Pistoia
—  Comune  —
Città di Pistoia
The Bell Tower of the Cathedral in Piazza Duomo.
Pistoia Location of Pistoia in Italy
Coordinates: 43°56′N 10°55′E / 43.933°N 10.917°E / 43.933; 10.917Coordinates: 43°56′N 10°55′E / 43.933°N 10.917°E / 43.933; 10.917
Country	Italy
Region	Tuscany
Province	Pistoia (PT)
Frazioni	see list
Government
• Mayor	Samuele Bertinelli (PD)
Area
• Total	236 km2 (91 sq mi)
Elevation	65 m (213 ft)
Population (30 September 2008)
• Total	90,072
• Density	380/km2 (990/sq mi)
Demonym	Pistoiesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	51100
Dialing code	0573
Patron saint	St. Jacopo
Saint day	July 25
Website	Official website

The Ospedale del Ceppo.

The octagonal baptistery.

The Duomo

Interior of Basilica of Our Lady of Humility.

Pistoia  listen (help·info) is a city and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno.

History[link]

Pistoria (in Latin other possible spellings are Pistorium or Pistoriae) was centre of Gallic, Ligurian and Etruscan settlements before becoming a Roman colony in the 6th century BC, along the important road Via Cassia: in 62 BC the demagogue Catiline and his fellow conspirators were slain nearby. From the 5th century the city was a bishopric, and during the Lombardic kingdom it was a royal city and had several privileges. Pistoia's most splendid age began in 1177 when it proclaimed itself a free commune: in the following years it became an important political centre, erecting walls and several public and religious buildings.

In 1254 the Ghibelline Pistoia was taken over by Guelph Florence, but supposedly resulted in the division of the Guelphs into "Black" and "White" factions. Pistoia remained a Florentine holding except for a brief period in the 14th century, when Castruccio Castracani captured it for Lucca, and was officially annexed to Florence in 1530. During the 14th century Ormanno Tedici was one of the Lords of the city.

In 1786 a famous Jansenist episcopal synod was convened in Pistoia.

Dante mentioned in his Divina Commedia the free town of Pistoia as the home town of Vanni Fucci, who is encountered in Inferno tangled up in a knot of snakes while cursing God, and Michelangelo called the Pistoiesi the "enemies of heaven".

According to one theory, Pistoia lent its name to the pistol,^[1] which it started manufacturing in the 16th century. But today it is also notable for the extensive garden nurseries spreading around it. Consequently, Pistoia is also famous for its flower markets, as is the nearby Pescia.

Main sights[link]

Although not as visited as other towns in Tuscany, mostly due to the industrial environs, Pistoia presents a well-preserved and charming medieval city inside the old walls.

Piazza del Duomo[link]

The large Piazza del Duomo is lined with attractive original buildings as the Palazzo del Comune and the Palazzo del Podestà: it is the setting (in July) of the Giostra dell'Orso ("Bear Joust"), when the best horsemen of the districts of the town tilt with lances at a target held up by a dummy shaped like a bear.

The original Cathedral of San Zeno (5th century) burned down in 1108, but was rebuilt during the following century, and received incremental improvements until the 17th century. The façade has a prominent Romanesque style, while the interior received heavy Baroque additions which were removed during the 1960s. Its outstanding feature is the Altar of St James, an exemplar of the silversmith's craft begun in 1287 but not finished until the 15th century. Its various sections contain 628 figures, the total weighing nearly a ton. The Romanesque belfry, standing at some 67 m, was erected over an ancient Lombard tower.

In the square is also the 14th century Baptistry, in Gothic style, with white-green marble decorations.

The Palazzo dei Vescovi ("Bishops' Palace"), is characterized by a Gothic loggiato at the first floor. It is known from 1091, initially as a fortified noble residence. In the 12th century it received a more decorated appearance, with mullioned windows and frescoes, of which traces remain. It was later modified in the mid-12th (when the St. James Chapel, narrated by Dante Alighieri in the XXIV canto of his Inferno) and in the 13th century; to the latter restoration belongs the white marble-decorated staircase, one of the most ancient examples in Italy in civil architecture. In the 14th century the Chapel of St. Nicholas was decorated with stories of the namesake saint and of martyrs

The Tower of Catilina is from the High Middle Ages, and stands 30 m high.

Religious buildings[link]

This section requires expansion.

• Basilica of Our Lady of Humility (Madonna dell'Umiltà) (1509), finished by Giorgio Vasari with a 59 m-high cupola. The original project was by Giuliano da Sangallo, but works were begun in 1495 by Ventura Vitoni. The dome was commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici to Vasari, the lantern begin completed in 1568 and the church consecrated in 1582. In the apse is a painting by Bernardino del Signoraccio (1493).
• the Baroque Santissima Annunziata, famous for its Chiostro dei Morti ("Dead's Cloister").
• San Bartolomeo in Pantano (12th century).
• San Giovanni Battista (15th century). Damaged during World War II bombardments, it is now used as an exhibition center.
• San Giovanni Battista al Tempio (11th century), owned for a while by the Templar and then by the Hospitaller Knights.
• San Benedetto (14th century, restored in 1630). It houses a 1390 Annunciation by Giovanni di Bartolomeo Cristiani, a 16th century Forentine school St. Benedict with the Redeemer and, in the cloister, Histories of the Order of the Knights of St. Benedict by Giovan Battista Vanni (1660).
• San Domenico.
• Franciscan church of San Francesco (begun in 1289). It has an unfinished façade with bichrome marble decoration. It has frescoes with 'Histories of St. Francis in the main chapel and other 14th–15th centuries frescoes.
• The Romanesque San Giovanni Fuoricivitas (12th–14th century).
• San Leone, built in the 14th century but enlarged in the 16th–18th centuries. Its Baroque-Roccoco interior houses some notable canvasses by artists such as Giovanni Lanfranco, Stefano Marucelli and Vincenzo Meucci.
• Santa Maria delle Grazie.
• Santa Maria in Ripalta, mentioned from the 11th century. It houses a large Ascension fresco in the apse, attributed to Manfredino d'Alberto (1274).
• San Paolo.
• San Pier Maggiore.
• Pieve di Sant'Andrea, housing Giovanni Pisano's Pulpit of St. Andrew.
• The ancient Pieve of San Michele in Groppoli, in the neighbourhood of the city.
• La Vergine.

