Life and career

Early years (1954–1971)

Childhood in Dallas

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Vaughan's childhood home in title="Dallas">Dallas, Texas

Stephen Ray Vaughan was born on October 3, 1954, at Methodist Hospital in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas, as the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan.^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDickerson20044-2">[2]} His father, Jimmie Lee "Big Jim" Vaughan, was an asbestos worker whose job often forced the family to move to different cities, while his mother, Martha Jean (Cook) Vaughan, worked as a secretary.^[3] In 1961, they finally moved out of the href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockrell_Hill,_Texas" title="Cockrell Hill, Texas">Cockrell Hill area of Dallas and settled into a small house in Oak Cliff.^[4] Martha recalled their living situation: "My husband was an asbestos worker, you know, and we traveled around when there wasn't any work here in Dallas ... sometimes he would go and I would stay here. By that time the kids were in
school, so I had to stay here."^[5] Jimmie also recalled: "It wasn't really a comfortable 'Leave It to Beaver' kind of a deal, you know ... moving all the time, and never really getting to know people. On the highway all the time, and going to school for two weeks here and three weeks here. It was the absolute perfect training for us to do what we did."id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTE.27.27Legends.27.271997_6-0" class="reference">[6]

After trying to play the drums and saxophone,^[7] Vaughan received his first guitar for his seventh birthday: a plastic toy from title="Sears">Sears with a western motif.^[8] He recalled, "It had gut strings and it was one of them—not Gene Autry or a Roy Rogers—but it was made out of Masonite, with the little stencils
on it, you know?"^[9] Among the first songs Vaughan learned were "Wine, Wine, Wine" and "Thunderbird" by The Nightcaps, a Dallas garage rock band, along with Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me to Do".id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGill20101_10-0" class="reference">[10] With no interest in formal music training, Vaughan studied by ear and played along to Jimmie's records by such blues musicians as Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Albert King and href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.B._King" title="B.B. King">B.B. King.^[11] In 1963, he purchased his first record, Lonnie Mack's "Wham!", after asking the record store clerk for the "wildest guitar record" they had;^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHopkins20108-12">[12]} Mack soon became a prominent influence on Vaughan. Upon listening to Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze", he also became another significant influence on Vaughan's style.^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHopkins201016-13">[13]}

Devoted to the instrument, Martha described Vaughan was "pretty much a loner", saying that the guitar was "his life". He was regarded by Jimmie as shy, yet polite and nice: "He wasn't obnoxious. He was very nice, you know; he wasn't mean or anything. I mainly remember that he wanted to go everywhere; wherever I went, he wanted to go. And he always wanted to know what was going on, what we were doing, why we were doing it, and just real curious.
We were just normal brothers. I would go first and then he would. I think it was normal; seemed normal to me."^[12] Spending most of his childhood in uncertainty, Vaughan described his early years as "hard times". He would fight with his father who, after having a few drinks, would often become violent.^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDickerson20045-6-14">[14]} Jimmie concurred that Big Jim would "go off like a rocket" and filled their life at home with tension.^[15]

First bands and recordings

In 1965, Vaughan formed his first band, The Chantones,
and performed at a local talent contest held at the Hill Theatre in Dallas on June 26, 1965, which was his first public performance.^[16] With only a drummer and vocalist, the ten-year-old Vaughan performed Jimmy Reed's "Baby
What You Want Me to Do", realizing midway that they were not familiar with the entire song.^[17] Although he was not receiving as much praise as his brother, Vaughan caught the attention of Jimmie's band mate, Doyle Bramhall, saying that Vaughan "had it from the get-go".^{class="reference">[18]} Despite his parents' support, they expressed apprehension for Vaughan's career choice, and he decided to take a job as a dishwasher at a local restaurant, working for seventy cents an hour.^[13] After nearly falling into a barrel of hot grease when
cleaning out a trash bin, Vaughan singled out music as his future.^[17] He attended Justin F. Kimball High School, where he failed a course in music theory, and described the school as "berserk".^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEClaypool1978-19">[19]} Vaughan would often arrive to school exhausted from late-night performances in nightclubs.^[20]

