FUN GUITARIST PROFILE: STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN

Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954-1990)

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While awaiting an appointment this morning, I decided to post a nice tribute to a local guitarist where I once lived in Texas. There's so much to say about this fine musician. But here are just some basics. A blues guitarist and singer with a backing rhythm section dubbed "Double Trouble", Stevie Ray Vaughan was influenced by Albert King, Albert Collins, Django Reinhart, Cincinnati resident Lonnie Mack, brother Jimmie Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix (all of whom are among the profiles I'll be getting to). Vaughan's talent caught the attention of guitarist blues-club owner Cliff Antone and guitarist Johnny Winter. David Bowie and Jackson Browne were in the audience one night in 1982 at the Montreaux Jazz Festival, where the audience actually booed the band's hard blues sound. Vaughan later recorded his debut album Texas Flood in Browne's downtown Los Angeles studio, and three years later Stevie and his band were cheered at Montreaux's "Blues Night"! David Bowie featured Vaughan on his 1983 album Let's Dance. But producer John Hammond soon took Vaughan under his wing and the top-20 hit Pride and Joy earned the band a Gold Record. Successive LP's and Grammy's included a one-time tour of Japan. When drink and drugs nearly killed Stevie in Germany, he entered rehab in London and emerged clean and sober with his work sounding better than ever! He went on to work with Stevie Wonder and singer Jennifer Warnes and shared a Scandanavian tour with Jeff Beck in 1989. His choice of guitar was a Fender Stratocaster fitted with a left handed vibrato arm and a thick neck. Vaughan preferred to use few effects outside of his over driven set up: 2 Fender Super Reverbs, 2 Fender Vibroverbs, 2 Dumble 150-watt heads, 2 Dumble 4 x 12 cabinets, and a Fender Vibratone. He also used heavy thirteen-gauge guitar strings that he tuned down one half-step. If you have a chance, don't miss Vaughan's "Austin City Limits" concerts preserved on video where his incredibly fast, fluid, raw and loud playing style incorporated simultaneous lead and rhythm parts and (much to my personal impatience) drew the predictable comparisons to the late Jimi Hendrix (the two men were distinctively different, albeit, brilliant artists). Hey, by the way, Vaughan did cover several Hendrix tunes as "Little Wing, "Voodoo Child" and "Third Stone from the Sun". It was my unhappy lot to pick up an AP news wire while working an overnight radio air shift in on August 26, 1990 that stated---initially---that Stevie and the entire band were killed in a helicopter crash following a concert. I was playing a long piece of music "on the air" and decided to phone the Associated Press regional office for a confirmation, only to learn that this first report was incorrect. Minutes after Eric Clapton introduced Stevie along with Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and brother Jimmie Vaughan after playing a 15 minute rendition of Sweet Home Chicago, the guys all hugged and walked off stage. The original plan was to board a tour bus to Chicago. However, Stevie was told of an open seat on one of the helicopters returning to Chicago with two members of Eric Clapton's crew. The helicopter pilot (unbelievably) violated all flight procedures by taking off in deep fog. Moments later the craft tragically smashed into into a ski slope on the side of a hill instantly killing all on board upon impact. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine placed Vaughan at Number 7 on their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". He has influenced John Mayer, Eric Johnson and Los Lonely Boys among many others and in 2008, Stevie Ray Vaughan will become eligible for induction into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This Honor is long overdue for this innovative and highly energetic musician who is always a joy to watch performing in concert film footage. I hope each of you has a chance to see it sometime on a PBS TV station!

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HAPPY TUESDAY!