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Stevie Ray Vaughan

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Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan (born Stephen Ray Vaughan; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, whose broad appeal made him an influential electric blues guitarist. To date, a total of 18 albums of Vaughan's work have been released.[1] In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stevie Ray Vaughan #7 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,[2] and Classic Rock Magazine ranked him #3 in their list of the 100 Wildest Guitar Heroes in 2007.

Family history

Stephen Ray Vaughan was born October 3, 1954 at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, Texas to Jim and Martha Vaughan, three years after his brother Jimmie Vaughan. For the first few years of their childhood, the brothers' lives were filled with uncertainty. Their father was an asbestos worker whose job carried the family across Texas and beyond. When work was unavailable in Dallas, Big Jim followed construction sites across the Southern United States. Sometimes, they only lived in a town for several weeks; other times, it spanned out to several months.

Stevie receives his first guitar for Christmas in 1961—a plastic toy, with only three strings. As he was learning the basics, Jimmie got serious about forming a band of his own. He dropped out of high school and joined a group called the Chessmen, and played only cover songs but landed bookings across Texas. Doyle Bramhall, the singer, heard Stevie playing a song called "Jeff's Boogie" by The Yardbirds. He encourages Stevie to keep on practicing.

Teenage years

While working as a dishwasher in a Dallas fast food restaurant called Dairy Mart, Stevie fell into a barrel full of grease. He decided to quit his job and pursue his dream of being a full-time musician, forming a band called "Blackbird".

Part of my job was to clean out the trash bins. I was standing on this barrel to clean out the trash bin, and the top caved in. I fell into grease up to [my chest], and right then I decided, 'I'm not gonna do this anymore. I'm gonna play guitar.'

Over Christmas break, Stevie dropped out of high school and moved to Austin with Blackbird. In 1972, Stevie joined a rock band called Krackerjack, but was fired from the band after he protested the suggestion that band members wear heavy theatrical makeup when they performed. He was asked to join his old friend Doyle Bramhall in a band named the Nightcrawlers, with Bramhall on drums. The singer was Marc Benno, who had recorded four albums with A&M Records and had hopes of recording a fifth. In April 1973, the Nightcrawlers flew to Los Angeles to record a new album for A&M, who decides not to release the record and the band travels back to Texas.

In January 1974, Stevie was asked to join a popular group called the Cobras. Since the band already had a lead guitarist named Denny Freeman, Stevie went on-board as the second guitarist. He took the backseat position with the band to branch out in a new field—vocals. During this time, Stevie traded his 1963 maple neck Fender Stratocaster for a battered 1963 model with a rosewood fingerboard. It remained his favorite guitar for the rest of his life.

Stevie left the Cobras in 1976 to form a band of his own. On drums was Freddie Pharoah, who played with Jimmie in the days of Texas Storm. Mike Kindred, a former member of Krackerjack, played keyboards, and W.C. Clark, a black soul singer, played bass. For the job of fronting the band as a singer, Stevie chose Lou Ann Barton, and the group was named "Triple Threat Revue". Clark left the band in the spring of 1978, and the band was renamed "Double Trouble". It included Jackie Newhouse on bass, Johnny Reno on saxophone, and newcomer Chris Layton on drums.

It was around this time that Stevie met a dark-eyed, olive-skinned beauty named Lenora "Lenny" Bailey. On December 23, 1979, between sets that evening, a preacher married them. They fashioned wedding rings from pieces of metal found on the floor of the nightclub. In 1980, Barton announced that she was leaving Double Trouble to sing with Roomful of Blues. Stevie started fronting the band himself.

On January 2, 1981, Tommy Shannon, a bass player who played with Stevie in Krackerjack, replaced Jackie Newhouse on bass. A videotape of a performance at a music festival in Manor, Texas was given to Rolling Stone's drummer, Charlie Watts. Watts asked the band to play at a private party in New York City, with the Stones hosting the party. On April 22, 1982, Stevie and Double Trouble played at New York's Danceteria. In hopes of getting signed to their record label, Double was turned down.

International spotlight

On July 17, 1982, the band played the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the first unsigned act to perform at the event. The group's loud blues sound stunned the European crowd, and some started booing. Ironically, two events emerged that would help his career. In the audience that night were David Bowie and Jackson Browne. Bowie told Stevie he was working on a new project called Let's Dance and wanted him to play on the album.

