Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (Blues Rock/Texas Blues {US})

Stephen Ray Vaughan (também conhecido como SRV, 3 de outubro de 1954 - 27 de agosto de 1990) foi um músico americano, mais conhecido como guitarrista e vocalista do trio de blues rock Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Embora sua carreira mainstream tenha durado apenas sete anos, ele é considerado um dos músicos mais influentes na história do blues e um dos maiores guitarristas de todos os tempos. Ele era o irmão mais novo do guitarrista Jimmie Vaughan.

Nascido e criado em Dallas, Vaughan começou a tocar violão aos sete anos, inicialmente inspirado por seu irmão Jimmie. Em 1972, ele abandonou o ensino médio e se mudou para Austin, onde começou a ganhar seguidores depois de fazer shows no circuito de clubes locais. Vaughan juntou forças com Tommy Shannon no baixo e Chris Layton na bateria como Double Trouble em 1978. A banda se estabeleceu no cenário musical de Austin e logo se tornou uma das bandas mais populares do Texas. A banda se apresentou no Montreux Jazz Festival em julho de 1982, onde David Bowie viu Vaughan tocar. Bowie o contatou para um show de estúdio em dezembro, onde tocou guitarra de blues no álbum "Let's dance" (1983). John Hammond ouviu um álbum demo que Vaughan e Double Trouble haviam gravado e interessou a grande gravadora Epic Records em assinar um contrato com eles em março de 1983. Em poucos meses, eles alcançaram o sucesso mainstream com o álbum de estreia aclamado pela crítica "Texas flood". Com uma série de aparições de sucesso na televisão e extensas turnês, Vaughan se tornou a figura principal no renascimento do blues na década de 1980.

Vaughan lutou contra o alcoolismo e o vício em drogas durante a maior parte de sua vida. Ele também lutou contra as pressões pessoais e profissionais da fama e de seu casamento com Lenora "Lenny" Bailey. Ele completou a reabilitação com sucesso e começou a turnê novamente com Double Trouble em novembro de 1986. Seu quarto e último álbum de estúdio "In step" alcançou a posição 33 nos Estados Unidos em 1989: foi um dos lançamentos de Vaughan de maior sucesso comercial e crítico e incluiu seu único hit número um, "Crossfire". Ele se tornou um dos artistas de blues mais populares do mundo e foi a atração principal do Madison Square Garden em 1989 e do Beale Street Music Festival em 1990.

Em 27 de agosto de 1990, Vaughan e quatro outras pessoas morreram em um acidente de helicóptero em East Troy, Wisconsin, após se apresentarem com Double Trouble no Alpine Valley Music Theatre. Uma investigação concluiu que a causa do acidente foi um erro do piloto. A música de Vaughan continuou a alcançar sucesso comercial com vários lançamentos póstumos e vendeu mais de 15 milhões de álbuns somente nos Estados Unidos. A Rolling Stone o classificou duas vezes entre os vinte melhores guitarristas de todos os tempos. Vaughan foi postumamente introduzido no Hall da Fama do Rock and Roll em 2015, junto com os companheiros de banda da Double Trouble, Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon e Reese Wynans.

HISTÓRIA

FAMÍLIA E ANTECEDENTES

O avô de Vaughan, Thomas Lee Vaughan, casou-se com Laura Belle LaRue e mudou-se para Rockwall County, Texas, onde viviam em parceria.

O pai de Stevie, Jimmie Lee Vaughan, nasceu em 6 de setembro de 1921. Jimmie Vaughan, também conhecido como Jim ou Big Jim, abandonou a escola aos dezesseis anos e se alistou na Marinha dos EUA durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial. Após sua dispensa do serviço militar, ele se casou com Martha Jean (nascida Cook, 1928-2009) em 13 de janeiro de 1950. Eles tiveram um filho, Jimmie, em 1951. Stevie nasceu no Hospital Metodista em 3 de outubro de 1954, em Dallas. Big Jim conseguiu um emprego como trabalhador do amianto. A família mudava-se com frequência e morava em outros estados, como Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi e Oklahoma, antes de finalmente se mudar para Oak Cliff, em Dallas. Menino tímido e inseguro, Vaughan foi profundamente afetado por suas experiências de infância. Seu pai lutava contra o abuso de álcool e muitas vezes aterrorizava sua família e amigos com seu mau humor. Anos depois, Vaughan lembrou que havia sido vítima da violência de seu pai. Seu pai morreu em 27 de agosto de 1986, exatamente quatro anos antes do próprio Vaughan.

PRIMEIROS INSTRUMENTOS

No início dos anos 1960, a admiração de Vaughan por seu irmão Jimmie resultou em sua experimentação de diferentes instrumentos, como bateria e saxofone. Em 1961, em seu sétimo aniversário, Vaughan recebeu seu primeiro violão, um violão de brinquedo da Sears com tema ocidental. Aprendendo de ouvido empenhou-se diligentemente, acompanhando canções dos Nightcaps, nomeadamente "Wine, wine, wine" e "Thunderbird". Ele ouvia artistas de blues como Albert King, Otis Rush e Muddy Waters, e guitarristas de rock como Jimi Hendrix e Lonnie Mack, bem como guitarristas de jazz como Kenny Burrell. Em 1963, ele adquiriu sua primeira guitarra elétrica, uma Gibson ES-125T, de segunda mão de Jimmie.

Logo depois de adquirir a guitarra elétrica, Vaughan se juntou à sua primeira banda, The Chantones, em 1965. Seu primeiro show foi em um concurso de talentos realizado no Hill Theatre de Dallas, mas depois de perceber que não poderiam tocar uma música de Jimmy Reed na íntegra, Vaughan deixou a banda e se juntou a The Brooklyn Underground, tocando profissionalmente em bares e clubes locais. Ele recebeu a Fender Broadcaster de Jimmie, que mais tarde trocou por uma Epiphone Riviera. Quando Jimmie saiu de casa aos dezesseis anos, a aparente obsessão de Vaughan pelo violão causou falta de apoio de seus pais. Infeliz em casa, ele conseguiu um emprego em uma lanchonete local, onde lavava pratos e jogava fora o lixo por setenta centavos a hora. Depois de cair em um barril de graxa, ele se cansou do trabalho e desistiu para dedicar sua vida à carreira musical.

CARREIRA MUSICAL

PRIMEIROS ANOS

Em maio de 1969, após deixar a Brooklyn Underground, Vaughan se juntou a uma banda chamada The Southern Distributor. Ele aprendeu "Jeff's boogie" da The Yardbirds e tocou a música na audição da banda. Mike Steinbach, o baterista do grupo, comentou: "O garoto tinha quatorze anos. Fizemos o teste com ele em 'Jeff's boogie', uma guitarra instrumental muito rápida, e ele tocou nota por nota". Embora tocassem covers de pop rock, Vaughan transmitiu seu interesse em adicionar músicas de blues ao repertório do grupo. Disseram-lhe que não ganharia a vida tocando blues e ele e a banda se separaram. Mais tarde naquele ano, o baixista Tommy Shannon entrou em um clube de Dallas e ouviu Vaughan tocando guitarra. Fascinado pela habilidade de tocar, que ele descreveu como "incrível até então", Shannon pegou emprestado um baixo e os dois tocaram. Dentro de alguns anos, eles começaram a se apresentar juntos em uma banda chamada Krackerjack.

Em fevereiro de 1970, Vaughan se juntou a uma banda chamada Liberation, que era um grupo de nove integrantes com uma seção de sopros. Tendo passado o último mês tocando baixo com Jimmie na Texas Storm, ele originalmente fez um teste como baixista. Impressionado com a forma de tocar guitarra de Vaughan, Scott Phares, o guitarrista original do grupo, tornou-se modestamente o baixista. Em meados de 1970, a banda se apresentou no Adolphus Hotel, no centro de Dallas, onde ZZ Top os convidou para se apresentarem. Durante o intervalo da Liberation, Vaughan tocou com ZZ Top na música "Thunderbird" da The Nightcaps. Phares mais tarde descreveu a performance: "eles demoliram a casa. Foi incrível. Foi uma daquelas noites mágicas. Stevie se encaixou como uma luva na mão".

Frequentando a Justin F. Kimball High School durante o início dos anos 1970, os shows noturnos de Vaughan contribuíram para sua negligência em seus estudos, incluindo teoria musical: ele costumava dormir durante as aulas. Sua busca por uma carreira musical foi desaprovada por muitos administradores da escola, mas ele também foi incentivado por muitas pessoas, incluindo seu professor de arte, a se empenhar por uma carreira artística. Em seu segundo ano, ele frequentou um curso noturno de arte experimental na Southern Methodist University, mas saiu quando entrou em conflito com o ensaio. Mais tarde, Vaughan falou sobre sua antipatia pela escola e lembrou-se de ter recebido notas diárias do diretor sobre sua preparação.

PRIMEIRAS GRAVAÇÕES

Em setembro de 1970, Vaughan fez suas primeiras gravações de estúdio com a banda Cast of Thousands, que incluía o futuro ator Stephen Tobolowsky. A banda gravou duas músicas, "Red, white and blue" e "I listen a voice last night", para uma coletânea, "A new hi", que contou com a participação de várias bandas adolescentes de Dallas. No final de janeiro de 1971, sentindo-se confinado por tocar sucessos pop com a Liberation, Vaughan formou sua própria banda, Blackbird. Depois de se cansar da cena musical de Dallas, ele abandonou a escola e mudou-se com a banda para Austin, Texas, que tinha um público mais liberal e tolerante. Lá, Vaughan inicialmente fixou residência no Rolling Hills Club, um local de blues local que mais tarde se tornaria o Soap Creek Saloon. Blackbird tocou em vários clubes de Austin e abriu shows para bandas como Sugarloaf, Wishbone Ash e Zephyr, mas não conseguiu manter uma formação consistente. No início de dezembro de 1972, Vaughan deixou a Blackbird e se juntou a Krackerjack. Ele tocou com eles por menos de três meses.

Em março de 1973, Vaughan se juntou à banda de Marc Benno, The Nightcrawlers, tendo conhecido Benno em uma jam session anos antes. A banda contava com o vocalista Doyle Bramhall, que conheceu Vaughan quando ele tinha doze anos. No mês seguinte, The Nightcrawlers gravou um álbum na Sunset Sound Recorders em Hollywood para a A&M Records. Embora o álbum tenha sido rejeitado pela A&M, incluiu os primeiros esforços de composição de Vaughan, "Dirty pool" e "Crawlin'". Logo depois, ele e The Nightcrawlers viajaram de volta para Austin sem Benno. Em meados de 1973, eles assinaram contrato com Bill Ham, empresário da ZZ Top, e fizeram vários shows pelo sul dos Estados Unidos, embora muitos deles não tenham tido sucesso. Ham deixou a banda presa no Mississippi sem ter como voltar para casa e exigiu reembolso de Vaughan pelas despesas com equipamento: Ham nunca foi reembolsado.

Em 1975, Vaughan se juntou a uma banda de seis integrantes chamada Paul Ray and The Cobras, que incluía o guitarrista Denny Freeman e o saxofonista Joe Sublett. Nos dois anos e meio seguintes, ele ganhou a vida se apresentando semanalmente em um local popular da cidade, o Soap Creek Saloon e, finalmente, no recém-inaugurado Antone's, amplamente conhecido como a "casa do blues" de Austin. No final de 1976, Vaughan gravou um single com a banda, "Other days" como lado A e "Texas clover" como lado B. Tocando guitarra em ambas as faixas, o single foi lançado em 7 de fevereiro de 1977. Em março, os leitores do Austin Sun os votaram como "Banda do ano". Além de tocar com The Cobras, Vaughan tocou com muitas de suas influências no Antone's, incluindo Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers, Lightnin' Hopkins e Albert King.

Vaughan excursionou com a The Cobras durante grande parte de 1977, mas perto do final de setembro, quando eles decidiram se esforçar para uma direção musical mainstream, ele deixou a banda e formou a Triple Threat Revue, que incluía o vocalista Lou Ann Barton, o baixista W. C. Clark, e o baterista Fredde "Pharaoh" Walden. Em janeiro de 1978, a banda gravou quatro músicas em Austin, incluindo a composição "I'm cryin'" de Vaughan. A gravação de áudio de trinta minutos marca a única gravação de estúdio conhecida da banda.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Em meados de maio de 1978, Clark saiu para formar seu próprio grupo e Vaughan renomeou a banda Double Trouble, tirado do título de uma música de Otis Rush. Após a contratação do baixista Jackie Newhouse, Walden saiu em julho e foi brevemente substituído por Jack Moore, que havia se mudado de Boston para o Texas: ele se apresentou com a banda por cerca de dois meses. Vaughan então começou a procurar um baterista e logo depois conheceu Chris Layton através de Sublett, que era seu colega de quarto. Layton, que recentemente se separou de Greezy Wheels, foi ensinado por Vaughan a tocar um ritmo aleatório. Quando Vaughan ofereceu o cargo a Layton, ele concordou. No início de julho, Vaughan fez amizade com Lenora Bailey, conhecida como "Lenny", que se tornou sua namorada e, por fim, sua esposa. O casamento duraria seis anos e meio.

No início de outubro de 1978, Vaughan e Double Trouble ganharam residência frequente se apresentando em uma das casas noturnas mais populares de Austin, a Rome Inn. Durante uma apresentação, Edi Johnson, contador da Manor Downs, notou Vaughan. Ela lembrou: "Não sou uma autoridade em música - foi tudo o que me excitou - mas isso sim". Ela o recomendou à proprietária de Manor Downs, Frances Carr, e ao gerente geral Chesley Millikin, que estava interessado em administrar artistas e viu o potencial musical de Vaughan. Depois que Barton saiu da Double Trouble em meados de novembro de 1979, Millikin assinou um contrato de gestão com Vaughan. Vaughan também contratou Robert "Cutter" Brandenburg como road manager, que conheceu em 1969. Chamando-o de "Stevie Ray", Brandenburg convenceu Vaughan a usar seu nome do meio no palco.

