Stevie Ray Vaughan life and biography

Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American blues rock guitarist, singer-songwriter, and recording artist.

Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, he moved to Austin at age 17, where he perfected his style and gained a following around the Austin live music scene. He later formed and became the leader for Double Trouble. His first two studio albums, Texas Flood and Couldn't Stand the Weather, were commercially successful, achieving double-platinum status. In 1990, he won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Recording for In Step.

In 1986, Vaughan became sober after alcohol and cocaine abuse severely affected his health. The 1989 single, "Crossfire", reflected on his experience with sobriety and was a number-one hit on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. While leaving a concert in East Troy, Wisconsin, Vaughan died in a helicopter crash on August 27, 1990. The Walworth County Coroner ruled the cause of death as exsanguination. His death triggered a widespread outpouring of grief, and as many as 3,000 people attended his public memorial service.

Vaughan was a very important figure in Texas blues, a loud, swing-driven fusion of blues and rock. He became the leading musician of the blues rock sound, with multiple network television appearances and charting albums. He encompassed multiple styles, including jazz and ballads. Vaughan won many achievements including six Grammy Awards and five W. C. Handy Awards; he was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2000. He has sold over 15 million albums in the U.S.

In the early eighties, MTV was on the rise, and blues guitar was miles away from music's mainstream. But Texas' Stevie Ray Vaughan demanded your attention. He had absorbed the styles of just about every great blues guitarist – plus Jimi Hendrix and a lot of jazz and rockabilly – and his monster tone, casual virtuosity and impeccable sense of swing could make a blues shuffle like "Pride and Joy" hit as hard as metal.

Vaughan was recognized as a peer by the likes of B.B. King and Eric Clapton, and despite his 1990 death in a helicopter crash, he's still inspiring multiple generations of guitarists, from Pearl Jam's Mike McCready to John Mayer and rising young star Gary Clark Jr. "Stevie was one of the reasons I wanted a Stratocaster – his tone, which I've never been able to get down, was just so big and bold and bright at the same time," says Clark. "If you listen to his records and watch his videos, you can tell he's just giving you everything he had. His passion is overwhelming."

Discography:
-Texas Flood (1983)
-Couldn't Stand the Weather (1984)
-Soul to Soul (1985)
-Live Alive (1986)
-In Step (1989)
-Family Style (with Jimmie Vaughan) (1990)
-The Sky Is Crying (1991)
-In the Beginning (1992)
-Greatest Hits (1995)
-Live at Carnegie Hall (1997)
-The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Volume 2 (1999)
-In Session (with Albert King) (1999)
-Blues at Sunrise (2000)
-Live at Montreux 1982 & 1985 (2001)
-The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (2002)
-Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughan (2003)
-Live in Tokyo (2006)
-The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Volume 1 (2006)
-Solos, Sessions & Encores (2007)

Read more