Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble

The legendary musician, Grammy winner and the extremely talented guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was born in Dallas in 1954. His parents were not the musicians themselves, but they often took Stevie and his older brother Jimmie to various concerts. Initially Stevie wanted to start playing the drums, but he was presented the guitar and he began exploring the art of that six-string instrument. Jimmie helped him a lot in that sphere and later Ray Vaughan stated that it was his brother who influenced him a lot and taught him to play. Trying to compete with Jimmie, the future guitar legend managed to develop his own unique style and manner of playing.

In 1971 Stevie went to Austin with his first band Blackbird, where he played till 1972. Then he joined Krackerjack, but soon he left that group because of the other members’ wish to perform with the makeup. After that Ray Vaughan became the guitarist of The Nightcrawlers and with that band he moved to Los Angeles. They began working on the material for the album, but the record company decided no to continue the collaboration with The Nightcrawlers, and Stevie came back to Texas. In 1975 he joined Paul Ray & The Cobras and had been playing with them for two and a half years. In the late seventies Stevie started collaboration with Double Trouble, and with that band he gained the incredible success.

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s debut album titled Texas Flood was released in 1983 and it was critically acclaimed. Soon that record was certified double Platinum, which proved the fact that music lovers enjoyed that studio work as well. That album included one of Stevie’s most famous and recognizable songs - Pride and Joy. In 1984 the second record Couldn't Stand The Weather was issued, which turned out to be as successful as the band’s first work. In Couldn't Stand The Weather Stevie represented the original interpretation of Jimi Hendrix’ composition Voodoo Child (Slight Return). That album was followed by Soul To Soul (1985), which got the fair reviews from the musical experts. In 1989 the band’s discography was enlarged by the record In Step, which became Stevie’s last work with Double Trouble. In Step proved to be very strong and successful, created in the band’s best traditions.

In 1990 the duo The Vaughan Brothers, consisting of Stevie and his older brother Jimmie released the album Family Style. The musician had always wanted to collaborate with his brother, and Family Style turned out to be really impressive. On August 27, 1990 the helicopter with Stevie Ray Vaughan on board crashed while flying to Chicago, where the musician was going to perform at the concert. The extremely talented guitarist tragically passed away at the age of 35, but he managed to influence the music development. After his death the numerous compilation and concert albums recorded at different periods of Stevie’s creativity were released. In 2010 the new compilation album titled Couldn't Stand The Weather - Legacy Edition was issued, including the musician’s best songs. Stevie Ray Vaughan is considered to be on of the most talented and creative guitarist of all time, and in 2000 he was inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame for his contribution to blues development.