan.
The guitar was presented to him by Jim Hamilton
on April 29, 1984. Jim Hamilton recalls that
Stevie Ray Vaughan was so happy with the guitar
that he played it that night at Springfest
on the University of Buffalo campus. It remained
one of the main guitars he used on stage and
in studio. Vaughan made some alterations to
the guitar, including changing out the active
pickups for another type, and replacing the
bronze color Gibson knobs with white Fender
knobs. In response to consumer demand, Jim
Hamilton built approximately 100 faithful
reproductions of the Main, each of them numbered,
dated, and signed by Jim Hamilton, who built
the guitars himself. A later run of guitars
built by JIm Hamilton and others was produced,
and were numbered from 101 to 500+, but did
not have Jim Hamilton's signature on them.
Jim Hamilton's former partner at Hamiltone
continues to this day to produce reproductions
of the guitar, although Jim Hamilton has no
involvement with the company or the production
of the guitars.
Vaughan bought many Stratocasters and gave
some away as gifts. A sunburst Diplomat Strat-style
guitar was purchased by Vaughan and given
to his girlfriend Janna Lapidus to learn to
play on. Vaughan used heavy strings starting
with .013's, tuned a half-step below standard
tuning. He played with so much tension that
it was not uncommon for him to separate his
fingernail from the quick movement along the
strings. The owner of an Austin club recalled
Vaughan coming into the office between sets
to borrow some super glue, which he used to
keep fingernail split from widening while
he continued to play. He preferred a guitar
neck with an asymmetrical profile which was
more comfortable for his thumb-over style
of playing. Heavy use of the vibrato bar necessitated
frequent replacements; Vaughan often had his
roadie, Byron Barr, obtain custom stainless
steel bars made by Barr's father. Vaughan
was also photographed playing a National Duolian,
Epiphone Riviera, Gibson Flying V, as well
as several other models. Vaughan used a Gibson
Johnny Smith to record "Stang's Swang", and
a Guild 12-string acoustic for his performance
on MTV Unplugged in January 1990. On June
24, 2004, one of Vaughan's Stratocasters,
the aforementioned "Lenny" strat, was sold
at an auction to benefit Eric Clapton's Crossroads
Centre in Antigua; the instrument was bought
by Guitar Center for $623,500.
Amplifiers and effects
Vaughan was a catalyst in the revival of vintage
amplifiers and effects during the 1980s. His
loud volume and use of heavy strings required
powerful and robust amplifiers. Vaughan used
two black-face Fender Super Reverbs, which
were crucial in shaping his clear overdriven
sound. He would often blend other amps with
the Super Reverbs, including black-face Fender
Vibroverbs, and brands such as Dumble, and
Marshall, which he used for his clean sound.
While his mainstay effects were the Ibanez
Tube Screamer and a Vox wah-wah pedal, Vaughan
experimented with a range of effects. He used
a Fender Vibratone, designed as a Leslie speaker
for electric guitars, and provided a warbling
chorus effect, which can be heard on the track
"Cold Shot". He used a vintage Dallas Arbiter
Fuzz Face that can be heard on In Step, as
well as an Octavia.
Guitar rig and signal flow
A detailed gear diagram of Vaughan's 1985
"Soul to Soul" touring guitar rig is well-documented.
The diagram is based on multiple interviews
conducted with long-time SRV guitar tech and
effects builder, Cesar Diaz.
Legacy
Vaughan throughout his career revived blues
rock and paved the way for many other artists.
Vaughan's work continues to influence numerous
blues, rock and alternative artists, including
John Mayer, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mike McCready,
Albert Cummings, Los Lonely Boys and Chris
Duarte, among others. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas
Erlewine described Vaughan as "the leading
light in American blues" and developed "a
uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded
like no other guitarist, regardless of genre".
In 1983, Variety magazine called Vaughan the
"guitar hero of the present era".
In the months that followed his death, Vaughan
sold over 5.5 million albums in the United
States. On September 25, 1990, Epic released
Family Style, with several promotional singles
and videos. In November 1990, CMV Enterprises
released Pride and Joy, a collection of eight
Double Trouble music videos. Sony signed a
deal with the Vaughan estate to obtain control
of his back catalog, as well as permission
to release albums with previously unreleased
material and new collections of released work.
On October 29, 1991, The Sky Is Crying was
released as Vaughan's first posthumous album
with Double Trouble, and featured studio recordings
from 1984–1985. Other compilations, live
albums, and films have also been released
since his death.
On October 3, 1991, former Texas governor
Ann Richards proclaimed "Stevie Ray Vaughan
Commemoration Day", during which a memorial
concert was held at the Texas Theatre. In
1993, a memorial statue of Vaughan was unveiled
on Auditorium Shores and is the first public
monument of a musician in Austin. In September
1994, a Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Run for
Recovery was held in Dallas; the event was
a benefit for the Ethel Daniels Foundation,
established to help those in recovery from
alcoholism and drug addiction who cannot afford
treatment. In 2005, Martha Vaughan established
the Stevie Ray Vaughan Scholarship, awarded
by W.E. Greiner Middle School to students
who intend to attend college and pursue the
arts as a profession.
Awards and honors
Vaughan won five W. C. Handy Awards and was
posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall
of Fame in 2000. In 1985, he was named an
honorary admiral in the Texas Navy. Vaughan
had a single number-one hit on the Hot Mainstream
Rock Tracks chart for the song "Crossfire".
His album sales in the US stand at over 15
million units. Family Style, released shortly
after his death, won the 1991 Grammy Award
for Best Contemporary Blues Album and became
his best-selling, non-Double Trouble studio
album with over a million shipments in the
US. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked him seventh
among the "100 Greatest Guitar Players of
All Time". He also became eligible for the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. Guitar
World Magazine ranked him as no. 8 in its
list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists.
Discography
Texas Flood
Couldn't Stand the Weather
Soul to Soul
In Step
Family Style, produced by Nile Rodgers
The Sky Is Crying
See also
1980s in music
List of blues rock performers
List of electric blues musicians
List of guitarists
List of Texas blues musicians
Music of Austin
Music of Texas
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Kitts, Jeff. Guitar World Presents Stevie
Ray Vaughan. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-0-7935-8080-4. 
Gregory, Hugh. Roadhouse Blues: Stevie Ray
Vaughan and Texas R&B. Hal Leonard Corporation.
ISBN 978-0-87930-747-9. 
Leigh, Keri. Stevie Ray: Soul to Soul. Taylor
Trade. ISBN 978-0-87833-838-2. 
Dickerson, James. The Fabulous Vaughan Brothers:
Jimmie and Stevie Ray. Taylor Trade. ISBN 978-1-58979-116-9. 
External links
Official website
Stevie Ray Vaughan at AllMusic
Stevie Ray Vaughan discography at Discogs
Stevie Ray Vaughan's channel on YouTube