Others[link]

• The 14th century walls. These had originally four gates, Porta al Borgo, Porta San Marco, Porta Carratica and Porta Lucchese, all demolished at the beginning of the 20th century.
• Ospedale del Ceppo (13th century).
• Palazzo Panciatichi
• The Monument in Honour of Brazilians (Soldiers and Pilots) killed in action on Italian Campaign (World War II)
• The Medici Fortress of Santa Barbara, built a first time in 1331 century by the Florentines, but destroyed by the Pistoiese citizens in 1343. It was rebuilt by order of Cosimo I de' Medici from 1539, and later enlarged by Bernardo Buontalenti. It sustained one single siege by the Barberini troops in 1643, before being disarmed by Grand Duke Peter Leopold in 1734. Later it was used as barracks and military jail, while now houses cinema shows in summer.

Transportation[link]

Its station is on the Maria Antonia railway, connecting Florence, Lucca and Viareggio and it is at the southern end of the Porrettana railway, the original line between Florence and Bologna.

Notable people[link]

• Enrico Betti
• Mauro Bolognini
• Giosuè Carducci
• Cino da Pistoia
• Pope Clement IX
• Ippolito Desideri
• Massimo Freccia (Valdibure)
• Licio Gelli
• Marino Marini
• Giovanni Michelucci
• Filippo Pacini

[edit] Frazioni

Badia a Pacciana, Baggio, Bargi, Barile, Bonelle, Bottegone, Campiglio Germinaia, Canapale, Candeglia, Capostrada, Case Nuove di Masiano, Castagno di Piteccio, Chiazzano, Chiesina Montalese, Chiodo, Cignano, Cireglio, Collina, Corsini Bianchi, Corsini Neri, Fabbrica, Gello, Iano, Le Fornaci, Le Grazie, Le Piastre, Le Pozze, Le Querci, Lupicciano, Masiano, Masotti, Nespolo, Orsigna, Piazza, Piestro, Piteccio, Piuvica, Pontelungo, Pontenuovo, Pracchia, Pupigliana, Ramini, Sammommè, San Biagio, San Felice, San Rocco, Sant'Agostino, Sant'Alessio in Bigiano, Santomato, Saturnana, Spazzavento, Stazzana, Torbecchia, Valdibrana, Vicofaro, Villa di Baggio, Villanova di Valdibrana.

Twin towns — sister cities[link]

Pistoia is twinned with:

• Oneşti, Bacău County, Romania
• Kruševac, Serbia
• Pau, France, since 1975
• Zittau, Germany

Events[link]

• Pistoia Blues, an international music festival held since 1980.
• Giostra dell'Orso ("Joust of the Bear"), a ceremony that is mentioned even in a chronicle of 1300, when a dozen riders organized a ritual combat against a bear. Despite many changes, this traditional ceremony was staged every year until 1666, when the abandonment was recorded by the ritual celebration of the people. It was restarted in 1947, and takes place on July 25.

Footnotes[link]

Sources[link]

• David Herlihy. Medieval and Renaissance Pistoia: the social history of an Italian town. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1967.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pistoia

• Comune di Pistoia
• Pistoia Tourist Consortium: lots of information and city map download
• Pistoia Blues Festival
• Virtual Tour of the City
• Pistoia Travel Guide

Beppe Grillo
Leader of the Five Star Movement
Incumbent
Assumed office October 4, 2009
Personal details
Born	(1948-07-21) 21 July 1948 (age 63) Genoa, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Political party	Five Star Movement
Relations	Married
Children	6
Occupation	Comedian, Activist, Politician
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Website	http://www.beppegrillo.it/

Giuseppe Piero Grillo, better known as Beppe Grillo (born 21 July 1948), is an Italian activist, blogger, comedian and actor. He has been involved in politics since 2009 as leader of the Five Star Movement.

Biography[link]

Grillo was born in Genoa, Liguria.

After receiving his degree as an accountant, Grillo became a comedian by chance, improvising a monologue in an audition. Two weeks later he was discovered and launched by Italian TV presenter Pippo Baudo. He subsequently participated in the variety show Secondo Voi for two years (1977–78). Later, in 1979, he participated in Luna Park by Enzo Trapani, and Fantastico.

In the 1980s his success rose further, thanks to shows like Te la do io l'America (1982, 4 episodes) and Te lo do io il Brasile (1984, six episodes). In these shows, he narrated his experiences of his visits to the United States and Brazil, with anecdotes and witticisms about the culture, lifestyle and beauty of these places.

As a result, his popularity grew more and more, and he became the protagonist of another show developed especially for him, called Grillometro (Grillometer). In 1986, he was the star of prize-winning advertisements for a brand of yogurt.

Soon after this, his performances began to be characterized by an increasing level of political satire, often expressed in such a direct way that he quickly offended a lot of Italian politicians. In 1987 during the Saturday night TV show Fantastico 7, he attacked the Italian Socialist Party and its leader Bettino Craxi, then Italy's Prime Minister, on the occasion of his visit in the People's Republic of China. Grillo said:

If the Chinese are all socialists, whom do they steal from?

The joke hinted at the totalitarianism of the PRC, but even more to the widespread corruption for which the Italian Socialist Party was known. As a consequence, Grillo was effectively and silently banished from publicly owned television; yet, he was vindicated a few years later when the Italian Socialist Party had to be disbanded in a welter of corruption scandals known as Tangentopoli, uncovered by the Mani pulite investigation. Craxi himself died in Tunisia, unable to return to Italy where he would have been jailed for several convictions.

Consequently, from the beginning of the 1990s his appearances on television became rare: according to many people, the reason for this is a silent ostracism by politicians offended by his revelations about their hidden financial activities, frauds and false claims. When one of his shows was finally allowed to be broadcast by RAI, in 1993, it obtained a record share of 16 million viewers. He was later banned definitively from Italian television.

He currently performs in theatres in Italy and abroad, often with outstanding success.^[1] Grillo's themes include energy usage, political and corporate corruption, finance, freedom of speech, child labour, globalization, and technology. Recently Grillo started to encourage the use of Wikipedia as the future of knowledge sharing, and generally he is a strong proponent of internet freedom.^[2]

Political activism[link]

Beppe Grillo in Bologna speaking at V-Day.