Em outubro de 1980, o baixista Tommy Shannon participou de uma apresentação da Double Trouble no Rockefeller's em Houston. Shannon, que estava tocando com Alan Haynes na época, participou de uma jam session com Vaughan e Layton no meio do set. Shannon comentou mais tarde: "Fui lá naquela noite e nunca esquecerei disso: foi como se, quando entrei pela porta e os ouvi tocando, foi como uma revelação. 'É onde eu quero estar: é onde eu pertenço, bem ali'. Durante o intervalo, fui até Stevie e disse isso a ele. Não tentei me esgueirar e esconder do baixista [Jackie Newhouse] - não sabia se ele estava ouvindo ou não. Eu realmente queria estar naquela banda. Sentei-me naquela noite e parecia ótimo". Quase três meses depois, quando Vaughan ofereceu o cargo a Shannon, ele aceitou prontamente.

ACUSAÇÂO PORTE DE DROGAS E JULGAMENTO

Em 5 de dezembro de 1979, enquanto Vaughan estava em um camarim antes de uma apresentação em Houston, um policial fora de serviço o prendeu após testemunhá-lo usando cocaína perto de uma janela aberta. Ele foi formalmente acusado de porte de cocaína e posteriormente libertado sob fiança de US$1.000. Double Trouble foi a banda de abertura de Muddy Waters, que disse sobre o abuso de drogas de Vaughan: "Stevie talvez possa ser o maior guitarrista que já existiu, mas ele não viverá até os 40 anos se não deixar aquele pó branco sozinho". No ano seguinte, ele foi obrigado a retornar em 16 de janeiro e 29 de fevereiro para comparecer ao tribunal.

Durante a data final do julgamento em 17 de abril de 1980, Vaughan foi condenado a dois anos de liberdade condicional e proibido de deixar o Texas. Junto com a estipulação de início de tratamento para abuso de drogas, ele era obrigado a "evitar pessoas ou locais de caráter sabidamente desonroso ou prejudicial". Ele se recusou a cumprir ambas as ordens. Depois que um advogado foi contratado, seu oficial de liberdade condicional revisou a sentença para permitir que ele trabalhasse fora do estado. O incidente mais tarde fez com que ele recusasse o serviço de limpeza enquanto se hospedava em hotéis durante as turnês.

FESTIVAL DE JAZZ DE MONTREUX

Embora popular no Texas na época, Double Trouble não conseguiu chamar a atenção nacional. A visibilidade do grupo melhorou quando o produtor musical Jerry Wexler os recomendou a Claude Nobs, organizador do Festival de Jazz de Montreux. Ele insistiu que a noite de blues do festival seria ótima com Vaughan, a quem chamou de "uma jóia, uma daquelas raridades que surge uma vez na vida", e Nobs concordou em reservar a Double Trouble em 17 de julho de 1982.

Vaughan abriu com um arranjo medley da música "Hide away" de Freddie King e sua própria composição instrumental rápida, "Rude mood". Double Trouble passou a realizar interpretações de "Texas flood" de Larry Davis, "Give me back my wig" de Hound Dog Taylor e "Collins shuffle" de Albert Collins, bem como três composições originais: "Pride and joy", "Love struck baby" e "Dirty pool". O set terminou com vaias do público. James McBride da People escreveu:

"Ele parecia surgir do nada, uma figura do tipo Zorro com um chapéu de jogador de barco fluvial, rugindo no festival de Montreux de 1982 com uma Stratocaster de 1959 no quadril e dois companheiros lançadores de chamas que ele chamou de Double Trouble. Ele não tinha álbum, nem contrato de gravação, nem nome, mas reduziu o palco a uma pilha de cinzas fumegantes e, depois, todos queriam saber quem ele era".

De acordo com o road manager Don Opperman: "pelo que me lembro, os 'ooos' e os 'boos' estavam misturados, mas Stevie ficou bastante desapontado. Stevie [tinha] acabado de me entregar sua guitarra e saiu do palco, e eu tipo, 'você vai voltar?' Lá atrás tinha uma porta: o público não conseguia ver os caras, mas eu conseguia. Ele voltou para o camarim com a cabeça entre as mãos. Finalmente voltei lá e foi o fim do show". De acordo com Vaughan: "não foi toda a multidão [que vaiou]. Foram apenas algumas pessoas sentadas bem na frente. A sala foi construída para jazz acústico. Quando cinco ou seis pessoas vaiaram, uau, parece que o o mundo inteiro te odeia. Eles pensaram que estávamos fazendo muito barulho, mas droga, eu tinha quatro cobertores militares dobrados sobre meu amplificador e o nível de volume estava em 2. Estou acostumado a tocar em 10!" A performance foi filmada e posteriormente lançada em DVD em setembro de 2004.

Na noite seguinte, Double Trouble foi reservada no lounge do Montreux Casino, com a presença de Jackson Browne. Browne tocou com a Double Trouble até de madrugada e ofereceu-lhes o uso gratuito de seu estúdio de gravação pessoal no centro de Los Angeles. No final de novembro a banda aceitou a oferta e gravou dez músicas em dois dias. Enquanto estavam em estúdio, Vaughan recebeu um telefonema de David Bowie, que o conheceu após a apresentação em Montreux, e o convidou para participar de uma sessão de gravação de seu próximo álbum de estúdio, "Let's dance". Em janeiro de 1983, Vaughan gravou guitarra em seis das oito músicas do álbum, incluindo a faixa-título e "China girl". O álbum foi lançado em 14 de abril de 1983 e vendeu três vezes mais cópias do que o álbum anterior de Bowie.

SUCESSO NACIONAL

Em meados de março de 1983, Gregg Geller, vice-presidente de A&R da Epic Records, assinou com a Double Trouble a gravadora por recomendação do produtor musical John Hammond. Logo depois, a Epic financiou um videoclipe de "Love struck baby", que foi filmado no Cherry Tavern em Nova York. Vaughan relembrou: "mudamos o nome do lugar no vídeo. Há quatro anos me casei em um clube onde tocávamos o tempo todo, chamado Rome Inn. Quando fecharam, o proprietário me deu o sinal, então no vídeo colocamos isso atrás de mim no palco".

Com o sucesso de "Let's dance", Bowie solicitou Vaughan como instrumentista principal para a próxima turnê "Serious moonlight", percebendo que ele era um aspecto essencial do sucesso inovador do álbum. No final de abril, Vaughan iniciou os ensaios para a turnê em Las Colinas, Texas. Quando as renegociações do contrato de sua taxa de performance falharam, Vaughan abandonou a turnê dias antes da data de abertura e foi substituído por Earl Slick. Vaughan comentou: "Não consegui focar tudo em algo que realmente não me importava. Era meio arriscado, mas eu realmente não precisava de todas aquelas dores de cabeça". Embora os fatores contribuintes tenham sido amplamente contestados, Vaughan logo ganhou grande publicidade por abandonar a turnê.

Em 9 de maio, a banda se apresentou no The Bottom Line em Nova York, onde abriu para Bryan Adams, com a presença de Hammond, Mick Jagger, John McEnroe, Rick Nielsen, Billy Gibbons e Johnny Winter. Brandenburg descreveu a performance como "ímpia": "Acho que Stevie tocou cada lick tão alto, forte e com tanta intensidade como eu já o ouvi". O desempenho rendeu a Vaughan uma crítica positiva publicada no New York Post, afirmando que a Double Trouble superou Adams. "Felizmente, Bryan Adams, o roqueiro canadense que está abrindo shows para a Journey, não aparece com muita frequência", escreveu Martin Porter, que afirmou que após a apresentação da banda, o palco foi ""reduzido a cinzas pelo espetáculo mais explosivamente original que agraciou os palcos de Nova York em algum tempo".

1983: TEXAS FLOOD

Depois de adquirir as gravações do estúdio de Browne, a Double Trouble começou a montar o material para um LP completo. O álbum, "Texas flood", abre com a faixa "Love struck baby", que foi escrita para Lenny em seu "dia apaixonado". Ele compôs "Pride and joy" e "I'm cryin'" para uma de suas ex-namoradas, Lindi Bethel. Embora ambos sejam musicalmente semelhantes, suas letras são duas perspectivas diferentes do relacionamento. Junto com covers de Howlin' Wolf, Isley Brothers e Buddy Guy, o álbum incluía o cover de Vaughan de "Texas flood" de Larry Davis, uma música à qual ele se tornou fortemente associado. "Lenny" serviu de homenagem à esposa, que ele compôs na beira da cama.

"Texas flood" contou com a arte da capa do ilustrador Brad Holland, conhecido por suas obras para a Playboy e o The New York Times. Originalmente concebido com Vaughan sentado em um cavalo representando uma semelhança promovida, Holland pintou uma imagem dele encostado em uma parede com um violão, usando uma fotografia como referência. Lançado em 13 de junho de 1983, "Texas flood" alcançou a posição 38 e vendeu meio milhão de cópias. Embora o editor da Rolling Stone, Kurt Loder, tenha afirmado que Vaughan não possuía uma voz distinta, de acordo com o editor sênior do AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, o lançamento foi um "impacto monumental". A Billboard descreveu-o como "uma delícia para os amantes do guitar boogie". O agente Alex Hodges comentou: "Ninguém sabia o quão grande seria esse disco, porque os guitarristas não estavam necessariamente na moda, exceto alguns que estavam tão consagrados que eram inegáveis... ele foi um dos poucos artistas que se recuperou. cada registro em um curto período de tempo".

No dia 16 de junho, Vaughan se apresentou na boate Tango em Dallas, que comemorou o lançamento do álbum. Vários VIPs compareceram à apresentação, incluindo Ted Nugent, Sammy Hagar e membros da The Kinks e Uriah Heep. Jack Chase, vice-presidente de marketing da Epic, lembrou: "a festa de debutante no Tango foi muito importante: foi absolutamente enorme. Todas as personalidades das estações de rádio, DJs, diretores de programas, todos os donos de lojas de discos e os gerentes importantes, imprensa, todos os executivos de Nova York vieram - cerca de setecentas pessoas. Atacamos primeiro em Dallas com Q102-FM e [DJ] Redbeard. Fizemos a festa do Tango - estava quente. Era o ingresso". O The Dallas Morning News analisou a apresentação, começando com a pergunta retórica: "e se Stevie Ray Vaughan fizesse uma festa de lançamento do álbum e todo mundo viesse? Aconteceu na noite de quinta-feira no Tango. ...A adrenalina deve ter jorrado nas veias dos músicos já que atuaram com rara delicadeza e habilidade".

Após uma breve turnê pela Europa, Hodges conseguiu um compromisso com Double Trouble como banda de abertura da The Moody Blues durante uma turnê de dois meses pela América do Norte. Hodges afirmou que muitas pessoas não gostaram da idéia de Double Trouble abrindo para The Moody Blues, mas afirmou que um traço comum que ambas as bandas compartilhavam era o "álbum orientado para o rock". Tommy Shannon descreveu a turnê como "gloriosa": "Nosso disco ainda não tinha feito tanto sucesso, mas estávamos tocando em frente a coliseus cheios de gente. Nós apenas saímos e tocamos, e caiu como uma luva. O som tocou por aqueles grandes coliseus como um monstro. As pessoas estavam enlouquecendo e não tinham idéia de quem éramos!". Depois de aparecer na série de televisão "Austin City Limits", a banda fez um show com ingressos esgotados no Beacon Theatre de Nova York. A Variety escreveu que seu show de noventa minutos no Beacon "não deixou dúvidas de que este jovem músico do Texas é de fato o 'herói da guitarra da era atual'".

CARNEGIE HALL

Em 4 de outubro de 1984, Vaughan foi a atração principal de uma apresentação no Carnegie Hall que incluiu muitos músicos convidados. Para a segunda metade do show, ele adicionou Jimmie como guitarrista rítmico, o baterista George Rains, o tecladista Dr. John, a seção de sopros da Roomful of Blues e a vocalista Angela Strehli. O conjunto ensaiou menos de duas semanas antes da apresentação e, apesar da dinâmica sólida da Double Trouble na primeira metade da apresentação, segundo Patoski e Crawford, o conceito de big band nunca tomou forma inteiramente. Antes de chegar ao noivado, o local esgotou, o que deixou Vaughan superexcitado e nervoso: ele só se acalmou na metade da terceira música. O benefício para o trabalho da T.J. Martell Foundation na pesquisa de leucemia e câncer foi um importante atrativo para o evento. À medida que o horário programado se aproximava, ele indicou que preferia viajar até o local de limusine para evitar ser cercado por fãs na rua: a banda subiu ao palco por volta das 20h. O público de 2.200 pessoas, que incluía a esposa, família e amigos de Vaughan, transformou o local no que Stephen Holden, do The New York Times, descreveu como "uma estalagem assobiando e pisando forte".

Apresentado por Hammond como "um dos maiores guitarristas de todos os tempos", Vaughan abriu com "Scuttle buttin'", vestindo um terno mariachi feito sob medida que ele descreveu como um "smoking mexicano". Double Trouble passou a realizar interpretações de "Testify" dos Isley Brothers, "Voodoo child (Slight return)" da The Jimi Hendrix Experience, "Tin Pan Alley", "The sky is criyng" de Elmore James e "Cold shot", junto com quatro composições originais, incluindo "Love struck baby", "Honey bee", "Couldn't stand the weather" e "Rude mood". Durante a segunda metade da apresentação, Vaughan executou covers de Larry Davis, Buddy Guy, Guitar Slim, Albert King, Jackie Wilson e Albert Collins. O set terminou com Vaughan realizando interpretações solo de "Lenny" e "Rude mood".

O Dallas Times-Herald escreveu que a apresentação foi "cheia de pés batendo e corpos balançando, crianças de jeans penduradas nas varandas, corpos dançantes que obstruíam os corredores". O New York Times afirmou que, apesar da acústica "turva" do local, a performance da banda foi "cheia de entusiasmo" e a forma de tocar de Vaughan foi "bem exibida". Jimmie Vaughan comentou mais tarde: "Eu estava preocupado que a multidão pudesse estar um pouco rígida. Acontece que eles são como qualquer outra cervejaria". Vaughan comentou: "Não ficaremos limitados apenas ao trio, embora isso não signifique que deixaremos de fazer o trio. Estou planejando fazer isso também. Não vou ficar no mesmo lugar. Se eu fizer, eu serei estúpido". A performance foi gravada e, em 1997, a Epic Records lançou "Live at Carnegie Hall", que acabou sendo certificado como Ouro.

Após o show, Vaughan participou de uma festa privada em um clube no centro de Nova York, patrocinada pela MTV, onde foi recebido por uma hora de apoiadores. No dia seguinte, Double Trouble fez uma aparição em uma loja de discos em Greenwich Village, onde seus integrantes deram autógrafos para os fãs.