In September 1970, Vaughan was temporarily recruited into Cast of Thousands, a band that included future actor title="Stephen Tobolowsky">Stephen Tobolowsky.^[21] Formed in 1968, Cast of Thousands were one of five Dallas bands selected to record two songs for a compilation album, A New Hi.^[21] Following their
recordings, Vaughan formed his own band called Blackbird that frequently performed at a club in Dallas named The Cellar, as well as other clubs around Dallas.^[22] Vaughan later claimed that the club was "the only place that would really let me do what I wanted to do, because nobody cared. A couple of times people would get pissed and start shooting at the stage. You ducked and kept
playing. I played there from age 14 'til I was 18."^[23]

Early career in Austin (1972–1978)

Relocation and bands in Austin

Vaughan dropped out of Kimball High and followed older brother Jimmie to href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas" title="Austin, Texas">Austin, Texas on New Year's Eve in 1971.^[24] Upon arrival with his bandmates from Blackbird, Vaughan recalled that he lived in a club called Rolling Hills—which later became the Soap Creek Saloon—and slept on either the pool table, stage, or floor, though he also said that it was one of his favorite times.id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWhite1991_17-2" class="reference">[17] Vaughan further described the music scene in Austin: "Lots of people have gravitated here. Something's in the air here that makes you want to get on the stick and go. People are more open to let you play your music here."^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBeam.2C_Jr.2006-25">[25]} On December 13, 1972, Blackbird reformed as Krackerjack and included bassist, Tommy Shannon.^[26] According to Shannon, Vaughan parted ways with the group after the lead band member decided to
wear make-up on stage.^[27]

Within two months, Vaughan joined Marc Benno and the Nightcrawlers, which included drummer Doyle Bramhall.^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDickerson200421-28">[28]} With the help of producer David Anderle, the Nightcrawlers recorded an album at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood for A&M
Records.^[29] Co-founder Jerry Moss was not happy with the results, and A&M shelved the project.^[30] Returning to Texas without Benno,
the Nightcrawlers continued to perform in venues like Armadillo World Headquarters, only to break up a year later.^[31] In 2006, the A&M recordings were later released by Blue Skunk Music.^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHopkins2011314-32">[32]}

Subsequent to the breakup of the Nightcrawlers, Vaughan joined guitarist Denny Freeman in Paul Ray and the Cobras, a group that appeared weekly at the Soap Creek Saloon.^[33] In early
1977, the band released two singles and were named "Band of the Year" in an Austin Sun reader's poll.^[34] During a month-long break from performances, Vaughan won the opportunity to participate in a jam session at Antone's with Albert King. Owner href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Antone" title="Clifford Antone">Clifford Antone witnessed the performance and concurred that the jam session was "the best I've ever saw Albert or the best I ever saw Stevie".^[35]

After two years of performances, Paul Ray was diagnosed with nodes on his throat, leaving the vocal duties to Vaughan during his absence.id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHopkins2010107_36-0" class="reference">[36] This prompted Vaughan to quit the Cobras and form a group called Triple Threat Revue, which included bass player W. C. Clark, Freddie "Pharoah" Walden on drums, and singer Lou Ann Barton. Paul Ray recalled: "When Stevie quit, he was real sweet
about it. He came up to me at rehearsal and said, 'I'm thinking about getting my own band,' and I said, 'Man, you really should—you're a front man now. You don't need to be in somebody else's band.' I was happy for him."^[37] After Clark left to form his own band, he was replaced by Jackie Newhouse, and the group was renamed Double Trouble after a song by href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Rush" title="Otis Rush">Otis Rush.^[38] Chris Layton replaced Walden after he quit the band in July 1978.^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHopkins2010127-39">[39]} Barton was later fired due to a drunken incident following a performance,^[40] and Double Trouble became a power trio. Tommy Shannon, who played with Vaughan in Krackerjack, replaced Newhouse after attending a Double Trouble performance in href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston" title="Houston">Houston.^[42][43]

Commercial breakout (1982–1986)

Texas Flood and Couldn't Stand the Weather

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Stevie Ray Vaughan performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1982.