Grillo has spearheaded several national and international political campaigns. On Sept. 8, 2007, he organized a "V-Day Celebration" in Italy; the "V" stood for vendetta, vengeance, and vaffanculo ("fuck off"). During the rally, Grillo projected the names of two dozen Italian politicians who had been convicted of crimes ranging from corruption and tax evasion to abetting a murder. More than 2 million Italians participated in this rally.^[3] Grillo also used this rally to urge Italians to sign a petition calling for the introduction of a Bill of Popular Initiative to remove members of the Italian Parliament who have criminal convictions of any kind from their office.^[4] According to Internet scholars, V–day was the first case in Italian history of a political demonstration developed and promoted via word–of–mouth mobilization on the blogosphere and the social web.^[5]

This was followed by the second V-Day on 25 April 2008, in Turin, S.Carlo square. This V-Day was dedicated to the Italian press and its government financial support; Grillo heavily criticized the Italian press for the lack of freedom; Umberto Veronesi (about his support for incinerators); NATO bases in Italy, the politicians (Silvio Berlusconi had recently been re-elected) and Retequattro, still holding on to TV frequencies already assigned to Europa 7 [2].

Beppe Grillo in Turin during electoral campaign.

On 1 September 2005, thanks to contributions from readers of his blog, Grillo bought a full page advertisement in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in which he called for the resignation of the Bank of Italy's (then) governor Antonio Fazio over the Antonveneta banking scandal. In October 2005, Time chose him as one of the "European Heroes 2005" for his constant battle against corruption and financial scandals.^[6]

On 22 November 2005 Grillo also bought a page in the International Herald Tribune, again claiming that members of the Italian Parliament ought not to represent citizens if they have ever been convicted in a court of law, even in the first degree of the three available in the Italian system.^[7] His blog now contains a regularly updated list of members of the Italian Parliament who have been convicted in all three degrees, in what he calls "operation Clean Parliament".^[8] Grillo claimed, in 2007, that data suggested that even Scampia, the most dangerous suburb of Naples and one of the areas with the highest crime rate in Europe, actually had a lower crime rate than the Italian parliament's membership.^[9]

On 26 July 2007 Grillo was permitted to speak to the members of the European Parliament in Brussels, where he drew attention to the dangerous, negative state of current Italian politics.^[10]

In August 2008, Grillo was the subject of a report on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC-TV) international affairs program "Foreign Correspondent". Titled "The Clown Prince" the report profiled Grillo's life, political activism, V Day campaign, and use of the internet as a political tool.^[11]

In 2010, he started a political movement called "Movimento 5 stelle" ("Movement five stars"), without the desire to be a leader and to be elected, but only to join, by the Internet, people who believe in ideals like honesty and direct democracy, and saying that politicians are only subordinates of the people and that they should work for the country only for a short time and only if they are not condemned for crimes, and thinking about the problems of their country without any other interest. The movement will be truly a party chance only from the next political round, when they will purpose their name not only in some regions but also in the political elections. The five stars represent the five basic points of the shared program: Water, Environment, Transport, Connectivity, Growth.

Beppegrillo.it[link]

Grillo maintains a blog (available in Italian, English and Japanese) at beppegrillo.it which is updated daily. Comments to posts regularly top the thousands (in the Italian version). According to Technorati, the blog is ranked among the 10 most visited blogs in the world. In 2008, The Guardian ranked Grillo's blog among the world's most powerful blogs.^[12]

Grillo often receives letters of appreciation and support from prominent figures, such as Antonio Di Pietro (former Italian Minister of Infrastructures), Fausto Bertinotti (former President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies), Renzo Piano, and even Nobel Prize Winners (like Dario Fo, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Dalai Lama, Muhammad Yunus).^[13]

Legal issues[link]

In 1980 he was found guilty of manslaughter for a car accident in which he was the driver; three passengers lost their lives.^[14]

During his shows Grillo never hesitates to name firms and personalities he considers corrupt, always supporting his views with data and documents^{[citation needed]}. For this reason he has been sued several times for libel by many people and organizations which he had exposed, such as Telecom Italia.

When Italian judges were investigating the Parmalat scandal, which was then the world's largest corporate bankruptcy scandal ever, Grillo was called to testify as he anticipated the imminent collapse of the dairy conglomerate in one of his shows. When he was asked by judges how he has been able to discover that, he simply said that Parmalat's financial holes were so evident that anybody who had enough ability to see them would see them, since the corporate accounting was easily accessible.^[15]

Criticism[link]

Grillo is often criticized for his lifestyle. In particular, critics blame him for owning a motor yacht and a Ferrari sports car, both being in contradiction with his well known ecologist stance. In his blog he admits that he did, in fact, acquire both but has since sold them.^[14]

Grillo is also criticized for taking advantage of the Condono Tombale, a fiscal amnesty granted by the first Berlusconi government in 2001, which Grillo publicly opposed.^[16] Grillo commented on this issue during the V-Day demonstration. He said that he had personally benefitted by only €500^{[citation needed]}.

Grillo has proposed that members of the Italian Parliament who have a criminal record should be barred from public office. As Grillo himself has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter caused by a car accident^[14] his critics^[who?] say he has no right to represent Italians either. Grillo has always stated that he is not interested in becoming a member of the Italian Parliament anyway.^[14] Despite this, in July 2009 he publicly expressed his intention to present himself as a candidate for the PD's primary elections^[17] which, however, does not imply automatic presence in the Italian parliament.

Another proposal of his is that members of Parliament be limited to two government terms of office after which they might not stand again. Detractors^[who?] argue that this would shorten the political life of competent and expert politicians, usually drawing Alcide De Gasperi, Aldo Moro and Enrico Berlinguer as examples of brilliant politicians who served more than two terms. Marco Travaglio replied that, for that sake, also the political life of much less popular Clemente Mastella would have suffered.^[18]

Grillo is criticized as being a mere demagogue who attacks politicians on superficial issues and their private lives while unable to provide a valid alternative. For instance, Daniele Luttazzi, famous Italian satirist, criticized Grillo in 2007 in an open letter published on the website of the news magazine Micromega. Luttazzi accused Grillo of being a "demagogue" and a "populist", suggesting Grillo to choose between satire and politics, asserting the two are incompatible.^[19]

In 2007 Grillo criticized the "Memorial Day of Foibe Massacres and Istrian-Dalmatian exodus" and the President of the Italian Repubblic Giorgio Napolitano^[20]

Filmography[link]

Grillo has appeared in three movies:

• Cercasi Gesù (1982)
• Scemo di Guerra (1985)
• Topo Galileo (1987)

In 2008, Grillo featured in the documentary, The Beppe Grillo Story, produced by Banyak Films for Al Jazeera English.

