The Electric Blues sensation, Stevie Ray Vaughan was one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Dallas-born Stevie was interested and started playing guitar at the age of seven. Even though his career spanned only seven years, Stevie is known for performing and showing his great talent for jazz.
Stevie is probably the most-talked guitarist of the 80s. It is known that he and his band Double Trouble were discovered in a Club in Dallas. His talent showcased a great performance every time he was on stage. This led to him being in touch with other many great artists.
Back in 1982, in July, Stevie Ray and his band Double Trouble were filmed playing a show at the Continental Club. Right then, the manager gave Mick Jagger the tape which allowed the band to perform a private live show at a Rolling Stones Party in New York. It was on April 22, 1983.
Also in the biography Caught in the crossfire by Joe Nick Patosky and Crawford. We are given a story that Vaughan got famous playing in bars in Texas. It was done to get a record deal. That’s when the manager of Vaughan gave Mick Jagger the tape to watch.
In the book he wrote, “Watts was overwhelmed by what he saw; Clad in a white kimono adorned with bamboo leaves, a silver concho belt and a black belt with a silver ribbon, Stevie Ray Vaughan navigated the realms of the filthy and the low like no one had heard of Watts in 20 years. The way the Vaughan kid was was not in the least mimic or slavish, but rather fresh and authentic. He sounded like he wrote the songs himself, with such flash and power that his guitar sounded like it was on fire.”
“The Vaughan face with a twisted grimace as he tugged the strings of a newly formed Strat with its wiring hanging out like entrails,” the passage continues. “He threw the guitar behind his head, hopped backward and swayed his hips – the way he sped through Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Tell Me’ was like he was Hubert Sumlin’s lost brother. He had the audacity to cap it off with “Manic Depression.” As Watts saw the tape Stevie unbuckle his guitar and bang it against his Marshall amp, causing the feedback to rise to a violent crescendo, he made a move to the phone to call Chelsea. [Vaughan’s manager]”.
The guitarist was a sensation back in the 80s. His signature 59 Fender Stratocaster was a way of showing his appreciation for his idol Jimi Hendrix. After the band performed at that private performance at the Rolling Stones Party, the band made their biggest show. It was the Montreux International Jazz Festival in Switzerland. They won a Grammy Award for the cover of ‘Texas Flood’ too.
Back to the book explaining the encounter between Rolling Stones and Stevie, it says that the videotape totally blows Watts. And the gig they played at the Rolling Stones party, it was because Watts called Vaughan’s manager and arranged it. They were also considering signing him to their label.
The book continued, “In the beginning, the gig had all the trappings of a rough, ill-fated journey. Amps blew, guitar strings snapped, like some sort of curse was on the band, but when the stage manager tried to cut them off after their allotted 35 minutes — a typical New York set but barely time to quit by Texas standards — Ron Wood pulled raised the curtain while Mick Jagger yelled, “F*** them up!”
That’s the Rolling Stones. When it came to Vaughan, he says it was his very first meeting with Jagger. He recalled, “It was the first time I met him, I attacked it and kept seeing someone from Texas I thought I knew. This guy jumps up and down pretending to play with us. About an hour later it turned out to be Jagger I was staring at. Every time we stopped, Jagger would yell, “Keep playing! Damn it, I’m buying this place!”
From playing in bars to achieving great success in his music career, he did all he could. His excellent gift for jazz and fierceness in his playing style guitar will always make him a Blues legend. He only had four studio albums and died at the age of only 35. Mick and the rest of the Stones really loved him. Back in 1986, Mick and Jerry Hall announced SRV performing his song ‘Change It’ on Saturday Night Live 1986.
