The Sky is Crying: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Oct 3, 1954 - Aug 27, 1990
It was 17 years ago today that blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash in East Troy, Wisconsin. He was 35.
It’s hard to overstate the importance and impact of Vaughan. Critics and purists may not be crazy about it, but Vaughan is the face of the blues for a lot of people my age and younger. He achieved a level of mainstream success in popularity while working in a genre that had long since relegated to the fringe. The way he melded his blues and rock influences with his own voice has inspired a legion of followers, some good and others… less.
I was in high school when Vaughan died and I remember getting the news from MTV News. I knew Vaughan by name, mostly because I liked to read the generic guitar magazines to keep up with my Hair Metal Heroes and Vaughan’s name was constantly thrown around in those publications. I took it on faith that he was as great a guitar player as the mags said but had never heard a note of his playing at the time of his death.
It wasn’t until many years after his passing that I would discover his powerful, visceral brand of blues. I suspect like most people, the first song by Vaughan I ever heard was “Pride & Joy.” If I’m not mistaken, the first time I ever heard it was on a radio station in Cocoa Beach, FL. I was in town with my dad to see a shuttle launch — a great story for another time — and we had a classic rock station on in the car. This particular station made a point of giving title and artist for every song they play. It’s a good thing, too, because I never would have had any idea who or what I was listening to. “Pride & Joy” made enough of an impact that I bought Texas Flood when I got back to Huntsville.
Texas Flood didn’t become part of my regular listening rotation at that time. Despite what some purists might say, Vaughan’s blues were a little too authentic for me at that time. I suppose it was college when the SRV bug really bit me. Now I was working at a classic rock radio station and regularly played Stevie Ray. It was in The Big White House in Tuscumbia, AL that I first heard songs like “Crossfire” and “Tightrope.” The song that really sent me out of my head was “The Sky is Crying,” a song I now know was an Elmore James cover. “The Sky is Crying” combined Vaughan’s larger-than-life Texas voice and some of the most searing blues leads I had ever heard.
I’ve now bought nearly every Stevie Ray Vaughan album. I’ve got the four studio albums he released before his death: Texas Flood, Couldn’t Stand the Weather, Soul to Soul, and In Step. I’ve got The Sky is Crying and the 3CD/1DVD box set SRV, noth released posthumously. I’ve got Live Alive, Carnegie Hall, and the 2-CD Montreux live sets. In Step is probably the best starting point for the uninitiated. It is also my favorite of his albums, along with the wonderfully executed box set. TheWifeToWhomI’mMarried loves to hear his version of Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile” and great cover of “Willie The Wimp,” both of which can be found on the box.
Vaughan’s loss was immense and immeasurable. Aside from the obvious, his loss is all the more tragic because it came on the heels of freedom from his addictions. There is so much joy and life in Vaughan’s In Step album, the last he would record, which dealt heavily with his path to recovery. He was beginning to write more and better songs, had fought hard to overcome so much, and found the courage to talk about it. Everything seemed to be looking up and the second decade of his career was going to be more powerful than the first. The magic in his music bursts with fire, joy, and passion. All that joy makes the silencing of his spirit all the sadder. There is nothing so bittersweet as this kind of short-lived brilliance.
Filed under: Tags: Musical Musings and Random Ramblings
In Step: the last trio i played in used to do “Travis Walk”. what a blast!
I just got done listening to that. It’s one of the highpoints on that record.
i have to admit that the instrument setup was kind of weird. at first glance, guitar, bass & drums sounds right: except that i played the bass using a Roland gr-50 guitar synth attached to my Strat.
still, i was a load of fun.
We’re all waiting for the YouTube footage of that performance.
In the meantime, kids, it’s a good idea to bust out with a copy of In Step and hear SRV’s version.
Great from the heart post! Loved him, and I too remember hearing the news, a little more out of high school than you at the time, but none the less! Anytime I hear that guitar screamin’ you know its Stevie! He took the guitar, and he reached deep inside your soul.. to share his love for the blues!
I just visited his gravesite saturday and left him purple daisies and a texas flag - beautiful site,did the same for his dad, who is buried beside him. Left with a very heavy heart - rest in peace stevie, we remember you!
I have some nice pictures of this very serene site and some cool things left behind by fans, if interested mail me at sandiego6@sbcglobal.net and I wil forward. What a sad day today.
Thanks for reminding me! He breezed through my town at our local Fair when I was a little boy. He wore his chieftain headdress, and made the newspaper (about, 1983?)
I do recommend the good box set (Epic / Legacy #E4K 65714), 3 disks and a DVD.
Catch the movie “Back to the Beach” where he jams with Dick Dale (in a wig & Miami Vice blazer!?)
Changing the strings on guitar tonight, and the lunar eclipse is on!
Thanks for the write-up.
I suspect like most people, the first song by Vaughan I ever heard was “Pride & Joy.â€
Actually most people don’t know that the first time they heard Stevie was his work the same year on Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.” The sound is different, but you can still hear him if you listen.
