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or Checkout Stephen ("Stevie") Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990), born in
Dallas, Texas, w as an American blues guitarist. His broad appeal made him one of
America's most influential electric blues guitarists. In 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine
ranked Stevie Ray Vaughan #7 in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All
Time. He w as the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan.

Early life

Vaughan w as born and raised in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas.
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Neither of his parents had any strong musical talent but w ere avid music fans.
They w ould take Vaughan and his older brother Jimmie to concerts to see Fats
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Domino, Jimmy Reed, and Bob Wills.
Even though Vaughan initially w anted to play the drums as his primary instrument,
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he w as given a guitar w hen he w as eight years old. Vaughan's brother, Jimmie
Vaughan, gave him his first guitar lessons. Vaughan later quoted in Guitar Player
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Magazine that " My brother Jimmie actually w as one of the biggest influences on
my playing. He really w as the reason w hy I started to play, w atching him and
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seeing w hat could be done." After his brother show ed him a few basic chords,
Vaughan taught himself to play. He played entirely by ear and never learned how
to read sheet music. By the time he w as 13 years old he w as playing in clubs
w here he met many of his blues idols. A few years later he 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 ow ner Clifford Antone.

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Adult Life and Career

Vaughan's first recording band w as 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 tw o other singles under the band name The Cobras.
Learn Blues Follow ing the break-up of The Cobras, he formed Triple Threat in late 1975, w hich
Guitar included bassist Jackie New house, drummer Chris Layton, vocalist Lou Ann
Duke Robillards Barton, and sax player Johnny Reno. Barton left the band in 1978 to pursue a solo
Blues A Rama 11 career, follow ed by Reno in 1979. The three remaining members started
blues guitar
performing under the name Double Trouble, inspired by an Otis Rush song of the
lessons / 11 styles
www.RedOakMusic.com same name. Vaughan became the band's lead singer.
Tommy Shannon, the bass player on Johnny Winter's early albums, replaced
New house in 1981. A popular Austin act, Vaughan soon attracted the attention of
Spa στην Αθήν α musicians David Bow ie and Jackson Brow ne. Both Brow ne and Bow ie first
Επισκεφθείτε τα caught Vaughan at the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival, w here some members of the
καλύτερα spa και audience booed the band, because they disliked Double Trouble's hard blues
εξοικονομήστε sound. Nonetheless, the crow d response w as quite different w hen they w ere
έως 70%! invited to headline "Blues Night" at the festival again in 1985.
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In November, 1982, Vaughan recorded in Jackson Brow ne's studio in dow ntow n
Τurbo-x PC στο Los Angeles. The recordings w ere brought to the attention of A&R man, John
Πλαίσιο Hammond and became Texas Flood. Later, Bow ie then featured Vaughan on his
Αγόρασε τώρα 1983 album Let's Dance. Vaughan w as also asked to go on tour w ith Bow ie, but
Turbo-x pc με declined in order to focus his efforts on Double Trouble.
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The band's critically acclaimed first album, Texas Flood (1983), produced by John
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www.plaisio.gr Hammond, featured the top-20 hit "Pride and Joy" and sold 500,000 copies,
earning the band a Gold Record. As w ell as this the album w as nominated for a
USA PRS Grammy and Rude Mood w as nominated for best rock instrumental. Stevie w ins
Guitars For Sale three categories in the Guitar Player's Readers Poll: "Best New Talent", "Best
Custom 22,
Blues Album", and "Best Electric Blues Guitarist" (beating out none other than Eric
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Clapton). He becomes only the second guitarist in history to w in three Guitar
305, Mira,
Swamp Ash, Player aw ards in one year (the first is Jeff Beck). Stevie w ill w in the "Best Electric
Private Stock Blues Guitarist" aw ard every year until 1991.
www.worldguitars.co.uk The band's next album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, w as recorded in January of
1984. During the summer of 1984, Vaughan and Double Trouble appeared on
numerous TV show s, including Rockpalast, Much Music, and Solid Gold. During
the Grammy aw ards of 1984 Stevie, along w ith George Thorogood presented
Chuck Berry w ith a lifetime achievement aw ard. "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)"
from Couldn't Stand The Weather is nominated for "Best Rock Instrumental
Performance". In November, Stevie w ins tw o W.C. Handy National Blues Aw ards:
"Entertainer of the Year" and "Blues Instrumentalist of the Year." It is the first time
a w hite person has w on either aw ard.

