Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: 59bassman on February 26, 2004, 01:34:56 AM
-
Recalling the greatness of Stevie Ray Vaughan
by Ted Drozdowski
Etta James called him "the best thing that happened to blues in 20 years." Buddy Guy said, "He's done more for black blues people than any record company ever did." And B.B. King tagged him "one of my very favorite guitarists." The late Stevie Ray Vaughan, first memorialized with 1990's posthumous The Sky Is Crying, is remembered again with the new The Real Deal: Greatest Hits 2 and the reissue of four of his albums: Texas Flood, Soul to Soul, In Step, and Couldn't Stand the Weather.
Vaughan was indeed the most spectacular blues performer to emerge since Jimi Hendrix. Although he spent just seven years as a recording artist and released only six albums during his lifetime, the Austin, Texas, legend is almost single-handedly responsible for the '80s and '90s resurgence in the popularity of the blues.
Sure, Robert Cray had the nascent groundswell's first Top 40 hit with March 1987's "Smoking Gun" (off of Strong Persuader), but it was Vaughan who sold millions of records and had the ability to galvanize arena-sized audiences with his incendiary performances. And in the final hours of his life, it was Vaughan who--by Eric Clapton's admission--emerged the victor in a good-ol'-fashioned cutting contest on a Wisconsin amphitheater stage, leaving the other world-class participants--Clapton, Cray, Buddy Guy, and Vaughan's brother Jimmie--all wondering to what heights he would eventually take his virtuosity.
The question was answered when the helicopter carrying Vaughan to Chicago after the concert slammed into a fog-shrouded hill near the amphitheater in the wee hours of August 27, 1990. He was dead--instantly--at 35.
"I cried when I heard," Buddy Guy said in 1991, during a conversation about Vaughan and the instrumental "Rememberin' Stevie" on Guy's comeback album Damn Right, I've Got the Blues. "He was like a brother to me, and he was always telling people that I was one of the people he got his style from."
Certainly Vaughan wore his influences on his sleeve and never faltered in admitting it. Live and on albums he covered songs by Guy, Hendrix, Guitar Slim, Albert Collins, Howlin' Wolf, Larry Davis, Lonnie Mack, Elmore James, and many others. In his elegant string-bending, vibrato, speed, tone, and hard-edged attack could be heard nuances developed through years of refining the vocabulary of electric guitar greats from Bo Diddley to Albert King to Kenny Burrell. Seeking to share the light from his rising star, Vaughan freely and frequently praised all of his heroes from the stage and in interviews, heralding their medium--the blues--as one of the greatest and deepest of American art forms.
And Vaughan believed every word he said, every note he played. His unsparing performances were a model of openhearted, high-energy delivery developed over years of playing in Texas roadhouses--infused with the blister-fingered three-to-five-sets-a-night work ethic he and his blues idols came up on. He also learned how to be a superb showman during those long Texas nights. The sight of Vaughan wearing a flat-topped cowboy hat decked with feathers, sweat pouring over his face and dripping into his grinning mouth as he furiously picked his Stratocaster behind his head, is an image many of his fans will carry forever.
In a sense, the blues was his on-stage ministry and Vaughan delivered its gospel with uninhibited vigor. His spiritual devotion to the music translated not only to his audience, but to such discriminating fans as James, Guy, and King--all among the genre's most important modern architects. That became even more literal after he shook his addiction to alcohol and cocaine in 1986. Vaughan would use his romantic slow-blues epics "Ain't Gone 'n' Give Up on Love" and "Life Without You" as springboards for little sermons. He'd plead with the audience to love each other, stressing the importance of human understanding. And he'd talk about his own long-term problems with whiskey and cocaine to try to let others know there was light at the end of the tunnel if they chose to enter.
"For me, a lot of things are a matter of faith," he said during a conversation on his tour behind his finest solo effort, 1989's In Step. "I have to have faith in the music and faith in myself and faith in a higher power, 'cause all of them have gotten me this far."
