On this day (August 27) in 1990, the music world lost the masterful blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan, who was 35, was killed in a helicopter crash after jamming with Eric Clapton and his band at a show in East Troy, Wisconsin.
Vaughan and his band, Double Trouble, had been serving as Clapton’s opening act on the British guitar great’s 1990 tour. On the evening of August 26, after his own set with Double Trouble, Stevie Ray joined Clapton a special guest during the encore of the concert, which was held at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy.
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After the show, Vaughan boarded a helicopter on site bound for Midway International Airport in Chicago. In the early morning hours of August 27, the aircraft crashed into a ski hill near the venue shortly after takeoff. All five people on bard were killed instantly, including Stevie Ray, three members of Clapton’s entourage, and the pilot.
More About Vaughan
Vaughan played in a variety of bands in his native Texas, starting as a teenager in the late 1960s. By the late 1970s, the Dallas-born guitarist had formed his own band, Double Trouble. In 1982, David Bowie caught Stevie Ray and his group performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and he invited him to play on his Let’s Dance album. Vaughan is featured on most of the 1983 album, including the chart-topping title track.
That same year, Vaughan released his debut album with Double Trouble, Texas Flood, a began getting attention as one of the most talented blues and rock guitarists of his era.
Stevie Ray released four studio albums before his death, while a collaborative album called Family Style that he recorded with his older brother, Jimmie, was released a month after his passing. In addition, a posthumous album, The Sky Is Crying, a collection of unreleased recordings, was put out in 1991.
Vaughan and Double Trouble were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
Vaughan’s Fabulous Live Performance of “Life Without You”
Not surprisingly, there are many concert videos documenting Vaughan’s guitar brilliance posted online. One particularly impressive performance was a rendition of Stevie Ray’s original tune “Life Without You” filmed at a September 15, 1985, show at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey.
“Life Without You” was a song that closed out Vaughan and Double Trouble’s third studio album, Soul to Soul, released on September 30, 1985. Stevie Ray wrote the soulful blues ballad about his good friend Charlie Wirz, who had died earlier that year. Wirz, who owned a Dallas guitar shop, was a mentor to Vaughan. He helped customize a variety of Stevie Ray’s favorite guitars.
The Capitol Theatre performance of “Life Without You” starts with Vaughan emotively delivering the tune’s lyrics, which lament the loss of someone dear to him. Stevie Ray then proceeds to play a long, emotional solo showcasing his dexterity, speed, and finesse.
Taking a page from his guitar hero Jimi Hendrix’s playbook, Vaughan flips his guitar behind his back and continues to play riveting riffs. In the middle of the tune, Stevie Ray pauses to deliver a touching monologue about the importance of lifting up other people when they’ve been knocked down by life.
Vaughan then returns to soloing, at one point, a la Hendrix, playing the guitar with his teeth. Wringing note after emotional note from his guitar, Stevie Ray extended the tune to a 10-minute-plus epic.
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