Stevie Ray Vaughan
Wonder, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and Nile Rodgers.
Legacy
Vaughan memorial at Lady Bird Lake, in Austin, Texas. (301547.1774 97452.4228 / 30.263104833N 97.750673W / 30.263104833; -97.750673)
The 1991 album The Sky Is Crying was the first of several posthumous Vaughan releases to achieve chart success. Jimmie Vaughan later co-wrote and recorded a song in tribute to his brother and other deceased blues guitarists, titled “Six Strings Down”. Bonnie Raitt’s 1991 album Luck of the Draw was dedicated to him. Many other artists recorded songs in remembrance of Vaughan, including Eric Johnson, Tommy Emmanuel (the song Stevie’s Blues), Buddy Guy and Steve Vai (“Jibboom” on the album The Ultra Zone, 1999) and guitarist Wayne Perkins (“Big Stratocaster”, from the album Rambling Heart). Stevie Wonder included a song on his 1995 live album Natural Wonder titled “Stevie Ray Blues”. On the album, Wonder refers to the song as “Stevie Ray Vaughan Blues”.
Musicians such as John Mayer, Robert Randolph, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Colin James, Jonny Lang, Los Lonely Boys, Mike McCready, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci, and Doyle Bramhall II have cited Vaughan as an influence.
In 1991, Texas governor Ann Richards proclaimed October 3, Vaughan’s birthday, to be “Stevie Ray Vaughan Day.” An annual motorcycle ride and concert in Central Texas benefits the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Scholarship Fund.
In 1992, the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation released the Stevie Ray Vaughan Signature Stratocaster, which Vaughan had helped design. As of 2007, the model is still in production. In 2004, Fender also released a limited edition exact replica of “Number One”. The last guitar that Vaughan played before his death is on display in the Hard Rock Cafe in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. During that same year, Vaughan’s name is mentioned in Stephen King’s You Know They Got a Hell of a Band, a short story about a town populated by late music legends.
In 1994, the city of Austin erected the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Statue at Auditorium Shores on Lady Bird Lake, the site of a number of Vaughan’s concerts. It has become one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions.
In 2000, Stevie Ray Vaughan was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Stevie Ray Vaughan became eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
In November 2007, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation released a second tribute to Vaughan, an exact replica of his second beloved guitar: Lenny. This guitar was given to him by his wife Lenora (“Lenny”) on his 26th birthday and Vaughan was very fond of it. According to Fender, the original Lenny was a 1965 Strat that he saw in the window of a pawn shop that he was unable to afford. The guitar is sold with a strap, a case with Vaughan’s name embroidered in the fabric lining, a number of brochures and memorabilia and a leather bound certificate of authenticity.
In 2008, residents voted to rename Dallas’ Industrial Boulevard, with Vaughan’s name being one of the finalists alongside Stanley Marcus, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Cesar Chavez.
Influences and style
Vaughan’s blues style was influenced by many blues guitarists. Foremost among them were Albert King, Otis Rush, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Jimi Hendrix. He was also strongly influenced by early blues-rock guitarist Lonnie Mack, who, according to Vaughan, “really taught me to play guitar from the heart”, Vaughan, who had idolized Mack since childhood,[citation needed] produced and played on Mack’s 1985 Alligator Records album Strike Like Lightning and covered “Wham!”, which was written by Mack, among others. Vaughan’s older brother Jimmie Vaughan has stated that Johnny “Guitar” Watson was the guitarist he and Vaughan studied the most. Vaughan also cited his brother as an influence.
Vaughan’s sound and playing style, which often incorporated simultaneous lead and rhythm parts, drew comparisons to Hendrix. Vaughan covered several Hendrix tunes on his studio albums and in performance, such as “Little Wing,” “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” and “Third Stone from the Sun.” He was also heavily influenced by Freddie King,[citation needed] another Texas bluesman, mainly in the use of tone and attack; King’s heavy vibrato can clearly be heard in Vaughan’s playing.[citation needed] Another stylistic influence was Albert Collins.[citation needed] By utilizing his index finger as a pick la Albert Collins, he was able to coax various tonal nuances from his amplifiers. Vaughan also took considerable influence from jazz guitarists such as Kenny Burrell.[citation needed]
Main musical equipment
Guitars
Stevie’s main guitar was a cherished, beat-up 1963 Fender Stratocaster he dubbed Number One. He always referred to Number One as a ’59. “1962” was stamped on the neck, and “1963” was written in the body cavity. On the back of the pickups, “1959” was written on the back. The