#7- STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN

Stephen ("Stevie") Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990), born in Dallas, Texas, was an American blues guitarist. His broad appeal made him one of America's most influential electric blues guitarists. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan.

Vaughan was born and raised in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, but dropped out of 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.

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, and vocalist Lou Ann Barton. Barton left the band in 1978 to pursue a solo career, and 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 like 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 invited to headline "Blues Night" at the festival again 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 Texas Flood. Later, Bowie then featured Vaughan on his 1983 album Let's Dance. Vaughan was also asked to go on tour with Bowie, but declined.

The band's critically acclaimed first album, Texas Flood (1983), produced by John Hammond, featured the top-20 hit "Pride and Joy" and sold 500,000 copies, earning the band a Gold Record.

The band's next album, "Couldn't Stand the Weather", was recorded in January of 1984. During the summer of 1984, Vaughan and Double Trouble appeared on numerous TV shows, including Rockpalast, Much Music, and Solid Gold.

In late September, the band rehearsed at the "Caravan of Dreams" in Fort Worth, Texas for their Carnegie Hall show on October 4, 1984. They had velvet mariachi-style suits made specially for the show. The appearance featured guests Jimmie Vaughan, Roomful of Blues horns, Dr. John, Angela Strehli, and George Rains.

In January 1985, the band took their first and last Japanese tour. In March, the band started to produce their third album "Soul to Soul". Reese Wynans, a former keyboardist of Delbert McClinton's band, was added to the band not long after. The album's production lasted for two months. "Soul to Soul" was released on September 30, 1985.

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 and was finally admitted into a hospital in London. He then flew to Atlanta, Georgia to a rehabilitation center. He eventually recovered fully from his addictions and became a teetotaler.

Upon his return from rehab, Vaughan did a number of works with other artists including Dick Dale, Jennifer Warnes, and Stevie Wonder.

In 1988, Vaughan continued to tour with Double Trouble throughout Scandinavia. Vaughan and Double Trouble recorded "In Step" in February of 1989, which was their fourth studio album since 1985 and is 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 March of 1990, Vaughan took some time off to record "Family Style" with his brother Jimmie Vaughan. As for Double Trouble, business had finally gotten better for the band, as their contracts were averaging $24,000 a show. They continued to tour throughout the summer of 1990.

Death

On August 25 and 26, 1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble played shows at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in Wisconsin. At the end of the show, Eric Clapton introduced Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, and Jimmie Vaughan, along with Vaughan. All of the musicians played a 15-minute rendition of "Sweet Home Chicago". After the song ended, all the guitarists hugged up and went backstage.

Double Trouble drummer, Chris Layton, recalls his last conversation with Vaughan backstage. He then remembers when Vaughan said 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. Stevie was informed that three seats were open on one of the helicopters returning to Chicago with Clapton and his crew, enough for Stevie, Jimmie, and Jimmie's wife Connie. It turned out there was only one seat left, which Stevie requested from his brother; Jimmie obliged. Taking off into deep fog, the helicopter crashed moments later into a ski slope on the side of a hill within the Alpine Valley Resort. Vaughan, the pilot, and two members of Clapton's crew died on impact. No one realized that the crash had occurred until the helicopter failed to arrive in Chicago, and the wreckage was only found with the help of its locator beacon. The main cause of the crash was believed to be pilot error. The next morning Stevie's brother Jimmie and good friend Eric Clapton were called to identify the body.

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.

Source: Wikipedia

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