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With his astonishingly accomplished guitar
playing, Stevie Ray Vaughan ignited the blues revival of the '80s.
Vaughan drew equally 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 other guitarist, 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 his
albums 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 junior high school,
he began playing in a number of garage bands, which occasionally
landed gigs in local nightclubs. By the time he was 17, he had
dropped out of high school to concentrate on playing music. Vaughan's
first real band was the Cobras, who played clubs and bars in Austin
during the mid-'70s. Following that group's demise, he formed
Triple Threat in 1975. Triple Threat also featured bassist Jackie
Newhouse, drummer Chris Layton, and vocalist Lou Ann Barton. After
a few years of playing Texas bars and clubs, Barton left the band
in 1978. The group decided to continue performing under the name
Double Trouble, 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 popular bands
in Texas. In 1982, the band played the Montreux Festival and their
performance caught the attention of David Bowie and Jackson Browne.
After Double Trouble's performance, Bowie asked Vaughan to play
on his forthcoming album, while Browne offered the group free
recording time at his Los Angeles studio, Downtown; both offers
were accepted. Stevie Ray laid 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
a week 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; receiving positive
reviews in both blues and rock publications, reaching number 38
on the charts, and crossing over to album rock radio stations.
Bowie offered Vaughan the lead guitarist role for his 1983 stadium
tour, but he turned him down, preferring to play with 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
Reese Wynans in 1985, before they recorded their third album,
Soul to Soul. The record was released in August 1985 and was also
quite successful, reaching number 34 on the charts.
Although his professional career was soaring, Vaughan was sinking
deep into alcoholism and drug addiction. Despite his declining
health, Vaughan continued to push himself, releasing the double
live album Live Alive in October of 1986 and launching an extensive
American tour in early 1987. Following the tour, Vaughan checked
into a rehabilitation clinic. The guitarist'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, and wrote 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 six
months 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 the year.
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, and Robert Cray. After
the concert, Stevie Ray boarded a helicopter bound for Chicago.
Minutes after its 12:30 a.m. takeoff, the helicopter 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 Style began
a series of posthumous releases that were as popular as the albums
Vaughan released during his lifetime. The Sky Is Crying, a collection
of studio outtakes compiled by Jimmie, was released in October
of 1991; it entered the charts at number ten and went platinum
three months after its release. In the Beginning, a recording
of a Double Trouble concert in 1980, was released in the fall
of 1992 and the compilation Greatest Hits was released in 1995.
In 1999, Vaughan's original albums were remastered and reissued,
with The Real Deal: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 also appearing that
year. 2000 saw the release of the four-disc box SRV, which concentrated
heavily on outtakes, live performances, and rarities.
This bio courtesy www.allmusic.com
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