It could be said that Vaughan loved music so much that he accidentally died for it. He could have spent more time off the road, touring only to support newly released albums as most performers at his level do. Nearly all of the seven years after his 1983 debut Texas Flood were a blur of buses and planes and helicopters. But he had a gift and an enthusiasm that he needed to share. And he lived as he wished.
"Sometimes I wanna be just a regular guy, y'know," Vaughan said in 1989. "But then I look around me and I realize, 'Hey, I'm happy!' I'm doing what I wanted to do all my life."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ted Drozdowski is a journalist and musician living in Boston. His articles have appeared in Rolling Stone, Musician, Travel & Leisure, Live!, Saturday Review, the Boston Phoenix, and a host of other publications. He is the 1998 recipient of the Blues Foundation's Keeping the Blues Alive for Journalism award.
-
Cripes. So what is it? Proxies? Dial-up?
I don't think there is no way in heck mrBlack posts a thead about SRV and this "not affilated with" persona...from texas...that is one year older...same interests, etc.. Shows interest in going with mrBlack to SRV gravesite, then (IMO) akwardly distances themselves from mrBlack, posts a thread about the subject. No way. The way I see it mrBlack has SRV on his mind and has to follow it up with this post.
And it doesn't matter if you are now using a spell check. There are still grossly unlikely grammatical errors that are consistant between the two.
I'm open to the possibility that I'm wrong, and if so I offer my heartfelt apologies. But I really don't think I am.
-
Cripes, take this alone.
"Do you often get confused between blowing your nose and whipping your arse?"
http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=109921
Totally typical school ground graphic insult involving the ironic mapping of one physical action for another, were have I seen that before?
Edit: Holy crap after looking through some threads, I bet there is a direct negative correlation between the number of posts in a given thread and the board as whole between your posts and mrblack's.
PS: There is one of the incidents where I saw the insult style before.
"LOL your letting your pittbull mouth run your chi waa waa arse boy ."
http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=109744&pagenumber=1
Cripes, and I'm and idiot! Who exactly do you think you are fooling?
-
He is fooling us into thinking he is an idiot and a freak. He is doing an excellent job and we are getting PWN3D.
-
shhhh...expuriment.
-
Did Vaughn ever do a cover of "Back in Black"?
-
Originally posted by Thrawn
Cripes. So what is it? Proxies? Dial-up?
I don't think there is no way in heck mrBlack posts a thead about SRV and this "not affilated with" persona...from texas...that is one year older...same interests, etc.. Shows interest in going with mrBlack to SRV gravesite, then (IMO) akwardly distances themselves from mrBlack, posts a thread about the subject. No way. The way I see it mrBlack has SRV on his mind and has to follow it up with this post.
And it doesn't matter if you are now using a spell check. There are still grossly unlikely grammatical errors that are consistant between the two.
I'm open to the possibility that I'm wrong, and if so I offer my heartfelt apologies. But I really don't think I am.
Spend more time reading and less time trying to insult someone and you might learn something.
And If your not interested in the subject then why even respond?
-
Originally posted by Pongo
Did Vaughn ever do a cover of "Back in Black"?
And the name Is Vaughan
-
Originally posted by 59bassman
Spend more time reading and less time trying to insult someone and you might learn something.
And If your not interested in the subject then why even respond?
He's like a MrBlack cover band. He's got it down folks. From the insipid comebacks to the raNdoM capitalization.
:aok
-
Where was the random caps at?
-
"Where were", my grammatically challenged friend...
-
Stevie Ray Vaughan was born on October 3 1954 ,in the Oak Cliff Section of Dallas Texas. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan (born March 20, 1951) and the son of Jim and Martha Vaughan.
At the age of 11, Stevie began playing the guitar (under brother Jimmie's influence ), and was playing in local teen combos soon after. Stevie didn't do well in high school,as He would sit at the back of the classroom and doze off due to his playing music all night. As a result, his grades suffered.