No final de outubro de 1984, a banda fez uma turnê pela Austrália e Nova Zelândia, que incluiu uma de suas primeiras aparições na televisão australiana - em "Hey Hey It's Saturday" - onde tocaram "Texas flood", e uma entrevista no Sounds. Nos dias 5 e 9 de novembro, eles fizeram shows com ingressos esgotados na Sydney Opera House. Depois de retornar aos EUA, Double Trouble fez uma breve turnê pela Califórnia. Logo depois, Vaughan e Lenny foram para a ilha de Saint Croix, parte das Ilhas Virgens dos EUA, onde passaram férias em dezembro. No mês seguinte, Double Trouble voou para o Japão, onde se apresentou em cinco apresentações, inclusive no Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan em Osaka.

1985: SOUL TO SOUL

Em março de 1985, a gravação do terceiro álbum de estúdio da Double Trouble, "Soul to soul", começou no Dallas Sound Lab. À medida que as sessões avançavam, Vaughan ficou cada vez mais frustrado com sua própria falta de inspiração. Também foi permitido um ritmo descontraído de gravação do álbum, o que contribuiu para a falta de foco devido aos excessos de álcool e outras drogas. Roadie Byron Barr lembrou mais tarde: "a rotina era ir para o estúdio, se drogar e jogar pingue-pongue". Vaughan, que achava cada vez mais difícil tocar guitarra base e cantar ao mesmo tempo, queria adicionar outra dimensão à banda, então contratou o tecladista Reese Wynans para gravar no álbum. Ele se juntou à banda logo depois.

Durante a produção do álbum, Vaughan apareceu no Houston Astrodome em 10 de abril de 1985, onde executou uma versão slide guitar do hino nacional dos EUA, "The star-spangled banner": sua performance foi recebida com vaias. Ao sair do palco, Vaughan conseguiu um autógrafo do ex-jogador do New York Yankees, Mickey Mantle. A publicitária do Astrodome, Molly Glentzer, escreveu no Houston Press: "Enquanto Vaughan voltava para trás da base, ele estava lúcido o suficiente para saber que queria o autógrafo de Mickey Mantle. Mantle agradeceu. 'Nunca autografei uma guitarra antes'. Ninguém pediu a Vaughan seu autógrafo. Eu tinha certeza que ele estaria morto antes de completar 30 anos". Os críticos associaram sua performance à versão de Jimi Hendrix em Woodstock em 1969, mas Vaughan não gostou dessa comparação: "Ouvi dizer que eles até escreveram sobre isso em uma das revistas de música e tentaram colocar as duas versões lado a lado. Eu odeio essas coisas. A versão dele foi ótima".

Lançado em 30 de setembro de 1985, "Soul to soul" alcançou a posição 34 e permaneceu na Billboard 200 até meados de 1986, eventualmente certificado como ouro. O crítico Jimmy Guterman da Rolling Stone escreveu: "ainda resta um pouco de vida em seu pastiche de blues rock: também é possível que eles tenham ficado sem gasolina". De acordo com Patoski e Crawford, as vendas do álbum "não corresponderam a 'Couldn't stand the weather', sugerindo que Stevie Ray e Double Trouble estavam estagnando". Vaughan comentou: "no que diz respeito às músicas, gosto muito do álbum. Significou muito para nós o que passamos para conseguir esse álbum. Havia muitas probabilidades e ainda permanecemos fortes. Crescemos muito com as pessoas da banda e amigos imediatos ao nosso redor: aprendemos muito e nos aproximamos muito. Isso tem muito a ver com o motivo pelo qual se chama ['Soul to soul']".

LIVE ALIVE

Depois de uma turnê de nove meses e meio, a Epic solicitou um quarto álbum da Double Trouble como parte de sua obrigação contratual. Em julho de 1986, Vaughan decidiu que gravariam o LP, "Live alive", durante três apresentações ao vivo em Austin e Dallas. Nos dias 17 e 18 de julho, a banda realizou shows com ingressos esgotados no Austin Opera House e em 19 de julho no Dallas Starfest. Eles usaram gravações desses shows para montar o LP, que foi produzido por Vaughan. Shannon estava nos bastidores antes do show em Austin e previu ao novo empresário Alex Hodges que tanto Vaughan quanto ele estavam "caminhando para uma parede de tijolos". O guitarrista Denny Freeman compareceu às apresentações em Austin. Ele chamou os shows de "uma bagunça musical, porque eles entravam nessas jams caóticas e sem controle. Eu não sabia exatamente o que estava acontecendo, mas estava preocupado". Tanto Layton quanto Shannon comentaram que seu horário de trabalho e as drogas estavam fazendo com que a banda perdesse o foco. De acordo com Wynans: "As coisas estavam ficando ilógicas e malucas".

O álbum "Live alive" foi lançado em 17 de novembro de 1986 e foi o único LP oficial ao vivo da Double Trouble disponibilizado comercialmente durante a vida de Vaughan, embora nunca tenha aparecido na parada Billboard 200. Embora muitos críticos afirmassem que a maior parte do álbum foi dobrada, o engenheiro Gary Olazabal, que mixou o álbum, afirmou que a maior parte do material foi gravada de forma deficiente. Vaughan admitiu mais tarde que não foi um de seus melhores esforços. Ele lembrou: "Eu não estava em muito boa forma quando gravamos o 'Live alive'. Na época, eu não percebi o quão ruim eu estava. Houve mais trabalhos de conserto no álbum do que eu gostaria. Alguns dos trabalhos parecem ser trabalhos de pessoas meio mortas. Algumas notas ótimas foram lançadas, mas eu simplesmente não estava no controle. Ninguém estava".

DROGAS E ÁLCOOL

Em 1960, quando Vaughan tinha seis anos, começou a roubar as bebidas de seu pai. Atraído pelos efeitos, passou a preparar suas próprias bebidas, o que resultou na dependência do álcool. Ele explicou: "Foi quando comecei a roubar as bebidas do papai. Ou quando meus pais se foram, eu encontrava a garrafa e preparava uma para mim. Achei legal... pensei que as crianças da rua achariam legal. Foi aí que tudo começou e desde então dependo disso". De acordo com os autores Joe Nick Patoski e Bill Crawford: "Nos vinte e cinco anos seguintes, ele trabalhou no Physicians' Desk Reference antes de encontrar seus venenos preferidos - álcool e cocaína".

"Stevie e eu chegamos a um ponto em que

tínhamos que usar drogas e álcool o tempo todo.

Se o telefone tocasse de manhã e nos acordasse,

não poderíamos atender o telefone antes

de tomarmos um pouco de álcool".

- Tommy Shannon

Embora Vaughan tenha afirmado que experimentou pela primeira vez os efeitos da cocaína quando um médico lhe receitou uma solução líquida contendo-a como spray nasal, de acordo com Patoski e Crawford, o primeiro que se sabe que Vaughan a usou foi em 1975, enquanto se apresentava com a The Cobras. Antes disso, Vaughan havia usado brevemente outras drogas, como cannabis, metanfetamina e Quaaludes, a marca da metaqualona. Depois de 1975, ele bebia regularmente uísque e usava cocaína, principalmente misturando as duas substâncias. De acordo com Hopkins, na época da turnê europeia do Double Trouble em setembro de 1986, "Seu estilo de vida de abuso de substâncias atingiu um pico, provavelmente melhor caracterizado como o fundo de um abismo profundo".

No auge do abuso de substâncias de Vaughan, ele bebia 1 litro (0,95 L) de uísque e usava um quarto de onça (7 g) de cocaína todos os dias. O assistente pessoal Tim Duckworth explicou: "Eu garantiria que ele tomasse o café da manhã em vez de acordar bebendo todas as manhãs, o que provavelmente era a pior coisa que ele estava fazendo". De acordo com Vaughan: "Cheguei ao ponto em que se eu tentasse dizer 'oi' para alguém, simplesmente desmoronaria chorando. Foi como uma destruição sólida".

Em setembro de 1986, Double Trouble viajou para a Dinamarca para uma turnê de um mês pela Europa. Na madrugada de 28 de setembro, Vaughan adoeceu após uma apresentação em Ludwigshafen, Alemanha, sofrendo de desidratação quase mortal, para a qual recebeu tratamento médico. O incidente resultou em sua internação na Clínica de Londres sob os cuidados do Dr. Victor Bloom, que o avisou que faltava um mês para a morte. Depois de ficar em Londres por mais de uma semana, ele retornou aos Estados Unidos e deu entrada no Peachford Hospital, em Atlanta, onde passou quatro semanas em reabilitação, e depois se internou em uma clínica de reabilitação em Austin.

TURNÊ LIVE ALIVE

Em novembro de 1986, após sair da reabilitação, Vaughan voltou para a casa de sua mãe na Glenfield Avenue, em Dallas, onde passou grande parte de sua infância. Durante esse período, Double Trouble iniciou os ensaios para a turnê "Live alive". Embora Vaughan estivesse nervoso com o desempenho depois de alcançar a sobriedade, ele recebeu garantias positivas. Wynans lembrou mais tarde: "Stevie estava muito preocupado em tocar depois de ficar sóbrio... ele não sabia se tinha mais alguma coisa a oferecer. Quando voltamos à estrada, ele estava muito inspirado e motivado". A turnê começou em 23 de novembro na Towson State University, que foi a primeira apresentação de Vaughan com a Double Trouble após a reabilitação. Em 31 de dezembro de 1986, eles fizeram um show no Fox Theatre de Atlanta, que contou com apresentações encore com Lonnie Mack.

À medida que a turnê avançava, Vaughan ansiava por trabalhar no material para seu próximo LP, mas em janeiro de 1987, ele pediu o divórcio de Lenny, o que o restringiu de qualquer projeto até que o processo fosse finalizado. Isso o impediu de escrever e gravar músicas por quase dois anos, mas a Double Trouble escreveu a música "Crossfire" com Bill Carter e Ruth Ellsworth. Layton relembrou: "Nós escrevemos a música e eles tiveram que escrever as letras. Tínhamos acabado de nos encontrar. Stevie não pôde estar lá naquele momento. Ele estava em Dallas fazendo algumas coisas, e nós simplesmente nos reunimos e começamos a escrever algumas músicas. Essa foi a primeira que escrevemos". Em 6 de agosto de 1987, Double Trouble apareceu no Austin Aqua Festival, onde a banda tocou para um dos maiores públicos de sua carreira. Segundo o biógrafo Craig Hopkins, cerca de 20 mil pessoas compareceram ao concerto. Após uma turnê de um mês como banda de abertura de Robert Plant em maio de 1988, que incluiu um show no Maple Leaf Gardens de Toronto, a banda foi contratada para uma etapa europeia, que incluiu 22 apresentações, e terminou em Oulu, Finlândia, em 17 de julho. Esta seria a última apresentação de Vaughan na Europa.

1989: IN STEP

Após o divórcio de Vaughan de Lenora "Lenny" Darlene Bailey se tornar definitivo, a gravação do quarto e último álbum de estúdio da Double Trouble, "In step", começou no Kiva Studios em Memphis, Tennessee, trabalhando com o produtor Jim Gaines e o co-compositor Doyle Bramhall. Inicialmente, ele teve dúvidas sobre suas habilidades musicais e criativas após atingir a sobriedade, mas foi ganhando confiança à medida que as sessões avançavam. Shannon lembrou mais tarde: "'In step' foi, para ele, uma grande experiência de crescimento. Na minha opinião, é o nosso melhor álbum de estúdio, e acho que ele também se sentiu assim". Bramhall, que também entrou na reabilitação, escreveu canções com Vaughan sobre vício e redenção. Segundo Vaughan, o álbum foi intitulado "In step" porque "Finalmente estou em sintonia com a vida, em sintonia comigo mesmo, em sintonia com minha música". O encarte do álbum inclui a citação "graças a Deus o elevador quebrou", uma referência ao programa de doze passos proposto por Alcoólicos Anônimos (AA).

Depois que as sessões de gravação de "In step" foram transferidas para Los Angeles, Vaughan adicionou os trompistas Joe Sublett e Darrell Leonard, que tocaram saxofone e trompete respectivamente em "Crossfire" e "Love me darlin'". Pouco antes de a produção do álbum ser concluída, Vaughan e Double Trouble apareceram em uma festa de posse presidencial em Washington, D.C. para George H. W. Bush. "In step" foi lançado em 13 de junho de 1989 e, oito meses depois, foi certificado ouro. O álbum foi o lançamento de maior sucesso comercial de Vaughan e o primeiro a ganhar um Grammy. Alcançou a posição 33 na Billboard 200, passando 47 semanas na parada. "In step" incluía a música "Crossfire", que foi escrita por Double Trouble, Bill Carter e Ruth Ellsworth: tornou-se seu único hit número um. O álbum também incluiu uma de suas primeiras gravações com o uso de um Fuzz Face no cover de Vaughan da música de Howlin' Wolf, "Love me darlin'".

Em julho de 1989, Neil Perry, redator da revista Sounds, escreveu: "o álbum termina com o desmaio calmante de 'Riviera Paradise', um treino lento e longo de guitarra e piano que prova exatamente por que Vaughan é para a guitarra o que Nureyev é para o balé". De acordo com o jornalista musical Robert Christgau, Vaughan estava "escrevendo blues para AA... ele escapa do blues ileso pela primeira vez em sua carreira". Em outubro de 1989, o Boca Raton News descreveu os solos de guitarra de Vaughan como "determinados, lúcidos e totalmente pungentes" e suas letras como "alegorias cheias de tensão".

