Stevie Ray Vaughan
The Texas storm who put the blues back on the charts
Stevie Ray Vaughan grew up in Dallas in the shadow of his older brother Jimmie, whose record collection and guitar playing became his first classroom. He got a toy guitar at seven and his first electric, a Gibson ES-125T, a couple of years later. By his early teens he was playing in local bands and absorbing Albert King, Lonnie Mack, Jimi Hendrix and the Chicago blues masters. In 1972 he dropped out of high school and moved to Austin, where the city's club scene became his real education and proving ground.
Through the 1970s he worked in a string of Austin groups, including Paul Ray and the Cobras and the Triple Threat Revue, before settling on a trio format. By 1978 the band was called Double Trouble, and with bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton it became a ferocious unit. A 1982 set at the Montreux Jazz Festival drew a mixed reaction from the crowd but caught the ears of David Bowie and producer Jackson Browne, who offered free studio time. Bowie then hired Vaughan to play lead guitar on most of Let's Dance.
Instead of joining Bowie's tour, Vaughan focused on his own band. Texas Flood, released on Epic in 1983, was cut in a few days and became a surprise hit, followed by Couldn't Stand the Weather in 1984 and a headlining night at Carnegie Hall. Keyboardist Reese Wynans joined for Soul to Soul in 1985. Behind the success, though, Vaughan was consumed by alcohol and cocaine, and after collapsing on tour in Europe in 1986 he entered rehabilitation and got sober.
Clean and focused, he made In Step in 1989, his most successful studio album; it won a Grammy and gave him his only number-one hit with Crossfire. He also recorded Family Style with Jimmie as the Vaughan Brothers. On August 27, 1990, after an all-star encore at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin, the helicopter carrying him away crashed shortly after takeoff, killing everyone aboard. He was 35. His albums sold in enormous numbers after his death, and he entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
The 10 greatest Stevie Ray Vaughan solos
- 1Stevie Ray Vaughan · solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan · 1983
- 2Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble · solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan · 1983
- 3Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble · solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan · 1984
- 4Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble · solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan · 1989
- 5Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble · solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan · 1984
- 6Stevie Ray Vaughan · solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan · 1984
- 7Stevie Ray Vaughan · solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan · 1991
- 8Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble · solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan · 1984
- 9Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble · solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan · 1983
- 10Stevie Ray Vaughan · solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan · 1983
The sound
Vaughan's sound is instantly identifiable: huge, fat and aggressive, as if the strings were fighting back. He used unusually heavy strings tuned down a half step, attacked them hard, and pushed a Tube Screamer into loud Fender amps for a tone that was thick but never mushy. His vocabulary drew on Albert King's wide, stinging bends, Lonnie Mack's rapid picking and Hendrix's chordal flair, and he could switch from jazzy shuffles to raging Texas boogie in a bar. Rhythm and lead blurred together in his playing, with bass notes, chord stabs and melody all happening at once.
- Fender Stratocaster "Number One" (guitar) His battered main guitar, a composite of early-1960s parts that he played throughout his career.
- Fender Stratocaster "Lenny" (guitar) A 1965 Strat his wife bought him in 1980, used for the ballad that shares its name.
- Hamiltone "Main" (guitar) A custom guitar built by James Hamilton and presented by Billy Gibbons in 1984.
- Fender Super Reverb (pair) (amp) Two blackface Super Reverbs formed the backbone of his tone.
- Dumble (amp) Boutique amps blended into his rig for extra clean headroom and punch.
- Ibanez Tube Screamer (effect) His essential overdrive, used to push the amps rather than bury the guitar in gain.
- Vox wah-wah (effect) Heard on his Hendrix covers and funkier numbers.
- Fender Vibratone (effect) A rotating-speaker cabinet behind the watery sound of Cold Shot.
Covers
- Voodoo Child (Slight Return), originally by The Jimi Hendrix Experience A faithful but fiercely personal tribute that became a concert centerpiece.
- Little Wing, originally by The Jimi Hendrix Experience He drops the vocal and stretches the song into a sprawling guitar showcase.
- Texas Flood, originally by Larry Davis He took a lesser-known blues and made it his signature slow burner.
- Mary Had a Little Lamb, originally by Buddy Guy A playful, punchy shuffle nodding to one of his heroes.
- Testify, originally by The Isley Brothers A breakneck instrumental version of the soul tune.
- Superstition, originally by Stevie Wonder Translates Wonder's clavinet funk into gritty, horn-backed guitar.
- The Sky Is Crying, originally by Elmore James A slow, mournful take showing his command of dynamics.
Timeline
- 1954 Born in Dallas, Texas
- 1963 Gets his first electric guitar, a Gibson ES-125T
- 1972 Drops out of high school and moves to Austin
- 1978 Double Trouble takes shape as a power trio
- 1982 Plays the Montreux Jazz Festival and meets David Bowie
- 1983 Plays on Bowie's Let's Dance and releases Texas Flood
- 1984 Releases Couldn't Stand the Weather and headlines Carnegie Hall
- 1986 Collapses on tour and enters rehabilitation
- 1989 In Step wins a Grammy; Crossfire hits number one
- 1990 Dies in a helicopter crash after a show at Alpine Valley
Facts
- His first guitar was a toy model from Sears, given to him for his seventh birthday.
- He strung his guitars with very heavy strings and tuned them down a half step.
- He played lead guitar on most of the tracks on David Bowie's Let's Dance, including the title song.
- He turned down a chance to tour with Bowie to concentrate on his own band.
- The Stratocaster named Lenny was a birthday gift from his wife, who pooled money with friends to buy it.
- In 2004 the Lenny guitar sold at a charity auction for more than $600,000.
- His slide-guitar national anthem at the Houston Astrodome in 1985 was booed by part of the crowd.
- Crossfire was his only single to reach number one.
- Austin unveiled a statue of him in 1993, the city's first public monument to a musician.
- He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 together with his Double Trouble bandmates.