References[link]

External links[link]

Official websites[link]

• The English version of Beppe Grillo's personal blog
• Beppe Grillo's fans meeting map around the world

Other resources[link]

• 'Time' article about Grillo
• 'New York Times' video about Grillo
• 'New Yorker' Beppe’s Inferno

Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan performing on Austin City Limits in 1989
Background information
Birth name	Stephen Ray Vaughan
Also known as	SRV
Born	(1954-10-03)October 3, 1954 Dallas, Texas
Died	August 27, 1990(1990-08-27) (aged 35) East Troy, Wisconsin
Genres	Blues rock, electric blues, Texas blues, instrumental rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1965 (1965)–1990 (1990)
Labels	Epic, Legacy, Sony
Associated acts	Double Trouble, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Roomful of Blues, Jeff Beck, Joe Cocker
Website	srvofficial.com
Notable instruments
Fender Stratocaster

Stephen Ray "Stevie" Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and a notable recording artist. Often referred to by his initials, SRV, he is best known as the leader of the blues rock band Double Trouble, with whom he recorded four studio albums. Influenced by guitarists of various genres, Vaughan emphasized intensity and emotion in his guitar playing, and favored vintage guitars and amplifiers. He became one of the leading blues rock musicians, encompassing multiple styles, including jazz and ballads.

Born and raised in Dallas as the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan, he moved to Austin at the age of 17, and formed the band, Triple Threat Revue, that evolved into a band called Double Trouble, in 1978. Accompanied by drummer Chris Layton, bassist Tommy Shannon, and later, keyboardist Reese Wynans, Vaughan became an important figure in Texas blues, a loud, swing-driven fusion of blues and rock. Despite the breakthrough success of Double Trouble's debut Epic album, Texas Flood (1983), Vaughan entered a period of alcohol and drug addiction. In 1986, he successfully completed rehabilitation and released the album In Step in (1989). On August 27, 1990, while departing a concert venue by helicopter in East Troy, Wisconsin, Vaughan was killed when the helicopter crashed into the side of a ski hill. His death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as 3,000 people reportedly attended his public memorial service in Dallas.

Vaughan was highly rated and is considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He has received critical recognition for his guitar playing, ranked at #7 on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists" in 2003. He ranked #3 on Classic Rock magazine's list of "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes" in 2007. Vaughan won six Grammy Awards, including Best Contemporary Blues Performance for In Step. Vaughan was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2000 and won five W.C. Handy Awards. As of 2012, Vaughan has sold over 11.5 million albums with Double Trouble.

Life and career[link]

Early life (1954–1964)[link]

Stephen Ray Vaughan was born on October 3, 1954, the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan, at Methodist Hospital in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas, a community southwest of the central business district. His mother, Martha Jean Cook, was a secretary,^[1] and his father, Jimmie Lee "Big Jim" Vaughan, was an asbestos worker,^[2] who was a US Navy veteran of World War II.^[3] Throughout his childhood, Vaughan lived in several different cities. Martha acknowledged that the family traveled when Big Jim didn't find work in Dallas.^[2] In July 1997, Jimmie recalled their early childhood:

It wasn't really a comfortable 'Leave It to Beaver' kind of a deal, you know. There was a lot of tension, and there was moving all the time, and never really getting to know people ... on the highway all the time and going to school for two weeks here and three weeks here ... It was the absolute perfect training for us to do what we did ... They were great parents, and my mother's the sweetest mother in the world. And I love my dad. There was a lot of happy times and it wasn't all weird and crazy, but there was a lot of that too. We didn't ever know what our old man was gonna do, you know. He'd go off like a rocket. [But] we had the absolute best parents in the world for being the guitar players that we are, when I look back on it now.^[2][4]

After watching Jimmie begin playing guitar, Vaughan became fascinated with the instrument, and when he turned seven, Big Jim bought him a toy guitar from Sears.^[5] Among the first songs he learned to play were "Wine, Wine, Wine" and "Thunderbird" by the Nightcaps,^[6] a Texan garage rock band formed in the 1950s.^[7] He also learned to play songs by Jimmy Reed, which ignited Vaughan's love for blues music.^[6] Vaughan would spend hours playing along to records note for note and soon became consumed with playing the instrument;^[6] he would often practice to records that Jimmie brought home, which exposed him to guitarists such as Lonnie Mack, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, and B.B. King.^[8] One of the first to take notice was musician Doyle Bramhall, who said that Vaughan "had it from the get-go", and collaborated with Vaughan extensively in later years.^[9]

Vaughan attended Justin F. Kimball High School and was described by Vaughan as "beserk". He often would receive a note from the principal every day stating that his appearance was unacceptable to attend school.^[10] After failing music theory, Vaughan briefly attended Southern Methodist University after winning a scholarship to an evening experimental art class.^[11] He later fondly spoke of the class, saying: "It was a night class and it was a few kids from all over the city. It was completely wide open. We brought records and talked and worked. If you were working on a piece of sculpture and you decided to come in and smash it, you did it. If you wanted to look at it, you did that. The class was great, I learned a lot in it, but it was on the nights when I was supposed to be rehearsing."^[12]

Music career and Double Trouble (1965–1982)[link]

Vaughan began performing with bands at age 10,^[13] playing bass guitar in Jimmie's band, Texas Storm,^[11] and forming his own group, Blackbird.^[14] He made his first recordings with Cast of Thousands, a group that featured future actor, Stephen Tobolowsky, on vocals.^[15] By the time he entered high school, Vaughan began getting paid for late-night performances in local bars and clubs, leaving him exhausted for class the next morning.^[16] After Jimmie moved out of the home at age 15, Vaughan's parents were starting to express apprehension on his career choice. He took a job washing dishes at a local dairy mart for $0.70 an hour, later falling into a barrel of grease.^[17] He ultimately quit and devoted his life to being a professional musician:

When I was about twelve, I had been a dishwasher for a while, and part of my job was to clean out the trash bin. That involved standing on these big 55-gallon barrels with wooden lids on them, where they'd put all the hot grease.

