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With his astonishingly accomplished guitar playing, Stevie Ray Vaughan ignited the blues revival of the '80s. Vaughan drewequally from bluesmen like Albert King, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters and rock & roll players like Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack,as well as the stray jazz guitarist like Kenny Burrell, developing a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no otherguitarist, regardless of genre. Vaughan bridged the gap between blues and rock like no other artist had since the late '60s.For the next seven years, Stevie Ray was the leading light in American blues, consistently selling ...read more
With his astonishingly accomplished guitar playing, Stevie Ray Vaughan ignited the blues revival of the '80s. Vaughan drewequally from bluesmen like Albert King, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters and rock & roll players like Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack,as well as the stray jazz guitarist like Kenny Burrell, developing a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no otherguitarist, regardless of genre. Vaughan bridged the gap between blues and rock like no other artist had since the late '60s.For the next seven years, Stevie Ray was the leading light in American blues, consistently selling out concerts while hisalbums regularly went gold. His tragic death in 1990 only emphasized his influence in blues and American rock & roll.Born and raised in Dallas, Vaughan began playing guitar as a child, inspired by older brother Jimmie. When he was in juniorhigh school, he began playing in a number of garage bands, which occasionally landed gigs in local nightclubs. By the time hewas 17, he had dropped out of high school to concentrate on playing music. Vaughan's first real band was the Cobras, whoplayed clubs and bars in Austin during the mid-'70s. Following that group's demise, he formed Triple Threat in 1975. TripleThreat also featured bassist Jackie Newhouse, drummer Chris Layton, and vocalist Lou Ann Barton. After a few years ofplaying Texas bars and clubs, Barton left the band in 1978. The group decided to continue performing under the name DoubleTrouble, which was inspired by the Otis Rush song of the same name; Vaughan became the band's lead singer.For the next few years, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble played the Austin area, becoming one of the most popularbands in Texas. In 1982, the band played the Montreux Festival and their performance caught the attention of David Bowieand Jackson Browne. After Double Trouble's performance, Bowie asked Vaughan to play on his forthcoming album, whileBrowne offered the group free recording time at his Los Angeles studio, Downtown; both offers were accepted. Stevie Raylaid down the lead guitar tracks for what became Bowie's Let's Dance album in late 1982. Shortly afterward, John Hammond,Sr. landed Vaughan and Double Trouble a record contract with Epic, and the band recorded its debut album in less than aweek at Downtown.Vaughan's debut album, Texas Flood, was released in the summer of 1983, a few months after Bowie's Let's Dance appeared.On its own, Let's Dance earned Vaughan quite a bit of attention, but Texas Flood was a blockbuster blues success; receivingpositive reviews in both blues and rock publications, reaching number 38 on the charts, and crossing over to album rock radiostations. Bowie offered Vaughan the lead guitarist role for his 1983 stadium tour, but he turned him down, preferring to playwith Double Trouble. Vaughan and Double Trouble set off on a successful tour and quickly recorded their second album,Couldn't Stand the Weather, which was released in May of 1984. The album was more successful than its predecessor,reaching number 31 on the charts; by the end of 1985, the album went gold. Double Trouble added keyboardist ReeseWynans in 1985, before they recorded their third album, Soul to Soul. The record was released in August 1985 and was alsoquite successful, reaching number 34 on the charts.Although his professional career was soaring, Vaughan was sinking deep into alcoholism and drug addiction. Despite hisdeclining health, Vaughan continued to push himself, releasing the double live album Live Alive in October of 1986 andlaunching an extensive American tour in early 1987. Following the tour, Vaughan checked into a rehabilitation clinic. Theguitarist's time in rehab was kept fairly quiet, and for the next year Stevie Ray and Double Trouble were fairly inactive.Vaughan performed a number of concerts in 1988, including a headlining gig at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, andwrote his fourth album. The resulting record, In Step, appeared in June of 1989 and became his most successful album,peaking at number 33 on the charts, earning a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Recording, and going gold just over sixmonths after its release.In the spring of 1990, Stevie Ray recorded an album with his brother Jimmie, which was scheduled for release in the fall of theyear. In the late summer of 1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble set out on an American headlining tour. On August 26, 1990,their East Troy, WI, gig concluded with an encore jam featuring guitarists Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, andRobert Cray. After the concert, Stevie Ray boarded a helicopter bound for Chicago. Minutes after its 12:30 a.m. takeoff, thehelicopter crashed, killing Vaughan and the other four passengers. He was only 35 years old.Family Style, Stevie Ray's duet album with Jimmie, appeared in October and entered the charts at number seven. Family Stylebegan a series of posthumous releases that were as popular as the albums Vaughan released during his lifetime. The Sky IsCrying, a collection of studio outtakes compiled by Jimmie, was released in October of 1991; it entered the charts at numberten and went platinum three months after its release. In the Beginning, a recording of a Double Trouble concert in 1980, wasreleased in the fall of 1992 and the compilation Greatest Hits was released in 1995. In 1999, Vaughan's original albums wereremastered and reissued, with The Real Deal: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 also appearing that year. 2000 saw the release of thefour-disc box SRV, which concentrated heavily on outtakes, live performances, and rarities. « hide |
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