Today marks what would have been the 54th birthday of one of the greatest guitar players in history, Stevie Ray Vaughan. In the midst of a stellar career in the late-80s Vaughan nearly died from his addiction to cocaine and alcohol. He subsequently, went to rehab, cleaned up and then went back on the road.
In August 1990, after a concert in East Troy, Wisconsin Vaughan was unexpectedly offered the last remaining seat on a helicopter that was flying back to Chicago. The helicopter crashed less than a mile from take-off killing all five people on board, including Stevie Ray Vaughan.
In 1994, the city of Austin erected the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Statue at Auditorium Shores on the site of a number of Vaughan's concerts. It has become one of the city's most popular tourist attractions.
Rolling Stone ranks Vaughan as the 7th greatest guitarist of all time, just before Chuck Berry (6th) and just after Ry Cooder (8th) who is also the producer of the Buena Vista Social Club. Jimi Hendrix, of course, is #1.
In the video below, Stevie performs "Texas Flood" which he won a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1983. Enjoy...
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