One day I was out there cleaning out the bin, having a blast, and the top broke and I fell in. Just as I finally got out—I'd been up to my chest in grease—they came with two fresh hot vats of boiling grease and I got out just in time. If I'd taken a break later, I would have been a fried guy! The woman fired me because I broke the lids on the barrel, and right then and there I decided, 'Wait a minute. This is not what I want to do. I want to play guitar like Albert King!' And that's the last job I've had other than playing guitar. So, thank you, Albert, for helping me there.^[18]

Vaughan left school after seven weeks of his senior year and moved with Blackbird to Austin, Texas.^[19] Upon arrival, Vaughan recalls that he lived in a club called Rolling Hills—which later became the Soap Creek Saloon—and slept on either the pool table, stage, or floor, though he also said that it was one of his favorite times.^[18] In December 1972, Blackbird reformed as Krackerjack and included bassist, Tommy Shannon.^[20] After two months Vaughan parted with the band to join Marc Benno and the Nightcrawlers, which included singer, Doyle Bramhall. With the help of producer, David Anderle, the Nightcrawlers recorded an album at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood for A&M Records.^[21] Vaughan co-wrote two of the songs from the album including "Crawlin'" and "Dirty Pool". When co-founder, Jerry Moss, suggested adding horns to the album, Benno refused. As a result A&M shelved the project, and the Nightcrawlers returned to Texas without Benno.^[22] The group continued to perform in venues like the Armadillo World Headquarters only to break up a year later.^[23] In 2006, the recordings were later released by Blue Skunk Music.^[24]

In 1975 Vaughan joined guitarist, Denny Freeman, in Paul Ray and the Cobras, a group that appeared weekly at the Soap Creek Saloon.^[25] After two years of performances, Paul Ray was diagnosed with nodes on his throat, leaving the vocal duties to Vaughan during his absence.^[26] This prompted Vaughan to quit the Cobras and form a group called Triple Threat Revue, which included vocalist Lou Ann Barton, bassist W. C. Clark, and drummer Fredde "Pharoah" Walden.^[27] After Clark left to form his own band, he was replaced by Jackie Newhouse, and the group was renamed Double Trouble after a song by Otis Rush.^[28] Chris Layton replaced Walden after he quit the band in July 1978.^[29] Barton was later fired due to a drunken incident following a performance,^[30] and Double Trouble became a power trio. Tommy Shannon, who played with Vaughan in Krackerjack, replaced Newhouse after attending a Double Trouble performance in Houston.^[32][33]

[edit] Texas Flood, Couldn't Stand the Weather and Carnegie Hall (1983–1984)

In 1983 Vaughan contributed to David Bowie's album, Let's Dance; the album sold over three times as many copies as Bowie's previous best-seller.^[34] Vaughan was invited to join Bowie's band for the Serious Moonlight Tour, but Vaughan declined at the urging of his management.^[17] Double Trouble's reputation began to build, and a July 1982 appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival brought them to the attention of record producer John H. Hammond.^[35] In March 1983, Double Trouble signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records.^[35] In June of the same year Epic remixed and released Texas Flood.^[36] The album had spawned several singles, including "Pride and Joy", "Love Struck Baby", and "Mary Had a Little Lamb".^[37]

In the fall of 1983 Double Trouble opened 17 shows for The Moody Blues; the band received $5,000 per show, plus a bonus for successful ticket sales.^[38] In December of '83, Stevie Ray recorded a CD and DVD session with Albert King and also that same December 1983, Double Trouble performed for a taping of Austin City Limits;^[39] the show aired on February 28, 1984, and featured Jimmie's band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds.^[40] Producer, Terry Lickona, agreed that Vaughan's performance was "a combination of nervous, paranoid, and so insecure", saying that he had "zero self-confidence" and was "sweating big-time the whole night".^[41] Double Trouble also performed a sold-out show in New York City's Beacon Theatre, with Rolling Stones vocalist Mick Jagger in attendance.^[40] By the end of 1983, Texas Flood received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Blues Recording. "Rude Mood" was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.^[42]

Couldn't Stand the Weather, Double Trouble's second album, was released in 1984 to generally favorable reviews. Allmusic gave positive, although reserved, feedback, saying that there aren't "many weaknesses on the record, aside from the suspicion that Vaughan didn't really push himself as hard as he could have".^[43] Music critic Robert Christgau called it "a roadhouse album with gargantuan sonic imagination".^[44] The album was commercially successful, and while it did not receive better accolades, it peaked at number 31 on the US Billboard 200 chart.^[43]

On October 4, 1984, Double Trouble performed a sold-out benefit concert at New York City's Carnegie Hall. In celebration of Vaughan's thirtieth birthday, the show featured many special guests including the Roomful of Blues horn section, keyboardist Dr. John, Jimmie Vaughan, vocalist Angela Strehli, and drummer George Rains. The band wore custom velvet "mariachi" suits and designed a stage set of blue and gold.^[45] Vaughan originally planned to film the performance for future video release, though CBS Records declined. Strehli recalls: "...it was supposed to be videoed and at the last minute they pulled some kind of union thing: 'Well, this show is going to run past eleven, so that means we get double time.' So they had to cancel the video part, which is just a shame."^[46]

The concert was sold-out with Vaughan's closest friends, and family in the audience;^[45] the proceeds benefited the T.J. Martell Foundation's work in leukemia and cancer research.^[47] Vaughan was extremely excited and nervous, saying: "The last time I was that nervous is when I got married, but I couldn't show that to anybody ... I calmed down about halfway through 'Voodoo Chile.' I looked over at Tommy [Shannon], and he was just sort of staring at me, and that's when I knew it was gonna be all right."^[48] An afterparty was thrown by MTV for the band, record company, and other VIPs.^[49] According to the Dallas Times Herald, it took Vaughan an hour just to walk from the bar to the table across the room where his parents were sitting; the article also said, "Stevie Ray found his father, a retired asbestos worker who hadn't taken a plane ride since the Korean War, and hugged him until they both cried." After the show, Jimmie recalled that he was worried that the crowd would have been "a little stiff", saying "[It] turned out they're just like any other beer joint."^[50]