Double Trouble's reputation began to build, and a July 1982 appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival brought them to the attention of record producer John H. Hammond, the href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stones" title="Rolling Stones" class="mw-redirect">Rolling Stones and David Bowie. ^[44] In 1983 Vaughan contributed to Bowie's album, Let's Dance; the album
sold over three times as many copies as Bowie's previous best-seller.^[45] Vaughan was invited to join Bowie's band for the Serious Moonlight Tour, but Vaughan declined at the urging of his management.^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHopkins201116-46">[46]} In March 1983, Double Trouble signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records.^[44] In June of
the same year Epic remixed and released Texas Flood.^[47] The album spawned several singles, including "Pride and Joy", "Love Struck Baby", and "Mary Had a Little Lamb".^[48]

In the fall of 1983 Double Trouble opened 17 shows for The Moody Blues; the band received $5,000 per show, plus a bonus for successful ticket sales.^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHopkins201139-49">[49]} In December of '83, Stevie Ray recorded a CD and DVD session with Albert King and also that same December 1983, Double Trouble performed for a taping of Austin City Limits;^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHopkins201143-50">[50]} the show aired on February 28, 1984, and featured Jimmie's band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds.^[51] Producer, Terry Lickona, agreed that Vaughan's performance was "a
combination of nervous, paranoid, and so insecure", saying that he had "zero self-confidence" and was "sweating big-time the whole night".^[52] Double Trouble also performed a sold-out show in New York City's href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beacon_Theatre_%28New_York_City%29" title="Beacon Theatre (New York City)">Beacon Theatre, with Rolling Stones vocalist Mick Jagger in attendance.^[51] By the end of 1983, Texas Flood received a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award" title="Grammy Award">Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Blues Recording. "Rude Mood" was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental
Performance.^[53]

Couldn't Stand the Weather, Double Trouble's second album, was released in 1984 to generally favorable reviews. Allmusic gave positive, although reserved, feedback, saying that there
aren't "many weaknesses on the record, aside from the suspicion that Vaughan didn't really push himself as hard as he could have".^[54] Music critic Robert Christgau called it "a roadhouse album with gargantuan sonic imagination".^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEChristgau1984-55">[55]} The album was commercially successful, and while it did not receive better accolades, it peaked at number 31 on the US Billboard 200 chart.^[54] The album's title track and "Cold Shot" were released as singles, with their accompanying href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_video" title="Music video">music videos receiving regular airplay in North America on MTV. The album also featured Double Trouble's rendition of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," which would become a signature song for Vaughan in live performance.

On October 4, 1984, Double Trouble performed a sold-out benefit concert at href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City">New York City's Carnegie Hall. In celebration of Vaughan's thirtieth birthday, the show featured many special guests including the Roomful of Blues horn section, keyboardist Dr. John, Jimmie Vaughan, vocalist Angela Strehli, and drummer George Rains. The band wore custom velvet "mariachi" suits and designed a stage set of blue and gold.^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTESchwartz1997-56">[56]} Vaughan originally planned to film the performance for future video release, though CBS Records declined. Strehli recalls: "...it was supposed to be videoed and at the last minute they pulled some kind of union thing: 'Well, this show is going to run past eleven, so that means we get double time.' So they had to cancel the video part, which is just a shame."^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHopkins201172-57">[57]}

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Stevie Ray Vaughan performing at Carnegie Hall.