In 1972, Stevie dropped out of high school and moved to Austin Texas to play music full-time. Doyle Bramhall, a songwriting partner of Stevie's and longtime friend, was the first one to tell Stevie that he had potential as a guitar player.
In the early seventies, Stevie played in a band with Doyle called the Nightcrawlers.
During the mid-seventies, Stevie played with a popular Austin band called the Cobras.
In 1976, Stevie formed a blues-R&B band called Triple Threat Revue, starring himself, Lou Ann Barton, W.C. Clark, Fredde Pharoah & Mike Kindred. This band evolved into Triple Threat with Stevie, Lou Ann, Chris Layton and Jackie Newhouse. When Lou Ann left in 1980 to go to the Roomful of Blues, Stevie spoke up and renamed the group to Double Trouble. In January 1981, Tommy Shannon replaced Jackie Newhouse on bass.
On December 20 1979, Stevie married Lenora (Lenny) Baily in between sets of a gig at the Rome Inn in Austin Texas. Sometime later Stevie wrote an awesome instrumental song and titled it "Lenny"
1982 proved to be Stevie's most eventful year. David Bowie saw him at the Montreaux Festival and asked him to play on Bowie's LET'S DANCE album.Also, Jackson Browne gave him studio time at his Studio in Los Angeles. In addition, John Hammond from Epic Records signed Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble to their label. This was the beginning of Stevie's worldwide touring and international stardom.
In 1983, TEXAS FLOOD Stevie and Double Trouble's debut album, was released and the band appeared on Austin City Limits for the first time. Meanwhile,the El Mocambo video was recorded in Toronto Canada.
In 1984,COULDN'T STAND THE WEATHER was released.
In 1985, SOUL TO SOUL was released. In addition, Stevie played 5 songs and produced Lonnie Mack's comeback album STRIKE LIKE LIGHTNING.
In 1986, LIVE ALIVE was released. Later that year, Stevie entered rehabilitation to rid himself of his drug problems. He stayed away from people who could supply him with drugs, and rebuilt his relationship with his mother Martha. Stevie remained sober and drug free for the rest of his life.
In 1987, Stevie appeared in a movie called Back to the Beach as himself. In the movie, he played a duet with Dick Dale and they performed the song "Pipeline". Also in 1987, Stevie filed for a divorce from Lenny.
In 1988, Stevie performed an acoustical set on MTV. Later that year, his divorce became final with Lenny.
In 1989, IN STEP was released. Stevie also toured with Jeff Beck, and recorded his 2nd Austin City Limits performance. Both Austin City Limits performances were released some time later on a single video called LIVE FROM AUSTIN TEXAS.
In 1990, Stevie toured with Joe Cocker, and recorded FAMILY STYLE with his brother Jimmie.
On August 27 1990 Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash right after leaving a concert he performed with Robert Cray, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and his brother Jimmy held at Alpine Valley, Wisconsin. His music and spirit will live on FOREVER.
-
enough with the SRV spam.. he's dead.
Long live ZakkWylde.
-
Originally posted by texace
"Where were", my grammatically challenged friend...
Lol. And he was so proud of getting everything not capitalized. His shift finger must be just twitching in agony.
-
Eric Clapton
I don't think anyone has commanded my respect more, to this day.
The first time I heard Stevie Ray, I thought, "Whoever this is, he is going to shake the world."
I was in my car and I remember thinking, I have to find out, before the day is over, who that guitar player is.
I remember being fascinated by the fact that he never, ever seemed to be...lost in any way...It was as though he never took a breather...or took a pause to think where he was gonna go next, it just flowed out of him.
It's going to be a long time before anyone that brilliant will come along again.
I didn't get to see or hear Stevie play near often enough, but every time I did I got chills and knew I was in the presence of greatness.He seemed to be an open channel and music just flowed through him. It never seemed to dry up.
I have to tell this story: We played on the same bill on his last two gigs. On the first night, I watched his set for about half an hour and then I had to leave because I couldn't handle it!.