Following the Carnegie Hall performance, Double Trouble toured Australia and New Zealand, performing two shows at the Sydney Opera House.^[51] With increasing exposure, Vaughan's talent earned him two W. C. Handy Awards. He was the first white musician to receive Entertainer of the Year and Instrumentalist of the Year.^[52] Vaughan also co-produced and played on Lonnie Mack's album Strike Like Lightning. Released in April 1985, the album become Alligator Records' best seller.^[53]

[edit] Soul to Soul and substance abuse (1985–1986)

In April 1985, Vaughan appeared on opening day at the Houston Astrodome to perform "The Star Spangled Banner". Although he was the first guitarist to have opened a major league baseball game with the national anthem, Vaughan supposedly did not receive a positive reception for the rendition;^[54] one reporter said, "I was sure he'd be dead by the time he hit 30."^[4] Double Trouble's third studio album, titled Soul to Soul, was released on September 30, 1985, and featured new keyboardist Reese Wynans. Vaughan suggested that the album was named Soul to Soul because the band "learned a lot" and "grew a lot closer".^[55] Two singles from the album—"Change It" and "Look at Little Sister"—both peaked at number 17 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.^[56]

In March 1986, Double Trouble shared the bill with The Fabulous Thunderbirds during a tour of Australia and New Zealand.^[57] The band recorded live concerts across three nights of a subsequent US tour in Austin and Dallas.^[58] These recordings, along with a 1985 appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, were released as Live Alive on November 17, 1986. The album included a previously unreleased cover of Stevie Wonder's song "Superstition".^[59] Vaughan later admitted that the album wasn't his best, saying, "I wasn't in very good shape when we recorded Live Alive. At the time, I didn't realize how bad a shape I was in. There were more fix-it jobs done on the album than I would have liked. Some of the work sounds like [it was] the work of half-dead people. There were some great notes that came out, but I just wasn't in control; nobody was."^[60]

Vaughan developed a serious alcohol and cocaine habit while touring with Double Trouble; his performance contract called for two fifths of Crown Royal and one fifth of Smirnoff.^[61] His cocaine use increased to a quarter-ounce a day (about seven grams) and spiraled into a life-threatening dependency. Doyle Bramhall recalls that there were "mounds of cocaine laying on top of the organ", saying, "Where I was doing a lot, Stevie was doing five times, ten times more than I was doing."^[4] Vaughan's stomach became fiercely scarred from dissolving half a gram of cocaine in alcohol,^[62] leaving hundreds of small cuts in the stomach lining.^[63] During a tour of Europe a month later, Vaughan was hospitalized in Ludwigshafen for suffering from near-death dehydration after years of alcohol and substance abuse. Tommy Shannon said that as Vaughan tried to get up from his hotel bed, he vomited all over his chest and was covered with a puddle of blood. Layton recalled:

We called an ambulance, and these German medics showed up in long white coats, shouting German to one another. They pulled out I.V.'s and we were screaming, 'Hey! Wait a minute! What the hell's going on?' They spoke not a word of English, and we spoke no German. They put I.V.'s in him, and they wanted to take him to the hospital. We were yelling, 'Where are you taking him? What's happening? How will we find him?' They were giving him saline solution because they'd determined, by looking at his eyes and checking his vital signs, that he was suffering from near-death dehydration. They were trying to hydrate him. While he was laying on the bed, I looked into his eyes, and it was like looking into the eyes of a dead deer on the side of the road. They were almost dry, with no life in them. I got scared shitless.

All of a sudden, the life came back into his eyes, and he said, 'I need help,' real weakly. I took that as the moment where he realized this has got to change. Not like, 'I need to get better so I can go back to doing what I've been doing,' but 'everything has to change.'^[64]

Rehabilitation and final years (1986–1990)[link]

Vaughan was urged by a doctor to check into Peachford Hospital, a drug rehabilitation clinic in Atlanta, to begin a full recovery.^[65] About a month later, he checked out of Peachford and went back to touring.^[66] Fully recovered and healthy, Vaughan began living a more spiritual, ascetic lifestyle. He became more health-conscious and quit smoking cigarettes.^[59] To maintain his sobriety and prevent a relapse, Vaughan removed a stipulation for being provided with alcohol backstage.^[67]

In October 1988, Vaughan began recording his fourth studio album with Double Trouble, In Step (1989);^[68] he enjoyed the chance the album gave him to express his experience with sobriety.^[69] Vaughan brought with him his deep devotion to music and sobriety, which had an impact on the band's positive attitude during the album. His goal to improve his guitar playing on the album was largely driven by a desire to make better music, or as drummer Chris Layton put it, more "essential music".^[70] Many of the songs written for In Step were composed during the Live Alive Tour.^[71] The album was stylistically unlike their previous albums, with less blues and more original, groove-oriented material.

In January 1990, Vaughan gave a speech at an AA meeting; a recording and transcript of the speech have been widely circulated on the internet.^[72] On January 30, Vaughan made a guest appearance on MTV Unplugged in New York City, performing "Rude Mood", "Pride and Joy", and "Testify".^[73] In March, Vaughan collaborated with his brother, Jimmie, to record Family Style, produced by Nile Rodgers^[74] which was released on September 25, 1990.^[75] Containing ten songs, the album was a long-awaited project for both brothers; Jimmie said that the sessions "seemed natural" and "almost like we were back home".^[76] Vaughan said, "We've probably gotten closer making this record than we have been since we were little kids at home, and I can honestly say I needed it."^[4]

In August 1990, Double Trouble opened for Eric Clapton during two concerts held at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. The second of the two shows took place on August 26 and featured a jam session, including Vaughan, with Clapton, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, and Jimmie Vaughan, who performed "Sweet Home Chicago" as the finale to Clapton's set;^[77] Clapton introduced them as "the best guitar players in the entire world".^[78] Drummer Chris Layton recalled the conversation he had with Vaughan backstage after the show:

The conversation was actually very light; there was nothing heavy in it. It was just like, 'this is a great coupla nights and wasn't it great to be here,' and talked about the record that he and Jimmie just made, how they had a lot of fun and that was exciting. He was looking forward to that coming out and looking forward to us making another record. He was in great spirits. I mean, we just had two great nights and we talked about all kinds of stuff, talked about the son that my wife and I were getting ready to have–we didn't know it was a boy–but just anything and everything. We talked for, I guess, almost 30 minutes.