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 late 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, w as added to the band not long after.
With the addition of Reese the title of the band w as changed to Stevie Ray
Vaughan and Serious Trouble, how ever no album w as released under this
modified title. The album's production lasted for tw o months. Soul to Soul w as
released on September 30, 1985. Stevie receives his fifth Grammy nomination:
"Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for "Say What!". He also produces Lonnie
Mack's comeback album Strike Like Lightning and plays in several of its songs. On
April 10, Stevie plays "The Star Spangled Banner" for opening day of the National
League baseball season at the Houston Astrodome.

Drug addiction and alcoholism took a toll on Vaughan in mid-1986. Cocaine and
Crow n Royal w hiskey w ere among his addictions. After becoming acutely ill in
Germany w hile on tour, Vaughan managed to struggle through three more show s
and w as 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 w orks w ith other artists
including Dick Dale (making a cameo appearance as himself performing a duet of
"Pipeline" in the movie Back To The Beach w hich w as then released as a single),
Jennifer Warnes, and Stevie Wonder (playing "Superstition" on the MTV special
"Stevie Wonder's Characters").

In 1988, Vaughan continued to tour w ith Double Trouble throughout Scandinavia.

Vaughan and Double Trouble recorded In Step in February of 1989, w hich w as
their fourth studio album since 1985 and is praised by some as the band's best
w ork since Texas Flood. The album w on a Grammy Aw ard for Best
Contemporary Blues Album. Vaughan shared a headline tour w ith guitarist Jeff
Beck in the fall of 1989.

Stevie is w ell-know n for playing many Jimi Hendrix songs in his ow n w ay,
(rearranging them) e.g. Little Wing and Voodoo Child (Slight Return).

Death

On August 25 and 26, 1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble played show s at Alpine
Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. At the end of the show , Eric
Clapton introduced Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, and Jimmie Vaughan, along w ith
Stevie Ray Vaughan. All of the musicians played a 15-minute rendition of "Sw eet
Home Chicago". After the song ended, all the guitarists hugged and w ent
backstage.
Double Trouble drummer, Chris Layton, recalls his last conversation w ith Vaughan
backstage. He then remembers w hen 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. Vaughan w as informed
that three seats w ere open on one of the helicopters returning to Chicago w ith
Clapton's crew , enough for Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, and Jimmie Vaughan's
w ife Connie. It turned out there w as only one seat left, w hich Stevie Ray
Vaughan requested from his brother, w ho obliged. Taking off into deep fog, the
helicopter crashed moments later into a ski slope on the side of a hill w ithin the
Alpine Valley Resort. Vaughan, the pilot, and tw o 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 w reckage w as only found w ith the help of its locator
beacon. The main cause of the crash w as believed to be pilot error. The next
morning Stevie Ray Vaughan's brother Jimmie and good friend Eric Clapton w ere
called to identify the bodies.
The media initially reported that Vaughan and his band had been killed in the crash.
Chris Layton saw this on the new s and had security let him into Vaughan's motel
room. Layton saw that the bed w as made and the clock radio w as playing the
Eagles' song, "Peaceful, Easy Feeling", w hich includes the lyrics "I may never see
you again". Layton and Shannon then called their families to let them know they
w ere okay.
Stevie Ray Vaughan is interred in the Laurel Land Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas.

Posthum ous events and recognition

September 1990 saw the release of Family Style. The 1991 compilation album The
Sky Is Crying w as the first of several posthumous Vaughan releases to achieve
chart success. Jimmie Vaughan later co-w rote and recorded a song in tribute to
his brother and other deceased blues guitarists, entitled "Six Strings Dow n". Many
other artists recorded songs in remembrance of Vaughan, including Eric
Johnson,[8] Buddy Guy and Steve Vai (The track 'Jibboom'of the album 'The Ultra
Zone' recorded in 1999).
In 1991, Texas governor Ann Richards proclaimed October 3, Vaughan's birthday,
to be "Stevie Ray Vaughan Day." An annual motorcycle ride and concert in Central
Texas benefits the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Scholarship Fund.

In 1992, the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation released the Stevie Ray
Vaughan Signature Stratocaster, w hich Vaughan had helped design. It w as a
reproduction of his battered 1959 Fender Stratocaster, w hich he had
affectionately named "Number One" (and sometimes referred to as his "first
w ife"). As of 2007, the model is still in production. It depicts "Number One" as it
w ould have been brand-new in 1963, though w hen Vaughan bought it in 1974 it
w as already badly w eathered. In 2004, Fender also released a limited edition
exact replica of "Number One".