EQUIPAMENTO

GUITARRAS

Vaughan possuiu e usou uma variedade de guitarras durante sua carreira. Sua guitarra preferida, e o instrumento ao qual ele mais se associou, foi a Fender Stratocaster, sendo sua favorita um corpo de 1963 com braço de 1962 e captadores datados de 1959. É por isso que Vaughan geralmente se referia a sua Stratocaster como uma "Stratocaster de 1959". ". Ele explicou por que preferia esta guitarra em uma entrevista de 1983: "Gosto da força de seu som. Qualquer guitarra que eu toco tem que ser bastante versátil. Tem um tom grande e forte e aguenta qualquer coisa que eu faça." . Vaughan também se referiu a este instrumento como sua "primeira esposa" ou "Número um". Outra guitarra favorita foi uma Strat um pouco posterior, que ele chamou de "Lenny" em homenagem a sua esposa, Lenora. Enquanto estava em uma loja de penhores local em 1980, Vaughan notou esta guitarra em particular, uma Stratocaster 1965 que havia sido restaurada em vermelho, com o acabamento sunburst original aparecendo. Ele também tinha uma incrustação de bandolim de 1910 logo abaixo da ponte. A loja de penhores estava pedindo US$ 300 por ele, muito mais do que Vaughan tinha na época. Lenny percebeu o quanto ele queria aquela guitarra, então ela pediu a seis amigos para contribuir com US$ 50 cada e comprou-a para ele. O violão foi presenteado a ele em seu aniversário em 1980, e naquela noite, depois de trazer "Lenny" (o violão e a esposa) para casa com ele, ele escreveu a música "Lenny". Ele começou a usar uma Stratocaster emprestada durante o ensino médio e usava Stratocasters predominantemente em suas apresentações e gravações ao vivo, embora tocasse outras guitarras, incluindo guitarras personalizadas.

Uma das guitarras customizadas - apelidada de "Principal" - foi construída por James Hamilton da Hamiltone Guitars em Buffalo, Nova York. Foi um presente de Billy Gibbons da ZZ Top. Gibbons contratou Hamilton para construir a guitarra em 1979. Houve alguns atrasos, incluindo ter que refazer a incrustação de madrepérola do nome de Vaughan no braço da guitarra quando ele mudou seu nome artístico de Stevie Vaughan para Stevie Ray Vaughan. A guitarra foi apresentada a ele por Jim Hamilton em 29 de abril de 1984. Hamilton lembra que Stevie Ray Vaughan ficou tão feliz com a guitarra que a tocou naquela noite no Springfest no campus da Universidade de Buffalo. Continuou sendo uma das principais guitarras que ele usou no palco e no estúdio. Vaughan fez algumas alterações na guitarra, incluindo a substituição dos botões Gibson cor bronze por botões Fender brancos, pois preferia as nervuras dos botões Fender. Os captadores tiveram que ser trocados depois que a guitarra foi usada no vídeo "Couldn't stand the weather", em que Stevie e "Main" ficaram encharcados de água e os captadores estragaram. A guitarra preferida de Vaughan foi resumida como a dele:

"A 'Número um estrato', que Stevie alegou ser uma '59, já que essa era a data estampada na parte de trás dos captadores... isso estava incorreto, no entanto, como o técnico de guitarra Rene Martinez (que supervisionou as guitarras do SRV desde 1980) descobriu o carimbo de 1963 no corpo e 1962 no braço original (o braço foi substituído em 1989 depois que não pôde mais ser retratado adequadamente. Rene usou o braço de outra favorita do SRV, 'Red', pois também era um modelo de 1962). Os captadores também têm saída relativamente baixa, não o mito quente que ganhou força durante os anos 80... há rumores de que todos os 3 captadores têm impedância de saída abaixo de 6k ohms, o que seria típico de um conjunto de 1959 (os captadores de braço tendiam a ser mais quentes, mas não muito). Embora o modelo de assinatura Fender SRV use captadores Texas Special, nos quais Stevie esteve fortemente envolvido na produção, eles não representam com precisão o som de sua 'Número um' original".

Vaughan comprou muitas Stratocasters e deu algumas de presente. Uma guitarra Diplomat sunburst estilo Strat foi comprada por Vaughan e dada a sua namorada Janna Lapidus para aprender a tocar. Vaughan usou um conjunto personalizado de cordas incomumente pesadas, numeradas 0.13, 0.15, 0.19, 0.28, 0.38, 0.58, e afinou meio tom abaixo da afinação padrão. Com esses tamanhos de cordas pesadas, não era incomum que ele separasse a unha por causa de seu movimento rápido ao longo das cordas. O dono de um clube de Austin lembrou-se de Vaughan entrando no escritório entre os sets para pegar emprestada super cola, que ele usou para evitar que uma unha rachada se alargasse enquanto ele continuava a jogar. A super cola foi sugerida por Rene Martinez, técnico de guitarra de Stevie. Martinez finalmente convenceu Stevie a mudar para cordas um pouco mais leves. Ele preferia um braço de guitarra com perfil assimétrico (mais grosso na parte superior), que era mais confortável para seu estilo de tocar com o polegar. O uso intenso da barra vibratória exigia substituições frequentes. Vaughan frequentemente fazia seu roadie, Byron Barr, obter barras de aço inoxidável personalizadas feitas pelo pai de Barr. Quanto ao uso de palhetas, Vaughan preferia palhetas Fender de calibre médio, usando um dos ombros mais redondos da palheta em vez da ponta pontiaguda para dedilhar e dedilhar as cordas.

Vaughan também foi fotografado tocando uma Rickenbacker Capri, uma National Duolian, uma Epiphone Riviera, uma Gibson Flying V, além de vários outros modelos. Vaughan usou uma Gibson Johnny Smith para gravar "Stang's swang" e um violão Guild de 12 cordas para sua apresentação no MTV Unplugged em janeiro de 1990. Em 24 de junho de 2004, uma das Stratocasters de Vaughan, a já mencionada "Lenny" strat, foi vendida. em um leilão para beneficiar o Crossroads Center de Eric Clapton em Antígua: o instrumento foi comprado pelo Guitar Center por US$ 623.500.

AMPLIFICADORES E EFEITOS

Vaughan foi um catalisador no renascimento dos amplificadores e efeitos vintage durante a década de 1980. Seu volume alto exigia amplificadores potentes e robustos. Vaughan usou dois Fender Super Reverbs pretos, que foram cruciais para moldar seu som claro e overdrive. Ele costumava misturar outros amplificadores com Super Reverbs, incluindo Fender Vibroverbs black-face e marcas como Dumble e Marshall, que ele usava para seu som limpo.

Embora um Ibanez Tube Screamer e um pedal Vox wah-wah fossem seus efeitos principais, Vaughan experimentou uma série de efeitos. Ele usou um Fender Vibratone, projetado como um alto-falante Leslie para guitarras elétricas, que fornecia um efeito de refrão estridente; pode ser ouvido na faixa "Cold shot". Ele usou um Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face vintage que pode ser ouvido em In Step, bem como um Octavia. O site Guitar Geek fornece uma ilustração detalhada do equipamento de Vaughan configurado em 1985 com base em entrevistas com seu técnico de guitarra e construtor de efeitos, Cesar Diaz.

LEGADO

Vaughan ao longo de sua carreira reviveu o blues rock e abriu caminho para muitos outros artistas. O trabalho de Vaughan continua a influenciar vários artistas de blues, rock e alternativos, incluindo John Mayer, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mike McCready, Albert Cummings, Los Lonely Boys e Chris Duarte, entre outros. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, do AllMusic, descreveu Vaughan como "a luz principal do blues americano", que desenvolveu "um estilo exclusivamente eclético e ardente que soava como nenhum outro guitarrista, independentemente do gênero". Em 1983, a revista Variety chamou Vaughan de "o herói da guitarra da era atual".

Nos meses que se seguiram à sua morte, Vaughan vendeu mais de 5,5 milhões de álbuns nos Estados Unidos. Em 25 de setembro de 1990, a Epic lançou "Family style", um LP que os irmãos Vaughan gravaram no Ardent Studios em Memphis, Tennessee. A gravadora lançou vários singles promocionais e vídeos para o esforço colaborativo. Em novembro de 1990, a CMV Enterprises lançou "Pride and joy", uma coleção de oito videoclipes da Double Trouble. A Sony assinou um acordo com o espólio de Vaughan para obter o controle de seu catálogo anterior, bem como permissão para lançar álbuns com material inédito e novas coleções de trabalhos lançados. Em 29 de outubro de 1991, "The sky is cry" foi lançado como o primeiro álbum póstumo de Vaughan com a Double Trouble, e contou com gravações de estúdio de 1984 a 1985. Outras compilações, álbuns ao vivo e filmes também foram lançados desde sua morte.

Em 3 de outubro de 1991, a governadora do Texas, Ann Richards, proclamou o "Dia de Comemoração de Stevie Ray Vaughan", durante o qual um concerto memorial foi realizado no Texas Theatre. Em 1993, uma estátua memorial de Vaughan foi inaugurada no Auditorium Shores e é o primeiro monumento público de um músico em Austin. Em setembro de 1994, uma Corrida Memorial Stevie Ray Vaughan para Recuperação foi realizada em Dallas. O evento foi um evento beneficente para a Fundação Ethel Daniels, criada para ajudar aqueles em recuperação do alcoolismo e da dependência de drogas que não podem pagar pelo tratamento. Em 1999, o Programa de Assistência a Músicos (mais tarde renomeado como Fundo MusiCares MAP) criou o "Prêmio Stevie Ray Vaughan" para homenagear a memória de Vaughan e reconhecer os músicos por sua devoção em ajudar outros adictos que lutam no processo de recuperação. Os destinatários incluem Eric Clapton, David Crosby, Steven Tyler, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Pete Townshend, Chris Cornell, Jerry Cantrell e Mike McCready, entre outros. Em 1993, Martha Vaughan estabeleceu o Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Scholarship Fund, concedido a estudantes da W.E. Greiner Middle School em Oakcliff que pretendem cursar a faculdade e seguir as artes como profissão.

PRÊMIOS E HONRAS

Vaughan ganhou cinco prêmios WC Handy e foi postumamente introduzido no Blues Hall of Fame em 2000. Em 1985, ele foi nomeado almirante honorário da Marinha do Texas. Vaughan teve um único hit número um na parada Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks com a música "Crossfire". As vendas de seus álbuns nos EUA chegam a mais de 15 milhões de unidades. "Family style", lançado logo após sua morte, ganhou o Grammy de 1991 de "Melhor álbum de blues contemporâneo" e se tornou seu álbum de estúdio mais vendido e não-Double Trouble, com mais de um milhão de remessas nos EUA. ele é o sétimo entre os "100 maiores guitarristas de todos os tempos", com uma atualização de 2023 colocando-o em 20º. Ele também se tornou elegível para o Hall da Fama do Rock and Roll em 2008, mas não apareceu na lista de indicações até 2014. Ele foi indicado para o Hall da Fama do Rock and Roll ao lado da Double Trouble em 2015. A revista Guitar World o classificou como número 1 na lista dos "Maiores guitarristas de blues".

Em 1994, a cidade de Austin, Texas, ergueu o Memorial Stevie Ray Vaughan na trilha de caminhada ao lado do Lago Lady Bird.

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Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV, October 3, 1954 - August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians in the history of blues music, and one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He was the younger brother of guitarist Jimmie Vaughan.

Born and raised in Dallas, Vaughan began playing guitar at age seven, initially inspired by his brother Jimmie. In 1972, he dropped out of high school and moved to Austin, where he began to gain a following after playing gigs on the local club circuit. Vaughan joined forces with Tommy Shannon on bass and Chris Layton on drums as Double Trouble in 1978. The band established itself in the Austin music scene and soon became one of the most popular acts in Texas. The band performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1982, where David Bowie saw Vaughan play. Bowie contacted him for a studio gig in December where he played blues guitar on the album "Let's dance" (1983). John Hammond heard a demo album that Vaughan and Double Trouble had recorded and interested major label Epic Records in signing them to a record deal in March 1983. Within months, they achieved mainstream success for the critically acclaimed debut album "Texas flood". With a series of successful network television appearances and extensive concert tours, Vaughan became the leading figure in the blues revival of the 1980s.

Vaughan struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction for most of his life. He also struggled with the personal and professional pressures of fame and his marriage to Lenora "Lenny" Bailey. He successfully completed rehabilitation and began touring again with Double Trouble in November 1986. His fourth and final studio album "In step" reached number 33 in the United States in 1989: it was one of Vaughan's most critically and commercially successful releases and included his only number-one hit, "Crossfire". He became one of the world's most popular blues performers, and he headlined Madison Square Garden in 1989 and the Beale Street Music Festival in 1990.

On August 27, 1990, Vaughan and four others were killed in a helicopter crash in East Troy, Wisconsin, after performing with Double Trouble at Alpine Valley Music Theatre. An investigation concluded that the cause of the accident was pilot error. Vaughan's music continued to achieve commercial success with several posthumous releases and has sold over 15 million albums in the United States alone. Rolling Stone has twice ranked him among the top twenty guitar players of all time. Vaughan was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, along with Double Trouble bandmates Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon, and Reese Wynans.

HISTORY

FAMILY AND EARLY LIFE

Vaughan's grandfather, Thomas Lee Vaughan, married Laura Belle LaRue and moved to Rockwall County, Texas where they lived by sharecropping.

Stevie's father, Jimmie Lee Vaughan, was born on September 6, 1921. Jimmie Vaughan, also known as Jim or Big Jim, dropped out of school at age sixteen and enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After his discharge from the military, he married Martha Jean (née Cook, 1928-2009) on January 13, 1950. They had a son, Jimmie, in 1951. Stevie was born at Methodist Hospital on October 3, 1954, in Dallas. Big Jim secured a job as an asbestos worker. The family moved frequently and lived in other states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma before ultimately moving to the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. A shy and insecure boy, Vaughan was deeply affected by his childhood experiences. His father struggled with alcohol abuse and often terrorized his family and friends with his bad temper. In later years, Vaughan recalled that he had been a victim of his father's violence. His father died on August 27, 1986, exactly four years before Vaughan himself.

FIRST INSTRUMENTS

In the early 1960s, Vaughan's admiration for his brother Jimmie resulted in his trying different instruments such as the drums and saxophone. In 1961, for his seventh birthday, Vaughan received his first guitar, a toy guitar from Sears with a Western motif. Learning by ear he diligently committed himself, following along to songs by the Nightcaps, particularly "Wine, wine, wine" and "Thunderbird". He listened to blues artists such as Albert King, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters, and rock guitarists including Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, as well as jazz guitarists including Kenny Burrell. In 1963, he acquired his first electric guitar, a Gibson ES-125T, as a hand-me-down from Jimmie.

