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Candace George
Professor Hellmers
English 1201
03 Dec 2016

Walking the Tightrope: Stevie Ray Vaughan

On the brink of superstardom before his passing in 1990, Stevie Ray
Vaughan was an accomplished guitar player and singer. Vaughan had a
unique style like no other guitarist. He gathered his inspiration from artists of
different genres including rock-n-roller Jimi Hendrix and blues man Buddy
Guy, bridging the gap between blues and rock in the 1980s.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was born Oct. 03, 1954 In Dallas, TX
(Biography.com). As a boy, Stevie was inspired by his older brother Jimmie
and picked up his first guitar at the age of 7. He taught himself to play by ear
never learning how to read sheet music. In junior high at the age of 12,
Stevie began playing in garage bands and by age 14 he was already playing
Dallas blues clubs with a variety of bands. Stevie played in a nine-piece horn
band in 1970 and played with blues band Blackbird a year later (Stevie Ray
Vaughan). Vaughan dropped out of school in 1972 at age 17 and relocated to
Austin where his brother Jimmie lived to pursue music full time (Simon &
Schuster). It was in Austin that Stevie formed his first band the Nightcrawlers

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and later joined Paul Ray & the Cobras. He stayed with the Cobras for a year
as they played clubs and bars in Austin.
Stevie left the Cobras and formed Triple Threat which included Lou Ann
Barton as lead vocalist (along with 5 other vocalists), Jackie Newhouse on
bass, and drummer Chris Layton (Erlewine). When Barton left the band, the
group decided to continue playing under the name Double Trouble inspired
by the Otis Rush song of the same name. The band reverted to a power trio
of Chris Layton on drums, bassist Tommy Shannon and Vaughan became the
new lead singer. In 1982, Double Trouble attracted the attention of the
Rolling Stones and they were hired to play their private party in New York.
That same year veteran producer Jerry Wexler arranged for Stevie's band to
play Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. This was the first time that an
unsigned, unrecorded group played at Montreux (Simon & Schuster).
While playing at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Double Trouble was seen
by David Bowie and Jackson Browne. Bowie asked Stevie if he would play
lead guitar on his upcoming album. Vaughan ended up playing lead guitar on
six of the eight songs on the Let's Dance album. John Browne was impressed
with the group as well and offered them free recording time at his Downtown
Studio in Los Angeles. Shortly after, legendary talent scout and producer
John Hammond SR. landed Double Trouble a record contract with Epic. The
band used the free studio time from John Browne to record their debut album
in two days over the Thanksgiving weekend (Stevie Ray Vaughan).

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The debut album Texas Flood was released in the summer of 1983 a
few months after David Bowie's Let's Dance album. Texas Flood was a big
success receiving positive reviews in both blues and rock publications,
reaching #38 on the charts and crossing over to album rock radio stations.
Stevie Ray was voted best New Talent & Best Electric Blues Guitarist in
Guitar Player Magazine (Biography). As things continued to take off, Bowie
offered Stevie the lead guitarist role for his 1983 stadium tour, but
management pulled Vaughan from the tour so he could work on supporting
his own record (Erlewine).
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble set off on their first tour and
recorded their second album. Couldn't Stand the Weather released in May
1984 at # 31 on the charts, beating it's predecessor, and by the end of 1985
the album went gold. In 1985, Stevie become the first white performer to win
the W.C. Handy Blues Foundation's Blues Entertainer of the Year award. It
was also the year the band added Reese Wynans on keyboard before
recording their third album (Simon & Schuster).
Double Trouble's third album Soul to Soul was released August 1985,
topping the charts at # 34. As his professional life was taking off, Stevie's
personal life was suffering. His marriage of six years to Lenora Darlene Bailey
fell apart as he was sinking deeper and deeper into his drug and alcohol
addiction (Biography.com). Continuing to push himself, Vaughan collapsed
while on stage during their English tour in September 1986. Almost three
weeks of the tour was cancelled while Stevie Ray successfully completed his

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cocaine and alcohol rehabilitation. The band released the double live album
Live Alive in November of that same year. Double Trouble launched an
extensive American tour in support of the album (Simon & Schuster).
In 1988 Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble performed at many
concerts. They opened for Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, headlined the New
Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, went on a European tour and recorded their
fourth album. In Step was released in June of 1989 and featured the songs
"Wall of Denial" and "Tightrope" which addressed his personal struggles,
addiction and rehab. The album reached #33 on the charts, earned a
Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Recording, and went gold six months
after its release (Stevie Ray Vaughan). During the spring of 1990, Stevie and
his brother Jimmie recorded the album Family Style which was set to be
released in October.
Late summer 1990, Double Trouble sets out on their American
headlining tour. August 26, 1990, the East Troy, Wisconsin gig concluded with
an encore jam session featuring Eric Clapton, Jimmie Vaughan, Buddy Guy,
Robert Cray and Jeff Healey. After the show Stevie boarded a helicopter
headed for Chicago. Minutes after the 12:30 take-off, the helicopter crashed
in the dense fog into a hilly field killing Stevie Ray and the other four
passengers on board (Erlewine).
Stevie Ray Vaughan was dead at the young age of 35, in the prime of
his career. He was buried at Laurel Land Memorial Park in South Dallas. Over

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1500 people attended his services. The album Stevie had recorded with his
brother Jimmie, Family Style, was released in October 1990 and entered the
charts at #7. The following year (1991) Jimmie released a compilation of
studio outtakes he had compiled, The Sky is Crying, entered at #10 on the
charts, going platinum three months after its release, becoming Vaughan's
best selling record (Simon & Schuster).
Albums continued to be released posthumously. In the Beginning an
early recording of a Double Trouble concert from 1980 was released in the
fall of 1992. Three years later the compilation Greatest Hits and Live at
Carnegie Hall were released, topping the charts at #39 and #40. In 1995
Jimmie organized an all star tribute concert in Austin, Texas featuring Eric
Clapton, Buddy Guy, B.B. King plus many more. A Tribute to Stevie Ray
Vaughan was released the following year, winning a Best Rock Instrumental
Grammy for the cut "SRV Shuffle." (Simon & Schuster).
Epic/Legacy Records remastered and reissued Stevie's first four albums
with bonus tracks in 1999 along with The Real Deal: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
(#53). In 2000, the last few albums were released; Blues at Sunrise, a
collection of slow blues recordings and the four-disc box set SRV, which
concentrated heavily on outtakes, live performances and rarities (Stevie Ray
Vaughan).
A remarkably gifted guitarist that loved to play and perform, Stevie Ray
Vaughan's life was cut short at the age of 35. He had a talent that many

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people compared to Jimi Hendrix and being the humble person that he was
he replied with, "There is only one Jimi Hendrix." Truly remarkable musicians
are never forgotten for their contributions and I think he will be talked about
for years to come.

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Works Cited
Biography.com Editors. "Stevie Ray Vaughan Biography." The Biography.com
website. A&E Television Networks. July 30, 215.
http://www.biography.com/people/stevie-ray-vaughan9516459#synopsis. Accessed. 03 Dec. 2016.
Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Artist Biography." ALLMUSIC. 2016.
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/stevie-ray-vaughanmn0000625739/biography. Accessed. 03 Dec. 2016.
Simon & Schuster. The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. "Stevie Ray
Vaughan Bio." Rolling Stone. 2001.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/stevie-rayvaughan/biography. Accessed. 03 Dec. 2016.
"Stevie Ray Vaughan: Biography." Sony Music Entertainment. Oct. 29, 2014.
http://srvofficial.com/biography/. 03 Dec. 2016.