Then he got up and said, 'I'm gonna go back down to the dressing room for a minute.' I don't know, maybe five minutes or so later, he came back up and he had his jacket on, he had his bags. He was making this turn, and I said, 'Hey, what are you doin'?' And he said, 'I'm gonna go back to Chicago.' I said 'Well, now?' And he said, 'Yeah, I gotta get back. I want to call Janna,' his girlfriend, in New York. I thought, 'Jeez, you could actually call her anywhere and then call her later,' but he turned around and said, 'Call me when you get back. I love you,' and kinda gave me that wink of the eye he would do. And then he was gone. He just disappeared into the night.^[79]

Death[link]

On August 27, 1990, all of the musicians boarded four helicopters bound for Chicago, which were waiting on a nearby golf course. According to a witness, there was reportedly haze and fog of varying intensity with patches of low clouds. Despite the conditions, the pilots were instructed to fly over a 1000-foot ski hill. Vaughan, along with three members of Clapton's entourage, boarded the third of the four helicopters–a Bell 206B Jet Ranger–flying to Meigs Field. At about 12:50 am (CDT),^[80] the helicopter departed from an elevation of about 850 feet, veered to the left and crashed into the hill. All of the passengers, including the pilot, Jeff Brown, were killed instantly.^[81]

At 4:30 am, Civil Air Patrol was notified of the accident, ultimately locating the crash site almost three hours later.^[80] Both Clapton and Jimmie were told to identify the bodies; a Coptic cross necklace, worn by Vaughan, was given to Jimmie. The Walworth County coroner conducted an autopsy and found that Vaughan suffered from multiple internal and skull injuries.^[82] The cause of death was officially stated as "exsanguination due to transverse laceration of the aorta".^[81] According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a veteran pilot for Alpine Valley suspected that Brown attempted to fly around the ski hill, but misjudged the location.^[83] Clapton issued a statement the next day, saying that the victims "were my companions, my associates and my friends. This is a tragic loss of some very special people. I will miss all of them very much."^[84]

Vaughan's memorial was held on August 30, 1990, at Laurel Land Cemetery in Dallas, where he was buried next to his father,^[85] and was preceded by a private chapel service for close friends and family. Reverend Barry Bailey of the United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, who was Vaughan's AA sponsor, opened the service with personal thoughts: "We're here to thank God for this man's life. He was a genius, a superstar, a musician's musician. He captured the hearts of thousands and thousands of people. I am thankful for the impact of this man's influence on thousands of people in getting his own life together in the name of God." Kim Wilson, Jeff Healey, Charlie Sexton, ZZ Top, Colin James, and Buddy Guy attended the event. Stevie Wonder, Jackson Browne, and Bonnie Raitt sang "Amazing Grace" at the event.^[86] Nile Rodgers gave a eulogy,^[87] while a member of the Nightcrawlers read chapters five and eleven from The Big Book, a self-help book by Alcoholics Anonymous.^[88] In 1995, the Vaughan family received an undisclosed settlement for wrongful death.^[89]

Aftermath[link]

The Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Statue in Austin.

In the months that followed his death, Vaughan sold over 5.5 million albums in the United States.^[90] On September 25, 1990, Epic released Family Style, with several promotional singles and videos.^[75] In November 1990, CMV Enterprises released Pride and Joy, a collection of eight Double Trouble music videos.^[91] Sony signed a deal with the Vaughan estate to obtain control of his back catalog, as well as permission to release albums with previously unreleased material and new collections of released work.^[92] On October 29, 1991, The Sky Is Crying was released as Vaughan's first posthumous album with Double Trouble, and featured studio recordings from 1984–1985.^[93] Other compilations, live albums, and films have also been released since his death.

On October 3, 1991, former Texas governor Ann Richards proclaimed "Stevie Ray Vaughan Commemoration Day", during which a memorial concert was held at the Texas Theatre.^[93] In 1993, a memorial statue of Vaughan was unveiled on Auditorium Shores and is the first public monument of a musician in Austin.^[94] In September 1994, a Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial Run for Recovery was held in Dallas; the event was a benefit for the Ethel Daniels Foundation, established to help those in recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction who cannot afford treatment.^[95] In 2005, Martha Vaughan established the Stevie Ray Vaughan Scholarship, awarded by W.E. Greiner Middle School to students who intend to attend college and pursue the arts as a profession.^[96]

Personal life[link]

Vaughan and Lenora "Lenny" Bailey met in 1973 after one of Vaughan's performances with the Nightcrawlers at La Cucaracha, a nightclub in east Austin.^[97][98] Although moved by Vaughan's musical prowess, she was attracted to his charmingly modest personality.^[99] Double Trouble's song "Love Struck Baby", he said, was written about her, after claiming July 5 as their "love struck day".^[100] The couple were married on December 23, 1979, between sets at the Rome Inn in Austin, using pieces of wire for rings. Drummer, Chris Layton, described the ceremony as "spontaneous",^[4] saying, "It wasn't like there was invitations sent out or a certain group of people attended—it was just whoever was there was hanging around." Layton also said their marriage was "pretty excitable and passionate".^[101]

Upon return to their home in Austin from touring, Vaughan found the house padlocked, electricity shut off, and Lenny nowhere to be found. Biographers, Joe Nick Patoski and Bill Crawford, wrote that she, "squandered his road earnings on dope while running around with other men that one acquaintance glibly described as 'police characters.'"^[100] After she declined to visit Vaughan in treatment for substance abuse, he filed for divorce three months later. The case was settled out of court, with Lenny receiving alimony, plus $50,000 in cash and twenty-five percent of net royalties (excluding albums after Live Alive).^[102] Vaughan's manager attributes the demise of their marriage to "jealousy" and "unfaithfulness", and as a result, they were both brokenhearted.^[103]

On March 12, 1986, Double Trouble arrived in New Zealand for a performance at the Wellington Town Hall, where Vaughan was sitting outside his hotel room. Janna Lapidus, who was born in Russia, ran into Vaughan on the street and immediately struck up a friendship. In October 1986, while Vaughan was in the London Clinic for substance abuse, Lapidus visited him;^[104] they both decided to be together after seeing an older couple in front of them during a walk in Hyde Park.^[105]