Soon after he acquired the electric guitar, Vaughan joined his first band, The Chantones, in 1965. Its first show was at a talent contest held in Dallas' Hill Theatre, but after realizing that they could not perform a Jimmy Reed song in its entirety, Vaughan left the band and joined The Brooklyn Underground, playing professionally at local bars and clubs. He received Jimmie's Fender Broadcaster, which he later traded for an Epiphone Riviera. When Jimmie left home at age sixteen, Vaughan's apparent obsession with the guitar caused a lack of support from his parents. Miserable at home, he took a job at a local hamburger stand, where he washed dishes and dumped trash for seventy cents an hour. After falling into a barrel of grease, he grew tired of the job and quit to devote his life to a music career.

MUSIC CAREER

EARLY YEARS

In May 1969, after leaving The Brooklyn Underground, Vaughan joined a band called The Southern Distributor. He had learned The Yardbirds' "Jeff's boogie" and played the song at the band audition. Mike Steinbach, the group's drummer, commented: "The kid was fourteen. We auditioned him on 'Jeff's boogie,' really fast instrumental guitar, and he played it note for note". Although they played pop rock covers, Vaughan conveyed his interest in the addition of blues songs to the group's repertoire. He was told that he wouldn't earn a living playing blues music and he and the band parted ways. Later that year, bassist Tommy Shannon walked into a Dallas club and heard Vaughan playing guitar. Fascinated by the skillful playing, which he described as "incredible even then", Shannon borrowed a bass guitar and the two jammed. Within a few years, they began performing together in a band called Krackerjack.

In February 1970, Vaughan joined a band called Liberation, which was a nine-piece group with a horn section. Having spent the past month briefly playing bass with Jimmie in Texas Storm, he had originally auditioned as bassist. Impressed by Vaughan's guitar playing, Scott Phares, the group's original guitarist, modestly became the bassist. In mid-1970, the band performed at the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas, where ZZ Top asked them to perform. During Liberation's break, Vaughan jammed with ZZ Top on The Nightcaps song "Thunderbird". Phares later described the performance: "they tore the house down. It was awesome. It was one of those magical evenings. Stevie fit in like a glove on a hand".

Attending Justin F. Kimball High School during the early 1970s, Vaughan's late-night shows contributed to his neglect of his studies, including music theory: he would often sleep during class. His pursuit of a musical career was disapproved of by many of the school's administrators but he was also encouraged by many people, including his art teacher, to strive for a career in art. In his sophomore year, he attended an evening class for experimental art at Southern Methodist University, but left when it conflicted with rehearsal. Vaughan later spoke of his dislike of the school and recalled having received daily notes from the principal about his grooming.

FIRST RECORDINGS

In September 1970, Vaughan made his first studio recordings with the band Cast of Thousands, which included future actor Stephen Tobolowsky. The band recorded two songs, "Red, white and blue" and "I heard a voice last night", for a compilation album, "A new hi", that featured various teenage bands from Dallas. In late January 1971, feeling confined by playing pop hits with Liberation, Vaughan formed his own band, Blackbird. After growing tired of the Dallas music scene, he dropped out of school and moved with the band to Austin, Texas, which had more liberal and tolerant audiences. There, Vaughan initially took residence at the Rolling Hills Club, a local blues venue that would later become the Soap Creek Saloon. Blackbird played at several clubs in Austin and opened shows for bands such as Sugarloaf, Wishbone Ash, and Zephyr, but could not maintain a consistent lineup. In early December 1972, Vaughan left Blackbird and joined Krackerjack. He performed with them for less than three months.

In March 1973, Vaughan joined Marc Benno's band, The Nightcrawlers, having met Benno at a jam session years before. The band featured vocalist Doyle Bramhall, who met Vaughan when he was twelve years old. The next month, The Nightcrawlers recorded an album at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood for A&M Records. While the album was rejected by A&M, it included Vaughan's first songwriting efforts, "Dirty pool" and "Crawlin'". Soon afterward, he and The Nightcrawlers traveled back to Austin without Benno. In mid-1973, they signed a contract with Bill Ham, manager for ZZ Top, and played various gigs across the Southern United States, although many of them were unsuccessful. Ham left the band stranded in Mississippi without any way to make it back home and demanded reimbursement from Vaughan for equipment expenses: Ham was never reimbursed.

In 1975, Vaughan joined a six-piece band called Paul Ray and The Cobras which included guitarist Denny Freeman and saxophonist Joe Sublett. For the next two-and-a-half years, he earned a living performing weekly at a popular venue in town, the Soap Creek Saloon, and ultimately the newly opened Antone's, widely known as Austin's "home of the blues". In late 1976, Vaughan recorded a single with the band, "Other days" as the A-side and "Texas clover" as the B-side. Playing guitar on both tracks, the single was released on February 7, 1977. In March, readers of the Austin Sun voted them as "Band of the year". In addition to playing with The Cobras, Vaughan jammed with many of his influences at Antone's, including Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Albert King.

Vaughan toured with The Cobras during much of 1977, but near the end of September, when they decided to strive for a mainstream musical direction, he left the band and formed Triple Threat Revue, which included singer Lou Ann Barton, bassist W. C. Clark, and drummer Fredde "Pharaoh" Walden. In January 1978, the band recorded four songs in Austin, including Vaughan's composition "I'm cryin'". The thirty-minute audio recording marks the only known studio recording of the band.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

In mid-May 1978, Clark left to form his own group and Vaughan renamed the band Double Trouble, taken from the title of an Otis Rush song. Following the recruitment of bassist Jackie Newhouse, Walden quit in July, and was briefly replaced by Jack Moore, who had moved to Texas from Boston: he performed with the band for about two months. Vaughan then began looking for a drummer and soon after, he met Chris Layton through Sublett, who was his roommate. Layton, who had recently parted ways with Greezy Wheels, was taught by Vaughan to play a shuffle rhythm. When Vaughan offered Layton the position, he agreed. In early July, Vaughan befriended Lenora Bailey, known as "Lenny", who became his girlfriend, and ultimately his wife. The marriage was to last for six and a half years.

In early October 1978, Vaughan and Double Trouble earned a frequent residency performing at one of Austin's most popular nightspots, the Rome Inn. During a performance, Edi Johnson, an accountant at Manor Downs, noticed Vaughan. She remembered: "I'm not an authority on music - it's whatever turned me on - but this did". She recommended him to Manor Downs owner Frances Carr and general manager Chesley Millikin, who was interested in managing artists and saw Vaughan's musical potential. After Barton quit Double Trouble in mid-November 1979, Millikin signed Vaughan to a management contract. Vaughan also hired Robert "Cutter" Brandenburg as road manager, whom he had met in 1969. Addressing him as "Stevie Ray", Brandenburg convinced Vaughan to use his middle name on stage.

In October 1980, bassist Tommy Shannon attended a Double Trouble performance at Rockefeller's in Houston. Shannon, who was playing with Alan Haynes at the time, participated in a jam session with Vaughan and Layton halfway through their set. Shannon later commented: "I went down there that night, and I'll never forget this: it was like, when I walked in the door and I heard them playing, it was like a revelation. 'That's where I want to be: that's where I belong, right there'. During the break, I went up to Stevie and told him that. I didn't try to sneak around and hide it from the bass player [Jackie Newhouse] - I didn't know if he was listening or not. I just really wanted to be in that band. I sat in that night and it sounded great". Almost three months later, when Vaughan offered Shannon the position, he readily accepted.

DRUG CHARGE AND TRIAL

On December 5, 1979, while Vaughan was in a dressing room before a performance in Houston, an off-duty police officer arrested him after witnessing him using cocaine near an open window. He was formally charged with cocaine possession and subsequently released on $1,000 bail. Double Trouble was the opening act for Muddy Waters, who said about Vaughan's drug abuse: "Stevie could perhaps be the greatest guitar player that ever lived, but he won't live to get 40 years old if he doesn't leave that white powder alone". The following year, he was required to return on January 16 and February 29 for court appearances.

During the final court date on April 17, 1980, Vaughan was sentenced with two years' probation and was prohibited from leaving Texas. Along with a stipulation of entering treatment for drug abuse, he was required to "avoid persons or places of known disreputable or harmful character". He refused to comply with both of these orders. After a lawyer was hired, his probation officer had the sentence revised to allow him to work outside of the state. The incident later caused him to refuse maid service while staying in hotels during concert tours.

MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL

Although popular in Texas at the time, Double Trouble failed to gain national attention. The group's visibility improved when record producer Jerry Wexler recommended them to Claude Nobs, organizer of the Montreux Jazz Festival. He insisted the festival's blues night would be great with Vaughan, whom he called "a jewel, one of those rarities who comes along once in a lifetime", and Nobs agreed to book Double Trouble on July 17, 1982.

Vaughan opened with a medley arrangement of Freddie King's song "Hide Away" and his own fast instrumental composition, "Rude mood". Double Trouble went on to perform renditions of Larry Davis' "Texas flood", Hound Dog Taylor's "Give me back my wig", and Albert Collins' "Collins shuffle", as well as three original compositions: "Pride and joy", "Love struck baby", and "Dirty pool". The set ended with boos from the audience. People's James McBride wrote:

"He seemed to come out of nowhere, a Zorro-type figure in a riverboat gambler's hat, roaring into the '82 Montreux festival with a '59 Stratocaster at his hip and two flame-throwing sidekicks he called Double Trouble. He had no album, no record contract, no name, but he reduced the stage to a pile of smoking cinders and, afterward, everyone wanted to know who he was".

According to road manager Don Opperman: "the way I remember it, the 'ooos' and the 'boos' were mixed together, but Stevie was pretty disappointed. Stevie [had] just handed me his guitar and walked off stage, and I'm like, 'are you coming back?' There was a doorway back there: the audience couldn't see the guys, but I could. He went back to the dressing room with his head in his hands. I went back there finally, and that was the end of the show". According to Vaughan: "it wasn't the whole crowd [that booed]. It was just a few people sitting right up front. The room there was built for acoustic jazz. When five or six people boo, wow, it sounds like the whole world hates you. They thought we were too loud, but shoot, I had four army blankets folded over my amp, and the volume level was on 2. I'm used to playin' on 10!" The performance was filmed and later released on DVD in September 2004.

On the following night, Double Trouble was booked in the lounge of the Montreux Casino, with Jackson Browne in attendance. Browne jammed with Double Trouble until the early morning hours and offered them free use of his personal recording studio in downtown Los Angeles. In late November the band accepted his offer and recorded ten songs in two days. While they were in the studio, Vaughan received a telephone call from David Bowie, who had met him after the Montreux performance, and he invited him to participate in a recording session for his next studio album, "Let's dance". In January 1983, Vaughan recorded guitar on six of the album's eight songs, including the title track and "China girl". The album was released on April 14, 1983, and sold over three times as many copies as Bowie's previous album.

NATIONAL SUCCESS

In mid-March 1983, Gregg Geller, vice president of A&R at Epic Records, signed Double Trouble to the label at the recommendation of record producer John Hammond. Soon afterward, Epic financed a music video for "Love struck baby", which was filmed at the Cherry Tavern in New York City. Vaughan recalled: "we changed the name of the place in the video. Four years ago I got married in a club where we used to play all the time called the Rome Inn. When they closed it down, the owner gave me the sign, so in the video we put that up behind me on the stage".

With the success of "Let's dance", Bowie requested Vaughan as the featured instrumentalist for the upcoming "Serious moonlight" tour, realizing that he was an essential aspect of the album's groundbreaking success. In late April, Vaughan began rehearsals for the tour in Las Colinas, Texas. When contract renegotiations for his performance fee failed, Vaughan abandoned the tour days before its opening date, and he was replaced by Earl Slick. Vaughan commented: "I couldn't gear everything on something I didn't really care a whole lot about. It was kind of risky, but I really didn't need all the headaches". Although contributing factors were widely disputed, Vaughan soon gained major publicity for quitting the tour.

On May 9, the band performed at The Bottom Line in New York City, where it opened for Bryan Adams, with Hammond, Mick Jagger, John McEnroe, Rick Nielsen, Billy Gibbons, and Johnny Winter in attendance. Brandenburg described the performance as "ungodly": "I think Stevie played every lick as loud and as hard and with as much intensity as I've ever heard him". The performance earned Vaughan a positive review published in the New York Post, asserting that Double Trouble outperformed Adams. "Fortunately, Bryan Adams, the Canadian rocker who is opening arena dates for Journey, doesn't headline too often", wrote Martin Porter, who claimed that after the band's performance, the stage had been "rendered to cinders by the most explosively original showmanship to grace the New York stage in some time".

1983: TEXAS FLOOD

After acquiring the recordings from Browne's studio, Double Trouble began assembling the material for a full-length LP. The album, "Texas flood", opens with the track "Love struck baby", which was written for Lenny on their "love-struck day". He composed "Pride and joy" and "I'm cryin'" for one of his former girlfriends, Lindi Bethel. Although both are musically similar, their lyrics are two different perspectives of the relationship. Along with covers of Howlin' Wolf, the Isley Brothers, and Buddy Guy, the album included Vaughan's cover of Larry Davis' "Texas flood", a song that he became strongly associated with. "Lenny" served as a tribute to his wife, which he composed at the end of their bed.

"Texas flood" featured cover art by illustrator Brad Holland, who is known for his artwork for Playboy and The New York Times. Originally envisioned with Vaughan sitting on a horse depicting a promotable resemblance, Holland painted an image of him leaning against a wall with a guitar, using a photograph as a reference. Released on June 13, 1983, "Texas flood" peaked at number 38 and ultimately sold half a million copies. While Rolling Stone editor Kurt Loder asserted that Vaughan did not possess a distinctive voice, according to AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the release was a "monumental impact". Billboard described it as "a guitar boogie lovers delight". Agent Alex Hodges commented: "No one knew how big that record would be, because guitar players weren't necessarily in vogue, except for some that were so established they were undeniable... he was one of the few artists that was recouped on every record in a short period of time".

On June 16, Vaughan gave a performance at Tango nightclub in Dallas, which celebrated the album's release. Assorted VIPs attended the performance, including Ted Nugent, Sammy Hagar, and members of The Kinks and Uriah Heep. Jack Chase, vice president of marketing for Epic, recalled: "the coming-out party at Tango was very important: it was absolutely huge. All the radio station personalities, DJs, program directors, all the retail record store owners and the important managers, press, all the executives from New York came down - about seven hundred people. We attacked in Dallas first with Q102-FM and [DJ] Redbeard. We had the Tango party - it was hot. It was the ticket". The Dallas Morning News reviewed the performance, starting with the rhetorical question: "what if Stevie Ray Vaughan had an album release party and everybody came? It happened Thursday night at Tango. ...The adrenaline must have been gushing through the musicians' veins as they performed with rare finesse and skill".