In 1994, the city of Austin erected the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Statue at
Auditorium Shores on Tow n Lake, the site of a number of Vaughan's concerts. It
has become one of the city's most popular tourist attractions.
Musicians such as John Mayer, Robert Randolph, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Colin
James, Jonny Lang, Los Lonely Boys, Mike McCready and Eric Johnson have
cited Vaughan as an influence.

Vaughan's name is mentioned as one of the upcoming acts in Stephen King's

short story You Know They Got a Hell of a Band, about a tow n inhabited by late
music legends.
In 2008, Stevie Ray Vaughan w ill become eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame.Musical influences and style
Vaughan's blues style w as strongly influenced by many blues guitarists.
Foremost among them w ere Albert King, w ho dubbed himself Stevie's "godfather",
Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, and Jimi Hendrix. He w as also strongly influenced by
Lonnie Mack. Stevie Ray Vaughan, w ho had idolized Mack since childhood,
produced Mack's w idely-acclaimed and commercially successful come-back
album "Strike Like Lightning" in 1984. Vaughan is recognized for his distinctive
guitar sound, w hich w as partly based on using heavy guitar strings (anything
from thirteen-gauge to 16-gauge) that he tuned dow n half-step. Vaughan's sound
and playing style, w hich often incorporated simultaneous lead and rhythm parts,
drew frequent comparisons to Hendrix; Vaughan covered several Hendrix tunes
on his studio albums and in performance, such as "Little Wing", "Voodoo Child
(Slight Return)", and "Third Stone from the Sun". He w as also heavily influenced
by Freddie King, another Texas bluesman, mainly in the use of tone and attack;
King's heavy vibrato can clearly be heard in Vaughan's playing. Another stylistic
influence w as Albert Collins. By utilizing his index finger as a pick a la Albert
Collins, he w as able to coax various tonal nuances from his amps
Vaughan preferred to make use of the immediate tonal capabilities of his guitar
amplifiers, adding few effects. His effects in the mid-80's included the Ibanez
Tube Screamer, a Vox w ah-w ah pedal, and a MXR Loop Selector. Vaughan w as
also w ell know n for using the Fender Vibratone speaker cabinet. He acquired one
in January 1984 and used about 2 of these throughout his career until his death.
Despite rumors, Vaughan has never used a real Leslie speaker in his career.
Stevie also had a Boss DC-2 Dimension C chorus stompbox for a w arbly, bright
chorus effect. He also used loud volumes for dynamic, coaxing effects from the
natural overdriven performance of his amplifiers.

Vaughan's guitars and m usical equipm ent

Stevie Ray's main guitars w ere Fender Stratocasters. His most famous w as a
sunburst 1962 Strat w ith a Brazilian rosew ood veneer fingerboard fretted w ith
Dunlop 6100 Jumbo fretw ire (an equilvalent to this fretw ire is Stew art-MacDonald
0150 fretw ire); it had 1962 stamped on the neck and body, but 1959 w ritten on
the pickups leading Vaughan to mistakenly believe it w as assembled in 1962 from
1959 parts. On this particular guitar, he also had a left-handed tremolo installed.
This guitar w as know n as Number One. It had a D-shaped thick neck that w as
perfect for his large hands and thick fingers. It possessed a deep, dark grow l of a
tone that w as immediately identifiable. The guitar also had a prismatic sticker just
below the bridge w ith the w ord "Custom" in script letters. This sticker w as given
to Vaughan soon after he bought it in 1973. Vaughan also had some custom-made
stick-on plastic letters reading "SRV" on one of the body cavities. Even though
Number One used all stock Fender Strat parts, about the only original parts it
possessed by 1990 w ere the body and the pickups. Over the years, Vaughan
and Rene Martinez, his guitar tech, replaced the pickguard, tremolo, and neck. The
guitar w as meticulously examined by Fender Custom Shop w orkers to gather
specifications for a run of 100 exact copies in early 2004. The pickups w ere
never overw ound purposely, but w ere from a batch of pickups made at Fender in
1959 that had been overw ound by mistake, producing Number One's distinctive
sound. The neck w as damaged during a stage accident, and a spare w as used
from another of Vaughan's Stratocasters. After he died, the original neck w as put
back on and the guitar w as given to his brother.