I knew enough to know that his playing was just going to get better and better. His set had started, he was like two or three songs in, and I suddenly got this flash that I'd experienced before so many times whenever I'd seen him play, which was that he was like a channel.
One of the purist channels I've ever seen, where everything he sang and played flowed straight down from heaven. Almost like one of those mystic Sufi guys with one finger pointing up and one finger down. That's what it was like to listen to. And I had to leave just to preserve some kind of sanity or confidence in myself.
Bonnie Raitt
The most lasting memory of Stevie was his passion.
I don't think there is anyone who tears into a song like the way he did.
I think Stevie Ray was coming from some place so deep and so beautiful that there's no one you can compare to him.
I saw him play on Saturday night. He played unbelievably. To me Stevie Ray Vaughan was the greatest blues guitarist.
For fire and passion and soulfulness, he was untouchable. He was scary to those of us who watched him.
But he was so humble and gracious as a friend, and he wasn't stuck up about his playing.
Robert Cray
The first time Stevie and I played together was in 1979 at the San Francisco Blues Festival. We did four or five dates together in the bay area and Santa Cruz, switching opening slots, and we became pretty good friends. We had barbeques together down in Santa Cruz.
We went to pick him up one afternoon for a barbeque, and he was dressed up like Jimi Hendrix - had a Jimi Hendrix wig on and a little short kimono.
We were just rowdy youngsters then; we were all between twenty and twenty-five. We'd always run across one another on the road here and there. There was always a big hug and "How ya doing?" and stuff like that. This past weekend, I hadn't seen him for a while, and he gave me a big hug.
Saturday [two days before the accident] was a great day. His brother, Jimmie, came down to the show. We were all taking photos, just clowning around. He was really happy. I'll always remember how he kicked my bellybutton all the time on the guitar. It was inspirational, you know?.
John Lee Hooker
The first time we met was in Austin, Texas at Antone's, and it was him and his brother, Jimmie. That was fifteen or twenty years ago, and at that time he could play tremendously. And I said, "Someday this kid's going to shake the whole world up".
He was one of the nicest people. You couldn't help but like him, you couldn't help but love him.
I never cry, but yesterday, when I heard the news, I sat down on my bed and cried like a little baby.
Gregg Allman
I remember when he first came out, he was doing that Hendrix song [Voodoo Chile], and I heard all these people going, "Ah, he's just trying to do Hendrix.
But he went a lot further than that. He was absolutely 100-proof, pure blues. Albert Collins, Muddy Waters - the essence of that was in everything he played. More than the Allman Brothers, he was straight-down-the-line blues.
Stevie was always playing. After he'd get offstage, he'd get on his bus. And he had all these Stratocasters hanging there. He'd grab one and start goin'.
Steve Winwood
If there's a difference between a musician and a performer, Stevie was a musician. He was interested in the purity of his sound.
He thoroughly mastered the intricacies of his instrument, and he really knew how to make his guitar speak. But when we jammed, he wouldn't try and hog all the solos. He was a very generous player.
Nile Rodgers
(Producer of 'Family Style' and 'Let's Dance')
There was one song on Family Style called "Brothers", and the basic concept was, I guess when Stevie and Jimmie were younger, there may have been just one guitar between them, or just one good guitar. So the way the record works is, they're switching off on the guitar.
They insisted on doing it live, with Stevie actually taking the guitar out of Jimmie's hands and Jimmie taking the guitar out of Stevie's hands. And when we finished the first take - the one that appears on the album - Stevie pulled me aside while Jimmie wasn't looking.
He says, "Nile, I know we thought of this... but I tell you, man, it hurts me to snatch the guitar out of my brother's hands, 'cause I love him so much." I just looked at him. I was really touched.
I remember when he came to the Power Station to do Let's Dance, he had this certain aura about him. He had this certain vibe. He and I hit it off right away. He picked up some of the guitars and started playing and making his comments.
Then he noticed that we were eating barbeque. He says, "Nile, man, I know where the best barbeque in the world is." I said, "Yeah, where, Stevie?". He says, "A place called Sam's Barbeque, down in Texas." And he gets on the phone, and within a few hours there's a box of ribs on its way to New York. That's the kind of guy he was.