Browne was so impressed by the band that he offered Stevie the use of his Los Angeles recording studio free of charge anytime they wanted to record. Encouraged, Stevie accepted his offer of studio time. Browne gave the band three days of recording during Thanksgiving. Working day and night, with fellow Texan Richard Mullen as the engineer, ten songs were recorded.

When Let's Dance was released, it proved to be Bowie's best-selling album ever, and he asked Stevie to tour with him the following year. Stevie accepted the offer, only to find out that Double Trouble wouldn't be able to promote themselves outside of the tour. At the last minute, Stevie turned down the Serious Moonlight Tour.

The band's L.A. studio tapes were given to A&R talent agent John Hammond, a veteran who had discovered Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, and got the band a recording contract with Epic Records. The album was titled Texas Flood, and when it was released in June 1983, the record peaked at number 38 on the Billboard album charts, selling more than half a million units. The album turned out to be a huge success. Stevie was nominated for two Grammy Awards, and, in addition, he won three categories in Guitar Player magazine readers' poll. Stevie and the band went on tour for the album, with an appearance on Austin City Limits, and performances on the Eastern United States.

In January 1984, Stevie went to New York's Power Station Studios to record his second album, Couldn't Stand the Weather. He won his first Grammy Award for "Best Traditional Blues Recording" on "Texas Flood" from the Montreux Jazz Festival performance in 1982, appearing on the compilation, Blues Explosion. "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" was also nominated for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance".

On October 4, 1984, Stevie Ray and Double Trouble performed at Carnegie Hall. To celebrate his thirtieth birthday, Stevie brought along an all-star supporting band, including Dr. John on keyboards and his brother, Jimmie, on guitar. They wore custom-tailored velvet suits. His wife and parents flew in from Texas to share in his triumph. In November, Stevie won two W.C. Handy National Blues Awards for "Entertainer of the Year" and "Blues Instrumentalist of the Year."

Addictions

In 1985, keyboard player Reese Wynans joined Double Trouble, a former member of Delbert McClinton's band. The band recorded a new album titled Soul to Soul. When it was released on September 30, it became Double Trouble's third gold album. Stevie received his fifth Grammy nomination for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" on "Say What!". He also produced Lonnie Mack's comeback album Strike Like Lightning and played in several songs.

In July 1986, the band records shows in Austin and Dallas for the band’s fourth album, Live Alive. On August 27, 1986, Stevie and Jimmie's father, Big Jim Vaughan, died after a long illness with Parkinson's disease. When the funeral was over, a jet rushed Stevie back on the road. While on tour in Ludwigshafen, Germany, Stevie's years of drug and alcohol abuse caught up with him and he collapsed. He managed to struggle through two more shows, but the last 13 tour dates were canceled and Stevie entered a London drug rehabilitation clinic.

Redemption

Stevie and Tommy Shannon emerged clean and sober from an Atlanta, Georgia detoxification center. Live Alive was released on November 15. In 1987, MTV broadcasted the band’s show at Daytona Beach, Florida, as part of its spring break coverage. Stevie made a cameo apperance as himself in the movie Back to the Beach, performing a duet of "Pipeline" with surf guitar legend Dick Dale. In April, Stevie appears on a Cinemax special with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, B.B. King, and Albert King. Later that year, Stevie filed for divorce from Lenny.

Stevie wanted to help others recover and overcome their problems with alcohol or drugs, and during the song "Life Without You", he would often speak to the audience about recovering and being there for others when they need love. On the road, he would attend Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) meetings regularly, sharing the lessons of his ordeal.

By 1988, the band was ready to return to the recording studio. For the new record, they traveled to Memphis to record in Ardent Studios, a pro recording studio that has such clientele as ZZ Top, Tina Turner, and Led Zeppelin. Together, old friend Doyle Bramhall and Stevie began writing songs about walking the tightrope to recovery, including "Tightrope", "Wall of Denial", and "Crossfire". The album was appropriately named In Step and released on June 6, 1989. "Crossfire" reached the #1 position on the Mainstream Rock Charts. It was the only hit single that Stevie ever had.

