Stevie Ray Vaughan was born on October 3, 1954 in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas,
Texas. His older brother Jimmie, who exposed him to blues music and the guitar,
first influenced young Stevie. Other influences were Jimi Hendrix, Lonnie Mac,
and Albert King. As a kid, Stevie played in some local Dallas bands-
the Blackbirds and the Chantones. His brother Jimmie moved to Austin and
formed the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Stevie followed suit and quit school,
joining a band called the Cobras in 1975.
Stevie formed the Triple Threat Revue with vocalist Lou Ann Barton in 1977.
Lou Ann left the band a year later and Stevie took over as the vocalist.
The band was soon a trio going by the name Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.
In 1982, things began to happen for Stevie. A videotape of the band's
performance was viewed by Mick Jagger, who in turn asked the group to play at
a private party. This event began to spiral when producer Jerry Wexel caught
the band live and asked them to play at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
David Bowie and Jackson Browne happened to be in the audience and were
amazed with Stevie's performance. Bowie offered Stevie a chance to play
on his Lets Dance album and Browne offered the band free recording time
in his home. Soon after this John Hammond Sr. signed the group to
Epic Records and helped Double Trouble produce their debut album Texas Flood.
This record was very successful and garnered two Grammy nominations.
The following album, Couldn't Stand The Weather, topped the first
album and went gold. Vaughan continued to roll out the hits with 1985's
Soul To Soul and 1986's Live Alive. Stevie was now touring extensively
and the difficult schedule as well as a drug and alcohol problem led to
the singers collapse at a London concert. He continued to tour, but when
the last date was played he checked into a rehab center. After his recovery,
he began recording and released In Step in 1989. This was his best-selling
albums and sold over a million copies in six months as well as winning a
Grammy award. Stevie continued to work and teamed up with his brother Jimmie.
Together, they recorded Family Style. On August 26, 1990, Stevie Ray and
Double Trouble were playing a blues show in East Troy, Wisconsin. After the show,
Stevie boarded a helicopter headed for Chicago. Sadly, the helicopter crashed
just minutes after take off and killed all five passengers aboard. Even after
his death, Stevie continues to entrance his fans.
"Pride and Joy"