The first time I heard the name, it’s 1985-86. My buddy and I are driving on the freeway flipping the dial. Stop on some rock station and we hear Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile,” but it sounds slightly different. Must be an alternate track because no one plays as good as Hendrix. Then the DJ tells us it’s Stevie. Huh? Who the hell is that? Don’t know other than he’s the guy whose name will be on the next record I buy.
You know what’s better than hearing Stevie play. Watching him. I got to see him 10/88 on a bill with his brother’s band opening and Santana closing. For the encore, the three guitarists jammed trading solos. Imagine a song having seven guitar solos. They played two songs this way. There was 8/89 with BB King as the opener, and lastly I got to see him 2/90 at the taping of the “David Letterman 8th Anniversary Special”, at the Universal Amphitheater. Yes, I am one lucky SOB.
The day he died I played “In Step” repeatedly. I remember playing frisbee golf and flipping the tape over and over as we walked through the park. I loved the sounds he made on “Riviera Paradise” where he would pluck the strings on the very bottom of the guitar. Didn’t know what the hell he was doing until I saw him on “Austin City Limits.”
SRV is a guitar god! I had the privilege of seeing him live twice - once at Great Woods on a double bill with the Allman Bros. and before that when he was a relative unknown - at the Newport Jazz Festival! I have modeled my guitar playing after hime and am still amazed at the little rifts I find him playing in each song of his. His music will live on forever!
Big Steve and the Spendas
El B is right, of course, that Bowie’s Let’s Dance album predates Vaughan’s solo debut, Texas Flood so millions heard SRV before they even knew it.
Thanks to all of you who have stopped by to share your memories of one of the greats. I don’t always know which pieces that I write are going to connect with anyone. I’m thrilled that so many of you have stopped by to remember him like this. It’s been a nice bit of catharsis. It’s also been cool to hear the stories.
Those of you who got to see him in concert are so fortunate. I’ve only seen him on DVD. I was just a little too late, something I’ll always regret as a music fan.
It blows my mind to think of him now in his 50s and Kurt Cobain in his 40s. They both left too soon, equally tragic albeit by different means.
Like most people, I caught on to Stevie late in his career. To my eternal regret, I never saw him in concert. I always recommend him to anyone, no matter what style they listen to.
I had always been a fan of the blues, but he really brought a modern strength to an older genre. Not only did he catapult the blues into the limelight, his music helped to evolve it.
When I play his version of Little Wing or Life Without You, Lenny, Crossfire, Dirty Pool, Riviera Paradise, just to name a few–it’s like someone hit me with a 2×4. I am absolutely stunned.
RIP SRV-you are missed.
My first date with my future wife was to a Stevie concert in Bloomington, Indiana around 1986. I had never heard of the guy, and was only there because she was a big fan and actually invited me to go, rather than visa versa.
Cancer took her from me and our kids this past April. I listen to SRV now and think of her.
Like Stevie, she died shortly after finally overcoming her own demons; tobacco, alcohol & drugs.
Listening to Stevie now, is bitter-sweet…..times two.
Thanks for the tribute to one of the greatest ever. i’ve been a fan of SRV since I first heard him in the 81-82 timeframe. Everytime I hear his cover of “Littlewing” I still get chills. Thanks again.
El Bicho,
you can REALLY hear him on David Bowie’s Cat People off the same CD - can’t miss him!
Steve Murphy - what a nice, yet understandably bittersweet memory - God bless you and the memory of your wife, I am sure it is tough to listen, but hopefully brings back good memories at the same time. Sorry to hear of your sad story but thanks for sharing, I appreciated reading that.
Jen
Thanks for the nice post Josh and the comments from everyone.
Saw Stevie once - just North of Boston in 04/88 (strange - the show is not part of the SRV gig database). Nice little 2 or 3 thousand person venue. I’m on Stevie’s side - row 2. Nice.
Stevie and the band are introduced - he POPS out on stage and tears right into Scuttle Butt’n. Fries everyone in seconds flat! Loud - PEDAL TO THE METAL.
Everything he did that night was magical. Broke a string at one point - starting playing the guitar with the broken string perfectly!
Great talk at Life Without You. Very moving. Man was drenched from the heart and soul he put out that night and the crowd really showed its heart too.
Just a fantastic show from start to finish.
And speaking of finishes…
The band walks off and Steive on his own gets to the edge of the stage and sits right down - strumming nicely away. We lucky ones in the first few rows move slowly around him. We touch him easy on the arms as he continues to play. He finishes up and thanks us all and off he goes.
Amazing. Truly he was one-of-a-kind.
Will never forget that night - and will always have Stevie’s music on hand.
Thanks Stevie.
–John
Saw him perform live in Gardner Mass. PBA club.
Don’t remember the date . Summer 89 I believe. What I do remember was the music. Watching him play was just amazing. Never be another. Happy B day SRV…you are sorely missed.