In the spring of 1990, Stevie and his brother recorded an album together, one that would feature the music they had grown up with. They recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis and were produced by Nile Rodgers. The brothers agreed to name it Family Style. That summer, Stevie and Double Trouble went on tour with British soul singer Joe Cocker, touring places like Alaska and the Benson & Hedges Blues Festival.

To complete the summer portion of the "In Step" tour, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble played two shows on August 25 & 26 at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI, while on tour with Eric Clapton.

For travel to the next venue, the tour manager reserved four helicopters to circumvent congested highway traffic. In very dense fog, the helicopters were clear for lift-off at 12:40 A.M. Just past the lift-off zone was a 300-foot hill. Vaughan's helicopter pilot was unfamiliar with the flight pattern for exiting the area, and did not climb to sufficient altitude immediately after take-off. Vaughan's helicopter veered off to one side and crashed into the hill.

According to the findings as reported by the National Transportation Safety Board, the cause of the accident was determined to be inadequate planning by the pilot, and failure to attain sufficient altitude to clear an obstacle.[3] Fog and haze, as well as the rising terrain were listed as contributing factors. All occupants including Vaughan, the pilot and three members of Eric Clapton's travel group were killed on impact.

On August 31, 1990, funeral services were held for Vaughan in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas. Brother Jimmie, mother Martha, and girlfriend Janna were in attendance. Among the mourners were all three members of ZZ Top, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Wonder, and Jackson Browne.[citation needed] Vaughan was interred at Laurel Land Memorial Park in Oak Cliff, a part of Dallas, Texas.

Legacy

File:SRV.jpeg
Vaughan memorial at Lady Bird Lake, in Austin, Texas. (30°15′47.1774″N 97°45′2.4228″W / 30.263104833°N 97.750673000°W / 30.263104833; -97.750673000)

The 1991 album The Sky Is Crying was the first of several posthumous Vaughan releases to achieve chart success. Jimmie Vaughan later co-wrote and recorded a song in tribute to his brother and other deceased blues guitarists, titled "Six Strings Down". Bonnie Raitt's 1991 album Luck of the Draw was dedicated to him. Many other artists recorded songs in remembrance of Vaughan, including Eric Johnson,[4] Tommy Emmanuel (the song Stevie's Blues), Buddy Guy and Steve Vai ("Jibboom" on the album The Ultra Zone, 1999) and guitarist Wayne Perkins ("Big Stratocaster", from the album Rambling Heart). Stevie Wonder included a song on his 1995 live album Natural Wonder titled "Stevie Ray Blues". On the album, Wonder refers to the song as "Stevie Ray Vaughan Blues".

Musicians such as John Mayer, Robert Randolph, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Colin James, Johnny Lang, Los Lonely Boys, Mike McCready, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci, and Doyle Bramhall II have cited Vaughan as an influence.

In 1991, Texas governor Ann Richards proclaimed October 3, Vaughan's birthday, to be "Stevie Ray Vaughan Day." An annual motorcycle ride and concert in Central Texas benefits the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Scholarship Fund.[5]

In 1992, the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation released the Stevie Ray Vaughan Signature Stratocaster, which Vaughan had helped design. As of 2007, the model is still in production. In 2004, Fender also released a limited edition exact replica of "Number One".[6] The last guitar that Vaughan played before his death is on display in the Hard Rock Cafe in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. During that same year, Vaughan's name is mentioned in Stephen King's You Know They Got a Hell of a Band, a short story about a town populated by late music legends.

In 1994, the city of Austin erected the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Statue at Auditorium Shores on Lady Bird Lake, the site of a number of Vaughan's concerts. It has become one of the city's most popular tourist attractions.

In 2000, Stevie Ray Vaughan was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Stevie Ray Vaughan became eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.[7]

In November 2007, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation released a second tribute to Vaughan, an exact replica of his second beloved guitar: Lenny. This guitar was given to him by his wife Lenora ("Lenny") on his 26th birthday and Vaughan was very fond of it. According to Fender, the original Lenny was a 1965 Strat that he saw in the window of a pawn shop that he was unable to afford. The guitar is sold with a strap, a case with Vaughan's name embroidered in the fabric lining, a number of brochures and memorabilia and a leather bound certificate of authenticity.