During Vaughan's last two years before his death, he referred to Lapidus as his fiancée. They often made public appearances together including a commercial for Europa, a New Zealand-owned oil company.^[106] Janna also appeared in the video for 'The House is a Rockin' They first lived at Vaughan's childhood home in Dallas,^[107] then moved to a house on Travis Street on May 3, 1987.^[108] Lapidus found modeling work in New York City, and they relocated to a Manhattan apartment at Park Avenue and 24th Street in May 1990, splitting their time between Dallas and New York City.^[109]

Guitar virtuosity[link]

Influences[link]

Vaughan's music took root in blues, rock, and jazz. He was influenced by the work of blues artists such as Albert King, B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, Guitar Slim, Chuck Berry, and Muddy Waters. According to nightclub owner Clifford Antone, who opened Antone's in 1975, Vaughan jammed with Albert King at Antone's in July 1977 and almost "scared him to death", saying that "it was the best I've ever saw Albert or the best I ever saw Stevie".^[110] He was influenced by rock artists including Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, along with jazz guitarists like Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and George Benson.^[111] While Albert King had a substantial influence on Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix was Vaughan's greatest inspiration. Vaughan declared: "I love Hendrix for so many reasons. He was so much more than just a blues guitarist–he played damn well any kind of guitar he wanted. In fact I'm not sure if he even played the guitar–he played music."^[112]

Vaughan owed his guitar technique in large part to Lonnie Mack, who Vaughan observed in live performance as "ahead of his time".^[112] Mack later recalled his first meeting with Vaughan in 1978: "We was in Texas looking for pickers, and we went out to see the Thunderbirds. Jimmie was saying, 'Man, you gotta hear my little brother. He plays all your [songs].' He was playing a little place called the Rome Inn, and we went over there and checked him out. As it would be, when I walked in the door, he was playing 'Wham!' And I said, 'Dadgum.' He was playing it right. I'd been playing it wrong for a long time and needed to go back and listen to my original record. That was in '78, I believe."^[57] Vaughan owed part of his enduring style—especially his use of tremolo picking and vibrato—to Mack. He acknowledged that Mack taught him to "play guitar from the heart".^[113]

Guitars[link]

Vaughan owned and used a variety of guitars during his career. His guitar of choice, and the instrument that he became most associated with, was the Fender Stratocaster, his favorite being a 1963 model acquired in a trade in 1974.^[114] He started using the model during high school and used them exclusively in his live performances and recordings. Vaughan bought many Stratocasters and gave some away as gifts. A sunburst Diplomat Strat-style guitar was purchased by Vaughan and given to his late girlfriend Janna Lapidus to learn to play on.^[115] Vaughan used heavy strings, tuned a half-step below standard tuning. Heavy use of the vibrato bar necessitated frequent replacements; Vaughan often had his roadie, Byron Barr, obtain custom stainless steel bars made by Barr's father.^[116] Vaughan was also photographed playing a National Duolian, Epiphone Riviera, Gibson Flying V, as well as several other models.^[117] Vaughan used a Gibson Johnny Smith to record "Stang's Swang", and a Guild 12-string acoustic for his performance on MTV Unplugged in January 1990.^[115] On June 24, 2004, one of Vaughan's Stratocasters, dubbed "Lenny", was sold at an auction to benefit Eric Clapton's Crossroads Centre in Antigua; the instrument was bought by Guitar Center for $623,500.^[118]

Amplifiers and effects[link]

Vaughan was a catalyst in the revival of vintage amplifiers and effects during the 1980s. His loud volume and use of heavy strings required powerful and robust amplifiers. Vaughan used two black-face Fender Vibroverbs, which were crucial in shaping his clear overdriven sound. He would often blend other amps with the Vibroverbs including black-face Fender Super Reverbs,^[115] and brands such as Dumble, and Marshall.^[119] While his mainstay effects were the Ibanez Tube Screamer and a Vox wah-wah pedal,^[120] Vaughan experimented with a range of effects. He used a Fender Vibratone,^[115] designed as a Leslie speaker for electric guitars, and provided a warbling chorus effect, which can be heard on the track "Cold Shot". He used a vintage Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face that can be heard on In Step, as well as an Octavia.^[120]

Legacy and influence[link]

Vaughan throughout his career revived blues rock and paved the way for many other artists. Vaughan's work continues to influence numerous blues, rock and alternative artists, including John Mayer,^[121] Kenny Wayne Shepherd,^[122] Mike McCready,^[123] Albert Cummings,^[124] and Los Lonely Boys,^[125] among others. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Vaughan as "the leading light in American blues" and developed "a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre".^[126] In 1983, Variety magazine called Vaughan the "guitar hero of the present era".^[127]

Awards and honors[link]

Vaughan won five W. C. Handy Awards^[128] and was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2000.^[129] In 1985, he was named an honorary admiral in the Texas Navy.^[130] Vaughan had a single number one hit on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for the song "Crossfire".^[131] His album sales in the US stand at over 15 million units. Family Style, released shortly after his death, won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album and became his best-selling, non-Double Trouble studio album with over a million shipments in the US.^[90] In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked him seventh among the "100 Greatest Guitar Players of All Time".^[132] He also became eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.^[133]

Discography[link]

• Texas Flood (1983)
• Couldn't Stand the Weather (1984)
• Soul to Soul (1985)
• Live Alive (1986)
• In Step (1989)
• Family Style (with Jimmie Vaughan) (1990), produced by Nile Rodgers
• The Sky Is Crying (1991)
• In the Beginning (1992)
• Greatest Hits (1995)
• Live at Carnegie Hall (1997)
• The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Volume 2 (1999)
• In Session (with Albert King) (1999)
• Blues at Sunrise (2000)
• SRV: Box Set (2000)
• Live at Montreux 1982 & 1985 (2001)
• The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (2002)
• Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughan (2003)
• The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Volume 1 (2006)
• Solos, Sessions & Encores (2007)
• Couldn't Stand the Weather (Legacy Edition) (2010)

See also[link]

• 1980s in music
• List of blues rock performers
• List of electric blues musicians
• List of guitarists
• List of Texas blues musicians
• Music of Austin
• Music of Texas

Texas portal

Citations[link]

References[link]