Following a brief tour in Europe, Hodges arranged an engagement for Double Trouble as The Moody Blues' opening act during a two-month tour of North America. Hodges stated that many people disliked the idea of Double Trouble opening for The Moody Blues, but asserted that a common thread that both bands shared was "album-oriented rock". Tommy Shannon described the tour as "glorious": "Our record hadn't become that successful yet, but we were playing in front of coliseums full of people. We just went out and played, and it fit like a glove. The sound rang through those big coliseums like a monster. People were going crazy, and they had no idea who we were!". After appearing on the television series "Austin City Limits", the band played a sold-out concert at New York City's Beacon Theatre. Variety wrote that their ninety-minute set at the Beacon "left no doubt that this young Texas musician is indeed the 'guitar hero of the present era'".

1984: COULDN'T STAND THE WEATHER

In January 1984, Double Trouble began recording its second studio album, "Couldn't stand the weather", at the Power Station, with John Hammond as executive producer and engineer Richard Mullen. Layton later recalled working with Hammond: "He was kind of like a nice hand on your shoulder, as opposed to someone that jumped in and said, 'let's redo this, let's do that more.' He didn't get involved in that way at all. He was a feedback person". As the sessions began, Vaughan's cover of Bob Geddins' "Tin Pan Alley" was recorded while audio levels were being checked. Layton remembers the performance: "...we did probably the quietest version we ever did up 'til that point. We ended it and [Hammond] said: 'that's the best that song will ever sound'. And we went: 'we haven't even got sounds, have we?' He goes, 'that doesn't matter. That's the best you'll ever do that song.' We tried it again five, six, seven times - I can't even remember. But it never quite sounded like it did that first time".

During recording sessions, Vaughan began experimenting with other combinations of musicians, including Fran Christina and Stan Harrison, who played drums and saxophone respectively on the jazz instrumental, "Stang's swang". Jimmie Vaughan played rhythm guitar on his cover of Guitar Slim's "The things that I used to do" and the title track, in the latter of which Vaughan carries a worldly message in his lyrics. According to musicologist Andy Aledort, Vaughan's guitar playing throughout the song is marked by steady rhythmic strumming patterns and improvised lead lines, with a distinctive R&B and soul single-note riff, doubled in octaves by guitar and bass.

"Couldn't stand the weather" was released on May 15, 1984, and two weeks later it had rapidly outpaced the sales of "Texas flood". It peaked at number 31 and spent 38 weeks on the charts. The album includes Vaughan's cover of Jimi Hendrix's song, "Voodoo child (Slight return)", which provoked inevitable comparisons to Hendrix. According to AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "Couldn't stand the weather" "confirmed that the acclaimed debut was no fluke, while matching, if not bettering, the sales of its predecessor, thereby cementing Vaughan's status as a giant of modern blues". According to authors Joe Nick Patoski and Bill Crawford, the album "was a major turning point in Stevie Ray Vaughan's development" and Vaughan's singing improved.

CARNEGIE HALL

On October 4, 1984, Vaughan headlined a performance at Carnegie Hall that included many guest musicians. For the second half of the concert, he added Jimmie as rhythm guitarist, drummer George Rains, keyboardist Dr. John, Roomful of Blues horn section, and featured vocalist Angela Strehli. The ensemble rehearsed for less than two weeks before the performance, and despite the solid dynamics of Double Trouble for the first half of the performance, according to Patoski and Crawford, the big band concept never entirely took form. Before arriving at the engagement, the venue sold out, which made Vaughan overexcited and nervous: he did not calm down until halfway through the third song. The benefit for the T.J. Martell Foundation's work in leukemia and cancer research was an important draw for the event. As his scheduled time slot drew closer, he indicated that he preferred traveling to the venue by limousine to avoid being swarmed by fans on the street: the band took the stage around 8:00 p.m. The audience of 2,200 people, which included Vaughan's wife, family and friends, transformed the venue into what Stephen Holden of The New York Times described as "a whistling, stomping roadhouse".

Introduced by Hammond as "one of the greatest guitar players of all time", Vaughan opened with "Scuttle buttin'", wearing a custom-made mariachi suit he described as a "Mexican tuxedo". Double Trouble went on to perform renditions of the Isley Brothers' "Testify", The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Voodoo child (Slight return)", "Tin Pan Alley", Elmore James' "The sky is crying", and W. C. Clark's "Cold shot", along with four original compositions including "Love struck baby", "Honey bee", "Couldn't stand the weather", and "Rude mood". During the second half of the performance, Vaughan performed covers by Larry Davis, Buddy Guy, Guitar Slim, Albert King, Jackie Wilson, and Albert Collins. The set ended with Vaughan performing solo renditions of "Lenny" and "Rude mood".

The Dallas Times-Herald wrote that the performance was "full of stomping feet and swaying bodies, kids in blue jeans hanging off the balconies, dancing bodies that clogged the aisles". The New York Times asserted that, despite the venue's "muddy" acoustics, the band's performance was "filled with verve", and Vaughan's playing was "handsomely displayed". Jimmie Vaughan later commented: "I was worried the crowd might be a little stiff. Turned out they're just like any other beer joint". Vaughan commented: "We won't be limited to just the trio, although that doesn't mean we'll stop doing the trio. I'm planning on doing that too. I ain't gonna stay in one place. If I do, I'm stupid". The performance was recorded, and in 1997 Epic Records released "Live at Carnegie Hall", which was ultimately certified Gold.

After the concert, Vaughan attended a private party at a downtown club in New York, which was sponsored by MTV, where he was greeted by an hour's worth of supporters. On the following day, Double Trouble made an appearance at a record store in Greenwich Village, where its members signed autographs for fans.

In late October 1984, the band toured Australia and New Zealand, which included one of its first appearances on Australian television - on "Hey Hey It's Saturday" - where they performed "Texas flood", and an interview on Sounds. On November 5 and 9, they played sold-out concerts at the Sydney Opera House. After returning to the U.S., Double Trouble went on a brief tour in California. Soon afterward, Vaughan and Lenny went to the island of Saint Croix, part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, where they had spent some time vacationing in December. The next month, Double Trouble flew to Japan, where they appeared for five performances, including at Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan in Osaka.

1985: SOUL TO SOUL

In March 1985, recording for Double Trouble's third studio album, "Soul to soul", began at the Dallas Sound Lab. As the sessions progressed, Vaughan became increasingly frustrated with his own lack of inspiration. He was also allowed a relaxed pace of recording the album, which contributed to a lack of focus due to excesses in alcohol and other drugs. Roadie Byron Barr later recalled: "the routine was to go to the studio, do dope, and play ping-pong". Vaughan, who found it increasingly difficult to be able to play rhythm guitar parts and sing at the same time, wanted to add another dimension to the band, so he hired keyboardist Reese Wynans to record on the album. He joined the band soon thereafter.

During the album's production, Vaughan appeared at the Houston Astrodome on April 10, 1985, where he performed a slide guitar rendition of the U.S. national anthem, "The star-spangled banner": his performance was met with booing. Upon leaving the stage, Vaughan acquired an autograph from former player for the New York Yankees, Mickey Mantle. Astrodome publicist Molly Glentzer wrote in the Houston Press: "As Vaughan shuffled back behind home plate, he was only lucid enough to know that he wanted Mickey Mantle's autograph. Mantle obliged. 'I never signed a guitar before'. Nobody asked Vaughan for his autograph. I was sure he'd be dead before he hit 30". Critics associated his performance with Jimi Hendrix's rendition at Woodstock in 1969, yet Vaughan disliked this comparison: "I heard they even wrote about it in one of the music magazines and they tried to put the two versions side by side. I hate that stuff. His version was great".

Released on September 30, 1985, "Soul to soul" peaked at number 34 and remained on the Billboard 200 through mid-1986, eventually certified gold. Critic Jimmy Guterman of Rolling Stone wrote: "there's some life left in their blues rock pastiche: it's also possible that they've run out of gas". According to Patoski and Crawford, sales of the album "did not match 'Couldn't stand the weather', suggesting Stevie Ray and Double Trouble were plateauing". Vaughan commented: "as far as what's on there song-wise, I like the album a lot. It meant a lot to us what we went through to get this record. There were a lot of odds and we still stayed strong. We grew a lot with the people in the band and immediate friends around us: we learned a lot and grew a lot closer. That has a lot to do with why it's called ['Soul to soul']".

LIVE ALIVE

After touring for nine and a half months, Epic requested a fourth album from Double Trouble as part of their contractual obligation. In July 1986, Vaughan decided that they would record the LP, "Live alive", during three live appearances in Austin and Dallas. On July 17 and 18, the band performed sold-out concerts at the Austin Opera House, and July 19 at the Dallas Starfest. They used recordings of these concerts to assemble the LP, which was produced by Vaughan. Shannon was backstage before the Austin concert and predicted to new manager Alex Hodges that both Vaughan and he were "headed for a brick wall". Guitarist Denny Freeman attended the Austin performances. He called the shows a "musical mess, because they would go into these chaotic jams with no control. I didn't know what exactly was going on, but I was concerned". Both Layton and Shannon remarked that their work schedule and drugs were causing the band to lose focus. According to Wynans: "Things were getting illogical and crazy".

The "Live alive" album was released on November 17, 1986, and was the only official live Double Trouble LP made commercially available during Vaughan's lifetime, though it never appeared on the Billboard 200 chart. Though many critics claimed that most of the album was overdubbed, engineer Gary Olazabal, who mixed the album, asserted that most of the material was recorded poorly. Vaughan later admitted that it was not one of his better efforts. He recalled: "I wasn't in very good shape when we recorded 'Live alive'. At the time, I didn't realize how bad a shape I was in. There were more fix-it jobs done on the album than I would have liked. Some of the work sounds like [it was] the work of half-dead people. There were some great notes that came out, but I just wasn't in control. Nobody was".

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

In 1960 when Vaughan was six years old, he began stealing his father's drinks. Drawn in by its effects, he started making his own drinks and this resulted in alcohol dependence. He explained: "that's when I first started stealing daddy's drinks. Or when my parents were gone, I'd find the bottle and make myself one. I thought it was cool... thought the kids down the street would think it was cool. That's where it began, and I had been depending on it ever since". According to the authors Joe Nick Patoski and Bill Crawford: "In the ensuing twenty-five years, he had worked his way through the Physicians' Desk Reference before finding his poisons of preference - alcohol and cocaine".

"Stevie and I reached this point where we had

to have the drugs and alcohol all the time. If the phone

would ring in the morning and wake us up, we couldn't

answer the phone before we had some alcohol".

- Tommy Shannon

While Vaughan asserted that he first experienced the effects of cocaine when a doctor prescribed him a liquid solution containing it as a nasal spray, according to Patoski and Crawford, the earliest that Vaughan is known to have used it is in 1975, while performing with The Cobras. Before that, Vaughan had briefly used other drugs such as cannabis, methamphetamine, and Quaaludes, the brand name for methaqualone. After 1975, he regularly drank whiskey and used cocaine, particularly mixing the two substances together. According to Hopkins, by the time of Double Trouble's European tour in September 1986, "his lifestyle of substance abuse had reached a peak, probably better characterized as the bottom of a deep chasm".

At the height of Vaughan's substance abuse, he drank 1 US quart (0.95 L) of whiskey and used one-quarter of an ounce (7 g) of cocaine each day. Personal assistant Tim Duckworth explained: "I would make sure he would eat breakfast instead of waking up drinking every morning, which was probably the worst thing he was doing". According to Vaughan: "It got to the point where if I'd try to say 'hi' to somebody, I would just fall apart crying. It was like solid doom".

In September 1986, Double Trouble traveled to Denmark for a one-month tour of Europe. During the late night hours of September 28, Vaughan became ill after a performance in Ludwigshafen, Germany, suffering from near-death dehydration, for which he received medical treatment. The incident resulted in his checking into The London Clinic under the care of Dr. Victor Bloom, who warned him that he was a month away from death. After staying in London for more than a week, he returned to the United States and entered Peachford Hospital in Atlanta, where he spent four weeks in rehabilitation, and then checked into rehab in Austin.

LIVE ALIVE TOUR

In November 1986, following his departure from rehab, Vaughan moved back into his mother's Glenfield Avenue house in Dallas, which is where he had spent much of his childhood. During this time, Double Trouble began rehearsals for the "Live alive" tour. Although Vaughan was nervous about performing after achieving sobriety, he received positive reassurance. Wynans later recalled: "Stevie was real worried about playing after he'd gotten sober... he didn't know if he had anything left to offer. Once we got back out on the road, he was very inspired and motivated". The tour began on November 23 at Towson State University, which was Vaughan's first performance with Double Trouble after rehab. On December 31, 1986, they played a concert at Atlanta's Fox Theatre, which featured encore performances with Lonnie Mack.

As the tour progressed, Vaughan was longing to work on material for his next LP, but in January 1987, he filed for a divorce from Lenny, which restricted him from any projects until the proceedings were finalized. This prevented him from writing and recording songs for almost two years, but Double Trouble wrote the song "Crossfire" with Bill Carter and Ruth Ellsworth. Layton recalled: "We wrote the music, and they had to write the lyrics. We had just gotten together. Stevie was unable to be there at that time. He was in Dallas doing some things, and we just got together and started writing some songs. That was the first one we wrote". On August 6, 1987, Double Trouble appeared at the Austin Aqua Festival, where the band played to one of the largest audiences of its career. According to biographer Craig Hopkins, as many as 20,000 people attended the concert. Following a month-long tour as the opening act for Robert Plant in May 1988, which included a concert at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, the band was booked for a European leg, which included 22 performances, and ended in Oulu, Finland on July 17. This would be Vaughan's last concert appearance in Europe.

1989: IN STEP

After Vaughan's divorce from Lenora "Lenny" Darlene Bailey became final, recording for Double Trouble's fourth and final studio album, "In step", began at Kiva Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, working with producer Jim Gaines and co-songwriter Doyle Bramhall. Initially, he had doubts about his musical and creative abilities after achieving sobriety, but he gained confidence as the sessions progressed. Shannon later recalled: "'In step' was, for him, a big growing experience. In my opinion, it's our best studio album, and I think he felt that way, too". Bramhall, who had also entered rehab, wrote songs with Vaughan about addiction and redemption. According to Vaughan, the album was titled "In step" because "I'm finally in step with life, in step with myself, in step with my music". The album's liner notes include the quote "thank God the elevator's broken", a reference to the twelve-step program proposed by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).