Lenny w as a 1964 maple-neck that w as named after his w ife, Lenora. It had a
very bright, thin sound. Supposedly, Vaughan found this guitar in a paw nshop,
but couldn't afford to buy it. One of Vaughan's roadies, Byron Barr, bought it and
he and Lenora presented it to Vaughan for his birthday in 1976. According to the
story, Lenora w as supposed to pay Byron for the guitar; she started a pool party
w ith her friends to collect the money, but it w as Vaughan w ho eventually settled
the debt, w ith cash and a leather jacket. Its neck w as originally a thin rosew ood,
but Vaughan replaced it w ith a thicker non-Fender maple neck. Lenny can be
seen and heard on "Live at the El Mocambo". He played it sometimes at the end of
the set during the encore, playing the song of the same name, Lenny. Vaughan
also used the guitar during the song "Riviera Paradise", this can also be seen and
heard on the DVD "Live From Austin Texas". After Stevie's divorce from his w ife
and the meeting of the new love in his life, Janna Lapidus, Vaughan started calling
this guitar "Scotch". Despite other information from various sources, this shouldn't
be confused w ith the butter-colored guitar, as described below .

The 1961 butter-colored Strat w as bought by Stevie in the fall of 1985. He gave
aw ay another guitar and bought this piece. It w as all stock except for the tiger-
striped pickguard, made by Rene Martinez. He usually used this guitar on the song
"Leave My Girl Alone".
Charley w as a custom-made Stratocaster built for him by the late Charley Wirz, a
friend and ow ner of Charley's Guitar Shop in Dallas, Texas. It w as made for
Stevie in late 1983, but had a neck plate w ith the engravement "More In '84". It had
three Danelectro lipstick tubes and it had a hardtail bridge. The guitar w as also
rew ired w ith 1 tone knob and 1 volume. This guitar w as said by Stevie to have a
 lot of "bite" in the guitar's tone.
Red w as a 1962 Strat bought in late 1983 at Charley's Guitar Shop. The finish
w as originally sunburst, but w as repainted fiesta red. In 1986, a left-handed neck
w as installed on this guitar to emulate the sound and feel of Jimi Hendrix.
Main w as a custom-made Hamiltone Strat given to Vaughan as a gift from Billy
Gibbons of ZZ Top on April 29, 1984. The guitar w as originally supposed to be
made in 1979 w ith "Stevie Vaughan" inlayed w ith mother-of-pearl in the
fingerboard. The plan w as crushed w hen Vaughan started using his middle name.
It had cream-colored plastic binding around the body and neck. It w as also
constructed of 2-piece maple w ood and originally had w hite EMG pickups, an
onboard preamp, and Gibson-style "bell" knobs. After the making of the "Couldn't
Stand The Weather" music video, Rene Martinez, Vaughan's guitar tech, rew ired it
w ith a standard Strat system. The guitar also had a jazz type tone as described
by Stevie Ray.
Butter w as the original yellow Strat originally ow ned by Vince Martell of Vanilla
Fudge. The guitar w as repainted yellow and donated it to Charley's Guitar Shop.
They painted it yellow and Stevie bought it in 1981. It had a 'sw immingpool' rout;
for four humbuckers. Despite this, it only had a neck singlecoil pickup, controlled
by one volume knob and one tone knob. The guitar w as stolen from him in 1987
and never recovered.
Vaughan also played a guitar made by deceased Minneapolis, Minn., luthier, Roger
Benedict. A semi-hollow , Alder-built guitar called the Groove Master w as a model
of choice for Vaughan. It is a seafoam-green Stratocaster-shaped guitar w ith
three lipstick pickups.
In total, Vaughan ow ned 34 guitars throughout his career.
Jimmie Vaughan has possession of all of his brothers guitars, save for the only
one released to the public, Lenny. It w as sold in the Eric Clapton guitar auction for
more than $600,000.
Around early 1985, his pedal board consisted of a Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer,
MXR Loop Selector, Vox Wah-Wah, and the Fender Vibratone's footsw itch.
His amps around this time w ere 2 black-face Fender Vibroverbs, Fender
Vibratone, a black-face Super Reverb, and 2 silver-face Tw in Reverbs.
In a recent publication of Guitar World, they revealed a Soldano SLO-100 amp
head that Vaughan commissioned before he died.

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