In 2008, residents voted to rename Dallas' Industrial Boulevard, with Vaughan's name being one of the finalists alongside Stanley Marcus, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Cesar Chavez.[8]

Influences and style

Vaughan's blues style was influenced by many blues guitarists. Foremost among them were Albert King (who dubbed himself Stevie's "godfather"), Otis Rush, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Jimi Hendrix. He was also strongly influenced by early blues-rock guitarist Lonnie Mack, who, according to Vaughan, "really taught me to play guitar from the heart",[9] Vaughan, who had idolized Mack since childhood, produced and played on Mack's 1985 Alligator Records album Strike Like Lightning[10] and covered "Wham!", which was written by Mack, among others. Vaughan's older brother Jimmie Vaughan has stated that Johnny "Guitar" Watson was the guitarist he and Stevie studied the most. Vaughan also cited his brother as an influence.

Vaughan's sound and playing style, which often incorporated simultaneous lead and rhythm parts, drew comparisons to Hendrix. Vaughan covered several Hendrix tunes on his studio albums and in performance, such as "Little Wing," "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," and "Third Stone from the Sun." He was also heavily influenced by Freddie King, another Texas bluesman, mainly in the use of tone and attack; King's heavy vibrato can clearly be heard in Vaughan's playing. Another stylistic influence was Albert Collins. By utilizing his index finger as a pick a la Albert Collins, he was able to coax various tonal nuances from his amplifiers. Vaughan also took considerable influence from jazz guitarists such as Kenny Burrell.

Known for his warm blues-rock tone, Vaughan characteristically used very heavy guitar strings, ranging from 13- to 58-gauge sets to give a fuller sound which he tuned down a half-step to the key of E flat.

Guitar legacy

File:StevieRayVaughan2.jpg
Stevie Ray Vaughan playing his customized Stratocaster with his initials emblazoned on the pickguard.
Main articles: List of guitars used by Stevie Ray Vaughan and List of amplifiers used by Stevie Ray Vaughan

Vaughan was closely associated with his use of Fender Stratocasters. His first was a 1963 maple neck black Fender Stratocaster. Although he used this guitar frequently, in 1973 he traded it in at Ray Hennig's Heart of Texas Music store in Austin, Texas, for another 1963 Stratocaster. According to Ray Hennig, he recalls that Stevie would come in the store and borrow items and bring them back when finished. He never did that with the beat-up Stratocaster.[citation needed] Vaughan then called it his "Number One", or "First Wife", and has been his most recognizable instrument. The guitar had an alder body with a 3-tone sunburst finish and a thick maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. He would put heavy gauge strings on this guitar, using .013-.058s, and would have the vibrato bridge flush the body with stainless steel vibrato arms. "Number One" originally had narrow frets, but Vaughan had the frets replaced with Dunlop 6100 fretwire. He also started tuning his guitars down a half-step from standard pitch, making it easier for him to accompany himself on guitar while singing. From then on, he used Stratocasters for the main part of his tone.

On his 26th birthday in 1980, Vaughan was presented a 1965 Fender Stratocaster by his wife Lenny that he spotted in a pawn shop months beforehand. The guitar featured a mahogany lacquer, covering up a 3-tone sunburst finish; a 1900's mandolin pickguard under the bridge, a thin maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard, and microphonic pickups. Not liking the thin neck, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top gave Vaughan a thicker one-piece maple neck in 1982. He strung "Lenny" with lighter strings and a "floating" bridge.[11]

In early 1984, Vaughan had a custom Stratocaster made at Charley's Guitar Shop in Dallas, Texas, one with three lipstick pickups, a "flip-flop" trick automotive paint, a maple neck with a ebony fingerboard, single "Volume" and "Tone" controls, and a hardtail bridge. He added a hula girl decal to the back of the guitar as well.[12]

On April 29, 1984, before playing a show in Buffalo, New York, Stevie Ray was presented a custom Hamiltone Strat-style guitar, featuring his name inlaid with pearl in the ebony fingerboard.[13][14]

Other Stratocasters that Stevie had included a yellow Strat that belonged to Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge and originally had four humbuckers, then rewired with a single neck pickup; a stock 1962 fiesta red Strat acquired in 1983, and a 1961 butter-colored Strat bought by Stevie in 1985 that later sported a black and red tiger-striped pickguard made by guitar tech, Rene Martinez.