Another time, when I wasn't around, he was playing with some of my guitars, and he broke one of the strings. He wrote me the sweetest little note - it was just very Stevie Ray Vaughan. It said, - I'm doing his voice, you know, 'cause he's got this accent - it said, "Nile, I love your guitars. Sorry, brother, didn't mean to break no straaang."
Joe Satriani
As a guitar player, he had an incredible signature tone and an extreme intensity. He played one of the most difficult guitars to play - the Fender Stratocaster - and he played with really heavy strings. And he strung it with high action, which means you have to really work harder than anyone to try to get a sound out. But if you've got what it takes, then what comes out is something very big and bold and original.
In August of 1988, we opened two shows for him at the Pier in New York, and I got to really listen to him up close. You could tell he was always striving to find that magical point. He was good at reaching for the magic and finding it.
I think what I'll really remember is the way he stood, you know? Sweat-drenched, with his eyes closed, grabbing some incredible note. Someone has to be totally absorbed to play like that.
To play that intensely sort of wreaks havoc on the body - it's sort of a painful ecstasy. He played the blues, you know? I guess I'll remember that most of all.
Lonnie Mack
I first heard Stevie at a little club around the corner from Antone's. He was just a really good player.
He had his own thing, but you could hear bits and pieces of other things. I could hear some of my things in there. His brother told me that Stevie listened to a lot of my old records. He particularly liked the lick on "Chicken Pickin'" and the riff on "Wham!".
As I got to know him better, it was easy to see that he had a really good spirit. Stevie was a giver, man - not only to his friends but to everybody. He was a very spiritual person. I used to tease him that he was the only guy I knew that had an old head on a young body.
He played his complete self through that guitar. And he knew that playing music wasn't about who sounded better than who else. It was the style that counted, and it was about having a good time.
He bought a Rickenbacker for me about 10 or 12 years ago, but somebody stole it. Then he found the guitar somewhere in New York, years later. I was playing at Antone's, and here comes Stevie with the same guitar.
Buddy Guy
Stevie told me how his brother Jimmie had learned a bit before him, and he kept hearing this record of mine.
His brother wouldn't let him listen to it, so he went and stole it. He said,'These are the licks I want.' We laughed about that the night of his tragedy. I'll never forget some of the licks he was playing the last night. I think it was one of his best nights ever.
It was an honor to have him do [my] tunes, because just like I went to Muddy Waters and paid tribute to him, everyone pays tribute to someone they admired a lot.
Music is handed down to the next generation. And he wasn't just some white kid saying,'I got it.' He told the truth.'I got this from Buddy Guy or Albert Collins,' or whoever he wanted to talk about. That was some of his greatness.
All of us have a certain God-gifted talent. Blues was locked out with a skeleton key, but Stevie was the type of person where they gave this guy the key, he opened the door, and threw the damn key away and said, 'All of y'all come in here. Let's play and show people how this ****'s supposed to be done.'
He was like a brother to me. This year I won three W.C. Handy awards in Memphis, and I had to dedicate them to that kid, because that kid woke blues back up.
-
B.B. King
Any time we played together it was exciting.
At first, he would always pull punches a bit. So one night I told him, "Play your thing. Go ahead, don't worry about me." And he did. His ideas were limitless. He flowed. He was like water, constantly drippin' with rhythm.
It's a loss not just to the music - it's a loss to people as a whole. He was just such a nice man.
I tell you the truth, it really hurts. The only thing that keeps me from crying is knowing the joy that he brought to us. I can see his smile right now, him sitting there with his Mexican hat on, going, "Hey, it's all right."
He was always quick to show gratitude to me and other artists who have been around. But when it came to playing the blues he earned plenty of respect himself.
The fact is that he affected the way blues will be played and heard forever. I've said that playing the blues is like having to be black twice. Stevie missed on both counts, but I never noticed.