Stevie Ray Vaughan - Don't Mess With Texas: The Best of SRV (Blues, 2009)

"Have i ever met Jimi Hendrix? Not in person. I wish. I’ve met him in many dreams. But I’ve also tried to play some of the stuff that I was shown in those dreams and it took me a while to figure out why none of it worked. I was bewildered but I finally figured out if it had been that easy I wouldn’t have learned anything, you know?

With his astonishingly accomplished guitar playing, Stevie ignited the blues revival of the '80s. He drew equally from bluesmen like Albert King, Otis Rush and Muddy Waters and rock & roll players like Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, as well as the stray jazz guitarist like Kenny Burrell, developing a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre. SRV bridged the gap between blues and rock like no other artist had since the late '60s. For the next seven years, he was the leading light in American blues, consistently selling out concerts while his albums regularly went gold. His tragic death in 1990 only emphasized his influence in blues and American rock & roll.

Born and raised in Dallas, SRV began playing guitar as a child, inspired by older brother Jimmie. When he was in junior high school, he began playing in a number of garage bands, which occasionally landed gigs in local nightclubs. By the time he was 17, he had dropped out of high school to concentrate on playing music. Stevie's first real band was the Cobras, who played clubs and bars in Austin during the mid-'70s. Following that group's demise, he formed Triple Threat in 1975. Triple Threat also featured bassist Jackie Newhouse, drummer Chris Layton, and vocalist Lou Ann Barton. After a few years of playing Texas bars and clubs, Barton left the band in 1978. The group decided to continue performing under the name Double Trouble, which was inspired by the Otis Rush song of the same name, SRV became the band's lead singer.
For the next few years, they played the Austin area, becoming one of the most popular bands in Texas. In 1982, the band played the Montreux Festival and their performance caught the attention of David Bowie and Jackson Browne. After Double Trouble's performance, Bowie asked him to play on his forthcoming album, while Browne offered the group free recording time at his Los Angeles studio, Downtown. SRV laid down the lead guitar tracks for what became Bowie's Let's Dance album in late 1982. Shortly afterward, JohnHammond, Sr. landed them a record contract with Epic, and the band recorded its debut album in less than a week at Downtown.
Stevie's debut album, Texas Flood, was released in the summer of 1983, a few months after Let's Dance appeared. On its own, Let's Dance earned SRV quite a bit of attention, but Texas Flood was a blockbuster blues success; receiving positive reviews in both blues and rock publications, reaching number 38 on the charts, and crossing over to album rock radio stations. Bowie offered him the lead guitarist role for his 1983 stadium tour, but he turned him down, preferring to play with Double Trouble. They set off on a successful tour and quickly recorded their second album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, which was released in May of 1984. The album was more successful than its predecessor, reaching number 31 on the charts; by the end of 1985, the album went gold. Double Trouble added keyboardist Reese Wynans in 1985, before they recorded their third album, Soul to Soul. The record was released in August 1985 and was also quite successful, reaching number 34 on the charts.
Although his professional career was soaring, SRV was sinking deep into alcoholism and drug addiction. Despite his declining health, he continued to push himself, releasing the double live album Live Alive in October of 1986 and launching an extensive American tour in early 1987. Following the tour, he checked into a rehabilitation clinic. The guitarist's time in rehab was kept fairly quiet, and for the next year Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble were fairly inactive. He performed a number of concerts in 1988, including a headlining gig at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and wrote his fourth album. The resulting record, In Step, appeared in June of 1989 and became his most successful album, peaking at number 33 on the charts, earning a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Recording, and going gold just over six months after its release.
In the spring of 1990, SRV recorded an album with his brother Jimmie, which was scheduled for release in the fall of the year. In the late summer of 1990, they set out on an American headlining tour. During the blistering, 20-minute rendition of "Sweet Home Chicago" that closed the show at the Alpine Valley Music Theater near East Troy, Wisconsin, SRV was onstage with fellow bluesmen Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Vaughan's older brother, Jimmie. Said Guy later: "It was one of the most incredible sets I ever heard Stevie play. I had goose bumps." SRV was supposed to make the two-hour drive back to his Chicago hotel with his brother and sister-in-law, Connie, but at the last minute he chose to board a Bell 206B Jet Ranger, one of four helicopters waiting nearby for Eric Clapton. According to his New York City publicist, Charles Comer, Vaughan had learned from Clapton's manager that there were seats enough to accommodate all three in his party. When he found only one place was actually available, Vaughan he asked Eric "Do you mind if I take the seat? I really need to get back." The helicopter took off in fog around 12:40 A.M. with Vaughan and four others aboard. Sweet Chicago would never be reached. Moments later the chopper's remains lay spread across more than 200 feet of a man-made ski slope in a field dotted with bittersweet and Queen Anne's lace. All on board were killed instantly in what National Transportation Safety Board investigator William Bruce later described as "a high-energy, high-velocity impact at a shallow angle." "Stevie is the best friend I've ever had, the best guitarist I ever heard and the best person anyone will ever want to know," a choked-up Guy said the day after his friend's death. "He will be missed a lot." He sure will...




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