Besides Fender Stratocasters, Vaughan owned many other guitars throughout his career, many that were hand-me-downs early on from his brother Jimmie. He started out with a 1963 Gibson Messenger. Also from Jimmie, he got a 1951 Fender Broadcaster that he named "Jimbo", but later sold it.[15] Stevie used many Gibson models, including a 1952 Les Paul Goldtop, 1955 Les Paul TV, Gibson Barney Kessel, 1958 "dot-neck" ES-335, Gibson Johnny Smit, which was used on "Stang's Swang" from Couldn't Stand the Weather; and a Flying V.

In 1981, he acquired a National Steel from Charley's Guitar Shop that was made in 1928, and can be seen on the cover of In Step. He also had a Rickenbacker Stereo Prototype that he gave to blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin in late 1984, which was later stolen from Sumlin.

Timothy Duckworth, Vaughan's personal assistant, owned a Guild JF6512 12-string acoustic guitar, and gave it to him in 1985. Timothy recalls that, sometime after the "MTV Unplugged" performance in 1990, Stevie's hands were so strong that he accidentally cracked the neck on the guitar. It has been on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas since then.[12]

On June 24, 2004, Vaughan's guitar "Lenny" was sold at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Auction, an effort to benefit the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. The auction was held at Christie's and the guitar's bidding ended at $623,500.[16]

Amplifiers and effects

Stevie Ray Vaughan proved that there was still life in early '60s Stratocaster and old Fender tube amplifiers. The high volume in which he played required lots of wattage and power. In the '70s, he used two Fender Twin Reverbs: one "black face" and the other "silver face". In the early '80s, however, Stevie acquired his two 1963 blackface Fender Vibroverbs, which he got at two different times, two different places. The Vibroverbs were numbers 5 and 6 off the production line. He also used two black face Fender Super Reverbs. With the Fender Stratocaster, the Vibroverbs and the Super Reverbs were an important part in shaping his clean/overdriven sound, making Fender amps more popular in years to come.

Stevie is widely recognized for popularizing the Ibanez Tube Screamer, particularly the TS-9 model. He would also use the Tube Screamer with a Vox Wah-wah pedal, handed down from his brother Jimmie via Jimi Hendrix. A clear example of his use of the wah-wah pedal can be heard on "Say What!" from Soul to Soul. He also exploited use of Hendrix's effects in later years including the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, Octavia, Univox Univibe, and the Leslie speaker, more specifically the Fender Vibratone.

Grammy Awards

  • 1984: Best Traditional Blues Album for Blues Explosion (Various Artists)
  • 1989: Best Contemporary Blues Album for In Step (Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble)
  • 1990: Best Contemporary Blues Album for Family Style (The Vaughan Brothers)
  • 1990: Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "D/Fw" (The Vaughan Brothers)
  • 1992: Best Contemporary Blues Album for The Sky Is Crying (Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble)
  • 1992: Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Little Wing" (Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble)[17]

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Contributions

See also

References

  1. ^ Bluepower.com, Retrieved February 1, 2008.
  2. ^ "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Rolling Stone Issue 931. Rolling Stone.
  3. ^ "NTSB Identification: CHI90MA244". NTSB Aviation Accident Database. National Transportation Safety Board. 9/11/1992. Retrieved 2009-07-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Entitled "SRV", from the album Venus Isle
  5. ^ Stevie Ray Vaughan Remembrance Ride & Concert.
  6. ^ StevieRay.com - Fender.
  7. ^ Future Rock Hall entry for Stevie Ray Vaughan.
  8. ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/043008dnmetindustrialnm.339c00c.html
  9. ^ Davis, History of the Blues, DaCapo 2003, p. 246.
  10. ^ "Strike Like Lightning".
  11. ^ The Stevie Ray Vaughan "Lenny" Stratocaster Guitar.
  12. ^ a b Stevie Ray's King Tone.
  13. ^ Hamiltone Custom Guitar Workshop.
  14. ^ The Hamiltone.
  15. ^ Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Jimbo".
  16. ^ Crossroads Guitar Auction.
  17. ^ Awards - Tommy Shannon.

External links

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