The concert was sold-out with Vaughan's closest friends, and family in the audience;^[56] the proceeds benefited the T.J. Martell Foundation's work in leukemia and cancer research.id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHopkins201173_58-0" class="reference">[58] Vaughan was extremely excited and nervous, saying: "The last time I was that nervous is when I got married, but I couldn't show that to anybody ... I calmed down about halfway through 'Voodoo Chile.' I looked over at Tommy [Shannon], and he was just sort of staring at me, and that's when I knew it was gonna be all right."^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTERhodes1984a-59">[59]} An afterparty was thrown by MTV for the band, record company, and other VIPs.^[60] According to the Dallas Times Herald, it took Vaughan an hour just to walk from the bar to the table across the room where his parents were sitting; the article also said, "Stevie Ray found
his father, a retired asbestos worker who hadn't taken a plane ride since the Korean War, and hugged him until they both cried." After the show, Jimmie recalled that he was worried that the crowd would have been "a little stiff", saying "[It] turned out they're just like any other beer joint."^[61]

Following the Carnegie Hall performance, Double Trouble toured href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia and New Zealand, performing two shows at the Sydney Opera House.^[62] With increasing exposure, Vaughan's talent earned him two href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues_Music_Award" title="Blues Music Award">W. C. Handy Awards. He was the first white musician to receive Entertainer of the Year and Instrumentalist of the Year.^[63] Vaughan also co-produced and played on Lonnie Mack's album Strike Like Lightning. Released in April 1985, the album become title="Alligator Records">Alligator Records' best seller.^[64]

Soul to Soul and substance abuse

In April 1985, Vaughan appeared on opening day at the Houston Astrodome to perform "href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star_Spangled_Banner" title="The Star Spangled Banner" class="mw-redirect">The Star Spangled Banner". Although he was the first guitarist to have opened a major league baseball game with the national anthem, Vaughan supposedly did not receive a positive reception for the rendition;^[65] one reporter said, "I was sure he'd be dead by the time he hit 30."id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTE.27.27Legends.27.271997_6-1" class="reference">[6] Double Trouble's third studio album, titled Soul to Soul, was released on September 30, 1985, and featured new keyboardist Reese Wynans. Vaughan suggested that the album was named Soul to Soul because
the band "learned a lot" and "grew a lot closer".^[66] Two singles from the album—"Change It" and "Look at Little Sister"—both peaked at number 17 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.^{href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan#cite_note-FOOTNOTEAllmusic2012b-67">[67]}

In March 1986, Double Trouble shared the bill with The Fabulous Thunderbirds during a tour of Australia and New Zealand.^[68] The band recorded live concerts across
three nights of a subsequent US tour in Austin and Dallas.^[69] These recordings, along with a 1985 appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, were released as Live Alive on November 17, 1986. The album included a previously unreleased cover of Stevie Wonder's song "Superstition".^[70] Vaughan later admitted that the album wasn't his best, saying, "I wasn't in very good shape when we recorded Live Alive. At the time, I didn't realize how bad a shape I was in. There were more fix-it jobs done on the album than I would have
liked. Some of the work sounds like [it was] the work of half-dead people. There were some great notes that came out, but I just wasn't in control; nobody was."^[71]

Vaughan developed a serious alcohol and cocaine habit while touring with Double Trouble; his performance contract called for two fifths of href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Royal" title="Crown Royal">Crown Royal and one fifth of Smirnoff.^[72] His cocaine use increased to a quarter-ounce a day (about seven grams) and spiraled into a life-threatening dependency. Doyle Bramhall recalls that there were "mounds of cocaine laying on top of the organ", saying,
"Where I was doing a lot, Stevie was doing five times, ten times more than I was doing."^[6] Vaughan's stomach became fiercely scarred from dissolving half a gram of cocaine in alcohol,^[73] leaving
hundreds of small cuts in the stomach lining.^[74] During a tour of Europe a month later, Vaughan was hospitalized in Ludwigshafen for suffering from near-death dehydration after years of alcohol and substance abuse. Tommy Shannon said that as Vaughan tried to get up from his hotel bed, he vomited all over his chest and was covered
with a puddle of blood. Layton recalled:

Texas Flood (1983)

Soul to Soul (1985)

In Step (1989)

Family Style (with Jimmie Vaughan) (1990), produced by Nile Rodgers

The Sky Is Crying (1991)