After the "In step" recording sessions moved to Los Angeles, Vaughan added horn players Joe Sublett and Darrell Leonard, who played saxophone and trumpet respectively on both "Crossfire" and "Love me darlin'". Shortly before the album's production was complete, Vaughan and Double Trouble appeared at a presidential inaugural party in Washington, D.C. for George H. W. Bush. "In step" was released on June 13, 1989, and eight months later, it was certified gold. The album was Vaughan's most commercially successful release and his first one to win a Grammy Award. It peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200, spending 47 weeks on the chart. "In step" included the song, "Crossfire", which was written by Double Trouble, Bill Carter, and Ruth Ellsworth: it became his only number one hit. The album also included one of his first recordings to feature the use of a Fuzz Face on Vaughan's cover of the Howlin' Wolf song, "Love me darlin'".

In July 1989, Neil Perry, a writer for Sounds magazine, wrote: "the album closes with the brow-soothing swoon of 'Riviera paradise', a slow, lengthy guitar and piano workout that proves just why Vaughan is to the guitar what Nureyev is to ballet". According to music journalist Robert Christgau, Vaughan was "writing blues for AA... he escapes the blues undamaged for the first time in his career". In October 1989, the Boca Raton News described Vaughan's guitar solos as "determined, clear-headed and downright stinging" and his lyrics as "tension-filled allegories".

DEATH

On Monday, August 27, 1990, at 12:50 a.m. (CDT), Vaughan and members of Eric Clapton's touring entourage played an all-star encore jam session at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in Alpine Valley Resort in East Troy, Wisconsin. They then left for Midway International Airport in Chicago in a Bell 206B helicopter, the most common way for acts to enter and exit the venue, as there is only one road in and out, heavily used by fans. The helicopter crashed into a nearby ski hill shortly after takeoff. Vaughan and the four others on board - pilot Jeff Brown, agent Bobby Brooks, bodyguard Nigel Browne, and tour manager Colin Smythe - died. The helicopter was owned by Chicago-based company Omniflight Helicopters. The Elkhorn coroner's inquest found that all five men died instantly.

The investigation determined the aircraft departed in foggy conditions with visibility reportedly under 2 mi (3.2 km), according to a local forecast. The National Transportation Safety Board report stated: "As the third helicopter was departing, it remained at a lower altitude than the others, and the pilot turned southeasterly toward rising terrain. Subsequently, the helicopter crashed on hilly terrain about three-fifths of a mile from the takeoff point". Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records showed that Brown was qualified to fly by instruments in a fixed-wing aircraft, but not in a helicopter. Toxicology tests performed on the victims revealed no traces of drugs or alcohol in their systems. Vaughan's funeral service was held on August 31, 1990, at Laurel Land Cemetery in Dallas, Texas. His wooden casket quickly became adorned with bouquets of flowers. An estimated 3,000 mourners joined a procession led by a white hearse. Among those at the public ceremony were Jeff Healey, Charlie Sexton, ZZ Top, Colin James, Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt and Buddy Guy. Vaughan's grave marker reads: "Thank you... for all the love you passed our way".

MUSICAL STYLE

Vaughan's music was rooted in blues, rock, and jazz. He was influenced by Johnny Winter, Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Lonnie Mack, B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, Guitar Slim, Chuck Berry, and Muddy Waters. According to nightclub owner Clifford Antone, who opened Antone's in 1975, Vaughan jammed with Albert King at Antone's in July 1977 and it almost "scared him to death", saying "it was the best I've ever saw Albert or the best I ever saw Stevie". While Albert King had a substantial influence on Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix was Vaughan's greatest inspiration. Vaughan declared: "I love Hendrix for so many reasons. He was so much more than just a blues guitarist - he played damn well any kind of guitar he wanted. In fact I'm not sure if he even played the guitar - he played music". He was also influenced by such jazz guitarists as Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and George Benson.

In 1987, Vaughan listed Lonnie Mack first among the guitarists he had listened to, both as a youngster and as an adult. Vaughan observed that Mack was "ahead of his time" and said, "I got a lot of my fast stuff from Lonnie". On another occasion, Vaughan said that he had learned tremolo picking and vibrato from Mack and that Mack had taught him to "play guitar from the heart". Mack recalled his first meeting with Vaughan in 1978:

"We was in Texas looking for pickers, and we went out to see The Thunderbirds. Jimmie was saying, 'Man, you gotta hear my little brother. He plays all your [songs]'. He was playing a little place called the Rome Inn, and we went over there and checked him out. As it would be, when I walked in the door, he was playing 'Wham!' And I said, 'Dadgum'. He was playing it right. I'd been playing it wrong for a long time and needed to go back and listen to my original record. That was in '78, I believe".

Vaughan's relationship with another Texas blues legend, Johnny Winter, was a little more complex. Although they met several times, and often played sessions with the same musicians or even performed the same material, as in the case of "Boot hill", Vaughan always refrained from acknowledging Winter in any form. In his biography, "Raisin' Cain", Winter says that he was unnerved after reading Vaughan stating in an interview that he never met or knew Johnny Winter: "We even played together over at Tommy Shannon's house one time". Vaughan settled the issue in 1988 on the occasion of a blues festival in Europe where both he and Winter were on the bill, explaining that he has been misquoted and that "Every musician in Texas knows Johnny and has learned something from him". Asked to compare their playing styles in an interview in 2010, Winter admitted that "mine's a little bit rawer, I think".

EQUIPMENT

GUITARS

Vaughan owned and used a variety of guitars during his career. His guitar of choice, and the instrument that he became most associated with, was the Fender Stratocaster, his favorite being a 1963 body with a 1962 neck and pickups dated from 1959. This is why Vaughan usually referred to his Stratocaster as a "1959 Strat". He explained why he favored this guitar in a 1983 interview: "I like the strength of its sound. Any guitar I play has got to be pretty versatile. It's got a big, strong tone and it'll take anything I do to it". Vaughan also referred to this instrument as his "first wife", or "Number one". Another favorite guitar was a slightly later Strat he named "Lenny" after his wife, Lenora. While at a local pawn shop in 1980, Vaughan had noticed this particular guitar, a 1965 Stratocaster that had been refinished in red, with the original sunburst finish peeking through. It also had a 1910 Mandolin inlay just below the bridge. The pawn shop was asking $300 for it, which was way more than Vaughan had at the time. Lenny saw how badly he wanted this guitar, so she got six of their friends to chip in $50 each, and bought it for him. The guitar was presented to him on his birthday in 1980, and that night, after bringing "Lenny" (the guitar, and wife) home with him, he wrote the song, "Lenny". He had started using a borrowed Stratocaster during high school and used Stratocasters predominantly in his live performances and recordings, although he did play other guitars, including custom guitars.

One of the custom guitars - nicknamed "Main" - was built by James Hamilton of Hamiltone Guitars in Buffalo, New York. It was a gift from Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Gibbons had commissioned Hamilton to build the guitar in 1979. There were some delays, including having to re-do the mother of pearl inlay of Vaughan's name on the fretboard when he changed his stage name from Stevie Vaughan to Stevie Ray Vaughan. The guitar was presented to him by Jim Hamilton on April 29, 1984. Hamilton recalls that Stevie Ray Vaughan was so happy with the guitar that he played it that night at Springfest on the University of Buffalo campus. It remained one of the main guitars he used on stage and in studio. Vaughan made some alterations to the guitar, including replacing the bronze color Gibson knobs with white Fender knobs, as he preferred the ribbing on the Fender knobs. The pickups had to be changed after the guitar was used in the "Couldn't stand the weather" video, in which Stevie and "Main" were drenched with water, and the pickups were ruined. Vaughan's preferred guitar has been summarized as his:

"'Number one strat', which Stevie claimed to be a '59, since that was the date stamped on the back of the pickups… this was incorrect, however, as guitar tech Rene Martinez (who oversaw SRV's guitars since 1980) found the stamp of 1963 on the body and 1962 on the original neck (the neck was replaced in 1989 after it could no longer be refretted properly. Rene used the neck from another SRV favorite, 'Red', as it was also a 1962 model). The pickups are also relatively low output, not the hot overwound myth that gained legs during the 80s… all 3 pickups are rumored to be under 6k ohms output impedance, which would be typical of a 1959 set (the neck pickups tended to be hottest, but not by much). Although the Fender SRV signature model uses Texas Special pickups, which Stevie was heavily involved in the making of, they do not accurately represent the sound of his original 'Number one'".

Vaughan bought many Stratocasters and gave some away as gifts. A sunburst Diplomat Strat-style guitar was purchased by Vaughan and given to his girlfriend Janna Lapidus to learn to play on. Vaughan used a custom set of uncommonly heavy strings, gauges .013, .015, .019, .028, .038, .058, and tuned a half-step below standard tuning. With these heavy string sizes, it was not uncommon for him to separate his fingernail because of his quick movement along the strings. The owner of an Austin club recalled Vaughan coming into the office between sets to borrow super glue, which he used to keep a fingernail split from widening while he continued to play. The super glue was suggested by Rene Martinez, who was Stevie's guitar technician. Martinez eventually convinced Stevie to change to slightly lighter strings. He preferred a guitar neck with an asymmetrical profile (thicker at the top), which was more comfortable for his thumb-over style of playing. Heavy use of the vibrato bar necessitated frequent replacements; Vaughan often had his roadie, Byron Barr, obtain custom stainless steel bars made by Barr's father. As for his usage of plectrums, Vaughan preferred Fender medium gauge guitar picks, using one of the rounder shoulders of the pick rather than the pointed tip to pluck and strum the strings.

Vaughan was also photographed playing a Rickenbacker Capri, a National Duolian, Epiphone Riviera, Gibson Flying V, as well as several other models. Vaughan used a Gibson Johnny Smith to record "Stang's swang", and a Guild 12-string acoustic for his performance on MTV Unplugged in January 1990. On June 24, 2004, one of Vaughan's Stratocasters, the aforementioned "Lenny" strat, was sold at an auction to benefit Eric Clapton's Crossroads Centre in Antigua: the instrument was bought by Guitar Center for $623,500.

AMPLIFIERS AND EFFECTS

Vaughan was a catalyst in the revival of vintage amplifiers and effects during the 1980s. His loud volume required powerful and robust amplifiers. Vaughan used two black-face Fender Super Reverbs, which were crucial in shaping his clear overdriven sound. He would often blend other amps with the Super Reverbs, including black-face Fender Vibroverbs, and brands including Dumble and Marshall, which he used for his clean sound.

While an Ibanez Tube Screamer and a Vox wah-wah pedal were his mainstay effects, Vaughan experimented with a range of effects. He used a Fender Vibratone, designed as a Leslie speaker for electric guitars which provided a warbling chorus effect; it can be heard on the track "Cold shot". He used a vintage Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face that can be heard on In Step, as well as an Octavia. The Guitar Geek website provides a detailed illustration of Vaughan's 1985 equipment set up based on interviews with his guitar tech and effects builder, Cesar Diaz.

LEGACY

Vaughan throughout his career revived blues rock and paved the way for many other artists. Vaughan's work continues to influence numerous blues, rock, and alternative artists, including John Mayer, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mike McCready, Albert Cummings, Los Lonely Boys and Chris Duarte among others. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Vaughan as "the leading light in American blues" who developed "a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre". In 1983, Variety magazine called Vaughan the "guitar hero of the present era".

In the months that followed his death, Vaughan sold over 5.5 million albums in the United States. On September 25, 1990, Epic released "Family style", an LP the Vaughan brothers cut at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The label released several promotional singles and videos for the collaborative effort. In November 1990, CMV Enterprises released "Pride and joy", a collection of eight Double Trouble music videos. Sony signed a deal with the Vaughan estate to obtain control of his back catalog, as well as permission to release albums with previously unreleased material and new collections of released work. On October 29, 1991, "The sky is crying" was released as Vaughan's first posthumous album with Double Trouble, and featured studio recordings from 1984 to 1985. Other compilations, live albums, and films have also been released since his death.

On October 3, 1991, Texas governor Ann Richards proclaimed "Stevie Ray Vaughan Commemoration Day", during which a memorial concert was held at the Texas Theatre. In 1993, a memorial statue of Vaughan was unveiled on Auditorium Shores and is the first public monument of a musician in Austin. In September 1994, a Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Run for Recovery was held in Dallas. The event was a benefit for the Ethel Daniels Foundation, established to help those in recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction who cannot afford treatment. In 1999, the Musicians' Assistance Program (later renamed MusiCares MAP Fund) created the "Stevie Ray Vaughan Award" to honor the memory of Vaughan and to recognize musicians for their devotion to helping other addicts struggling with the recovery process. The recipients include Eric Clapton, David Crosby, Steven Tyler, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Pete Townshend, Chris Cornell, Jerry Cantrell, and Mike McCready among others. In 1993, Martha Vaughan established the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Scholarship Fund, awarded to students at W.E. Greiner Middle School in Oakcliff who intend to attend college and pursue the arts as a profession.

AWARDS AND HONORS

Vaughan won five W. C. Handy Awards and was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1985, he was named an honorary admiral in the Texas Navy. Vaughan had a single number-one hit on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for the song "Crossfire". His album sales in the U.S. stand at over 15 million units. "Family style", released shortly after his death, won the 1991 Grammy Award for "Best contemporary blues album" and became his best-selling, non-Double Trouble studio album with over a million shipments in the U.S. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked him seventh among the "100 greatest guitar players of all time", with a 2023 update placing him 20th. He also became eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, but did not appear on a nominations roster until 2014. He was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside Double Trouble in 2015. Guitar World magazine ranked him as number 1 in its list of the "Greatest blues guitarists".

In 1994 the city of Austin, Texas, erected the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial on the hiking trail beside Lady Bird Lake.

website     youtube

Membros

Chris Layton - bateria

Tommy Shannon - baixo

Reese Wynans - teclados

Stevie Ray Vaughan

- guitarra, vocal

STUDIO

ALBUMS

(FLAC: 96 kHz/24 bit)

(MP3: 48kHz/320kbps)

Texas

flood (1983)

[1985, Epic Records]

01. Love

struck baby

02. Pride and joy

03. Texas flood

04. Tell me

05. Testify

06. Rude mood

07. Mary had

a little lamb

08. Dirty pool

09. I'm cryin'

10. Lenny

Mp3 320kbps and

full artworks: enjoy!

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artworks: enjoy!

Couldn't stand

the weather (1984)

[2000, Epic Records]

01. Scuttle buttin’

02. Couldn’t stand

the weather

03. The things

(that) I used to do

04. Voodoo child

(Slight return)

05. Cold shot

06. Tin Pan Alley (aka

"Roughest place in town")

07. Honey bee

08. Stang’s

swang

Mp3 320kbps and

full artworks: enjoy!

FLAC files + full

artworks: enjoy!

Soul to

soul (1985)

[1985, Epic Records]

01. Say what!

02. Lookin' out

the window

03. Look at

little sister

04. Ain't gone 'n'

give up on love

05. Gone home

06. Change it

07. You'll be mine

08. Empty arms

09. Come on (part III)

10. Life without you

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full artworks: enjoy!

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artworks: enjoy!

In step (1989)

[1989, Epic Records]

01. The house

is rockin'

02. Crossfire

03. Tightrope

04. Let me love

you baby

05. Leave my

girl alone

06. Travis walk

07. Wall of denial

08. Scratch-n-sniff

09. Love me darlin'

10. Riviera paradise

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full artworks: enjoy!

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artworks: enjoy!

Family

style (1990)

[1990, Epic Records]

01. Hard to be

02. White boots

03. D/FW

04. Good Texan

05. Hillbillie from

outerspace

06. Long way

from home

07. Tick tock

08. Telephone song

09. Baboom/

Mama said

10. Brothers

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artworks: enjoy!

The sky is

crying (1991)

[1991, Epic Records]

01. Boot hill

02. The sky

is crying

03. Empty arms

04. Little wing

05. Wham!

06. May I have

a talk with you

07. Close to you

08. Chitlins

con carne

09. So excited

10. Life by the

drop

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artworks: enjoy!

TEXAS

HURRICANE

BOX SET

[2014, Analogue Productions]

(FLAC: 192 kHz/24 bit)

(MP3: 48kHz/320kbps)

Texas

flood (1983)

01. Love

struck baby

02. Pride and joy

03. Texas flood

04. Tell me

05. Testify

06. Rude mood

07. Mary had

a little lamb

08. Dirty pool

09. I'm cryin'

10. Lenny

Mp3 320kbps and

full artworks: enjoy!

FLAC files + full

artworks: enjoy!

Couldn't stand

the weather (1984)

01. Scuttle buttin’

02. Couldn’t stand

the weather

03. The things

(that) I used to do

04. Voodoo child

(Slight return)

05. Cold shot

06. Tin Pan Alley (aka

"Roughest place in town")

07. Honey bee

08. Stang’s

swang

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full artworks: enjoy!

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artworks: enjoy!

Soul to

soul (1985)

01. Say what!

02. Lookin' out

the window

03. Look at

little sister

04. Ain't gone 'n'

give up on love

05. Gone home

06. Change it

07. You'll be mine

08. Empty arms

09. Come on (part III)

10. Life without you

Mp3 320kbps and

full artworks: enjoy!

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artworks: enjoy!

In step (1989)

01. The house

is rockin'

02. Crossfire

03. Tightrope

04. Let me love

you baby

05. Leave my

girl alone

06. Travis walk

07. Wall of denial

08. Scratch-n-sniff

09. Love me darlin'

10. Riviera paradise

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full artworks: enjoy!

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artworks: enjoy!

Family

style (1990)

01. Hard to be

02. White boots

03. D/FW

04. Good Texan

05. Hillbillie from

outerspace

06. Long way

from home

07. Tick tock

08. Telephone song

09. Baboom/

Mama said

10. Brothers

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full artworks: enjoy!

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artworks: enjoy!

The sky is

crying (1991)

01. Boot hill

02. The sky

is crying

03. Empty arms

04. Little wing

05. Wham!

06. May I have

a talk with you

07. Close to you

08. Chitlins

con carne

09. So excited

10. Life by the

drop

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artworks: enjoy!

Box arts: enjoy!

LIVE

ALBUMS

In session (1983)

[2006, Analogue Productions]

(FLAC: 192 kHz/24 bit)

(MP3: 48kHz/320kbps)

LP 01

01. Call it

stormy Monday

02. Old times

03. Pride and joy

04. Blues at sunrise

05. Turn it over

LP 02

06. Overall junction

07. Match box blues

08. Who is Stevie

09. Don't lie to me

10. Ask me no

questions

11. Pep talk

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FLAC [part 01]: enjoy!

FLAC [part 02]: enjoy!

Live alive (1986)

[1986, Epic Records]

(FLAC: 44 kHz/16 bit)

(MP3: 44kHz/320kbps)

01. Say what!

02. Ain't gone 'n'

give up on love

03. Pride and joy

04. Mary had

a little lamb

05. Superstition

06. I'm leaving you

(Commit a crime)

07. Cold shot

08. Willie the wimp

09. Look at little sister

10. Texas flood

11. Voodoo child

(Slight return)

12. Love struck baby

13. Change it

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In the beginning: Live in

Austin, Texas, 1980 (1992)

[1992, Epic Records]

(FLAC: 44 kHz/16 bit)

(MP3: 44kHz/320kbps)

01. In the open

02. Slide thing

03. They call me

guitar hurricane

04. All your love

I miss loving

05. Tin Pan Alley

06. Love

struck baby

07. Tell me

08. Shake for me

09. Live another

day

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artworks: enjoy!

It's still called

the blues (1994)

[1994, The Swingin' Pig Records]

(FLAC: 44 kHz/16 bit)

(MP3: 44kHz/320kbps)

01. It's called the blues

02. Champagne and reefer

03. Mary had a little lamb

04. Leave my girl alone

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Live at

Carnegie

Hall (1997)

[1997, Sony Music

Entertainment]

(FLAC: 44 kHz/16 bit)

(MP3: 44kHz/320kbps)

01. Intro:

Ken Dashow/

John Hammond

02. Scuttle buttin'

03. Testifyin'

04. Love

struck baby

05. Honey bee

06. Cold shot

07. Letter to

my girlfriend

08. Dirty pool

09. Pride and joy

10. The things

(that) I used to do

11. C.O.D

12. Iced over

13. Lenny

14. Rude

mood

Mp3 320kbps and

full artworks: enjoy!

FLAC files + full

artworks: enjoy!

Live at Montreux

1982 & 1985 (2001)

[2001, Epic Records]

(FLAC: 44 kHz/16 bit)

(MP3: 44kHz/320kbps)

CD 01:

July 17, 1982

01. Hide away

02. Rude mood

03. Pride and joy

04. Texas flood

05. Love

struck baby

06. Dirty pool

07. Give me

back my wig

08. Collins

shuffle

CD 02:

July 15, 1985

01. Scuttle buttin'

02. Say what!

03. Ain't gone 'n'

give up on love

04. Pride and joy

05. Mary had

a little lamb

06. Tin Pan

Alley (aka

"Roughest

place in town")

07. Voodoo child

(Slight return)

08. Texas flood

09. Life without you

10. Gone home

11. Couldn't stand

the weather

Mp3 320kbps and

full artworks: enjoy!

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artworks: enjoy!

The fire meets

the fury: The radio

broadcasts, 1989 (2012)

[2012, Smokin' Productions]

(FLAC: 44 kHz/16 bit)

(MP3: 44kHz/320kbps)

01. The house

is rockin'

02. Tightrope

03. Look at

little sister

04. Texas flood

05. Leave my

girl alone

06. Wall of denial

07. Superstition

08. Cold shot

09. Life

without you

10. Crossfire

11. Voodoo child

(Slight return)

Mp3 320kbps and

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FLAC files + full

artworks: enjoy!

Live in Albu-

querque & in Denver,

November 1989 (2016)

[2016, DOL Records]

(FLAC: 192 kHz/24 bit)

(MP3: 48kHz/320kbps)

LP 01: Live at

Tingley Coliseum, Albu-

querque, New Mexico,

November 28, 1989

01. The house

is a rockin'

02. Tightrope

03. Look at

little sister

04. Let me

love you baby

05. Texas flood

06. Leave my

little girl alone

07. Wall of

denial

LP 02: Live at

McNichols Arena,

Denver, Colorado,

November 29, 1989

01. Cold shot

02. Life without you

03. Superstition

04. Crossfire

05. Voodoo child

(Slight return)

Mp3 320kbps and

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FLAC [part 01]: enjoy!

FLAC [part 02]: enjoy!

COMPILATIONS

The essential

Stevie Ray Vaughan and

Double Trouble (2002)

[2002, Epic Records]

(FLAC: 44 kHz/16 bit)

(MP3: 44kHz/320kbps)

CD 01

01. Shake

for me (live)

02. Rude mood/

Hide away (live)

03. Love struck baby

04. Pride and joy

05. Texas flood

06. Mary had

a little lamb

07. Lenny

08. Scuttle buttin'

09. Couldn't stand

the weather

10. The things (that)

I used to do

11. Cold shot

12. Tin Pan Alley

(aka 'Roughest

place in town')

13. Give me

back my wig

14. Empty arms

15. The sky is

crying (live)

16. Voodoo child

(Slight return)

[live]

CD 02

01. Say what!

02. Look at

little sister

03. Change it

04. Come on (part III)

05. Life without you

06. Little wing

07. Willie the wimp (live)

08. Superstition (live)

09. Leave my girl

alone (live)

10. The house

is rockin'

11. Crossfire

12. Tightrope

13. Wall of denial

14. Riviera paradise

15. Telephone song

(The Vaughan Brothers)

16. Long way from home

(The Vaughan Brothers)

17. Life by the drop

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The complete

Epic recordings

collection (2014)

[2014, Epic Records]

(FLAC: 44 kHz/16 bit)

(MP3: 44kHz/320kbps)

CD 01: In the

beginning (1980)

01. In the open

02. Slide thing

03. They call me

guitar hurricane

04. All your love

I miss loving

05. Tin Pan Alley

06. Love

struck baby

07. Tell me

08. Shake for me

09. Live another

day

CD 02: Live at

Montreux (1982)

01. Hide away

02. Rude mood

03. Pride and joy

04. Texas flood

05. Love

struck baby

06. Dirty pool

07. Give me

back my wig

08. Collins

shuffle

CD 03: Live at

Montreux (1985)

01. Scuttle buttin'

02. Say what!

03. Ain't gone 'n'

give up on love

04. Pride and joy

05. Mary had

a little lamb

06. Tin Pan

Alley (aka

"Roughest

place in town")

07. Voodoo child

(Slight return)

08. Texas flood

09. Life without you

10. Gone home

11. Couldn't stand

the weather

CD 04: Texas

flood (1983)

01. Love

struck baby

02. Pride and joy

03. Texas flood

04. Tell me

05. Testify

06. Rude mood

07. Mary had

a little lamb

08. Dirty pool

09. I'm cryin'

10. Lenny

CD 05: Live at the

El Mocambo (1983)

01. Testify

02. So excited

03. Voodoo child

(Slight return)

04. Pride and joy

05. Tell me

06. Mary had

a little lamb

07. Texas flood

08. Love struck baby

09. You'll be mine

10. Hug you,

squeeze you

11. Little wing/Third

stone from the sun

12. Lenny

13. Wham!

14. Rude mood

CD 06:

Couldn't stand

the weather (1984)

01. Scuttle buttin’

02. Couldn’t stand

the weather

03. The things

(that) I used to do

04. Voodoo child

(Slight return)

05. Cold shot

06. Tin Pan Alley (aka

"Roughest place in town")

07. Honey bee

08. Stang’s

swang

CD 07:

Live at

Carnegie

Hall (1984)

01. Intro:

Ken Dashow/

John Hammond

02. Scuttle buttin'

03. Testifyin'

04. Love

struck baby

05. Honey bee

06. Cold shot

07. Letter to

my girlfriend

08. Dirty pool

09. Pride and joy

10. The things

(that) I used to do

11. C.O.D

12. Iced over

13. Lenny

14. Rude

mood

CD 08: Soul

to soul (1985)

01. Say what!

02. Lookin' out

the window

03. Look at

little sister

04. Ain't gone 'n'

give up on love

05. Gone home

06. Change it

07. You'll be mine

08. Empty arms

09. Come on (part III)

10. Life without you

CD 09: Live

alive (1986)

01. Say what!

02. Ain't gone 'n'

give up on love

03. Pride and joy

04. Mary had

a little lamb

05. Superstition

06. I'm leaving you

(Commit a crime)

07. Cold shot

08. Willie the wimp

09. Look at little sister

10. Texas flood

11. Voodoo child

(Slight return)

12. Love struck baby

13. Change it

CD 10: In

step (1989)

01. The house

is rockin'

02. Crossfire

03. Tightrope

04. Let me love

you baby

05. Leave my

girl alone

06. Travis walk

07. Wall of denial

08. Scratch-n-sniff

09. Love me darlin'

10. Riviera paradise

CD 11:

Archives

(CD 01)

01. Tin Pan Alley

(aka "Roughest

place in town")

02. Empty arms

03. Come on (part III)

04. Look at little sister

05. The sky is crying

06. Hide away

07. Give me

back my wig

08. Boot hill

09. Wham!

10. Close to you

11. Little wing

12. Stang's swang

(alternate take)

CD 12:

Archives

(CD 02)

01. May I have

a talk with you?

02. Boilermaker

03. The sky is crying

04. Shake and bake

05. So excited

06. Slip slidin' slim

07. Chitlins con carne

08. Little wing/Third

stone from the sun

09. Boot hill

10. Life by

the drop

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full artworks: enjoy!

FLAC [part 01]: enjoy!

FLAC [part 02]: enjoy!

FLAC [part 03]: enjoy!

FLAC [part 04]: enjoy!

SRV [MP3]: enjoy!

SRV [FLAC 01]: enjoy!

SRV [FLAC 02]: enjoy!

SRV and Double Trouble - Love struck baby - 1983

SRV and Double Trouble - Crossfire - 1984

SRV and Double Trouble - Cold shot - 1984 

SRV and Double Trouble - The house is rockin' - 1989

SRV and Double Trouble - Little wing - 1991

SRV and Double Trouble - Life by the drop - 1991