Talk:Stevie Ray Vaughan

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[edit] Setting The Record Straight

I don't know who wrote the Wikipedia page about Stevie Ray Vaughn,but there are some glaring omissions that have to be corrected. There are two people not mentioned in Stevie's biography who were instrumental in the discovery, development, and success of Stevie Ray Vaughn's career; Frances Carr and Chesley Millikin. To not mention them is comparable to not mentioning that Brian Epstein played a role in The Beatles success. Chesley Millikin was Stevie Ray's manager and directly responsible for his rise to stardom. Frances Carr, Chesley's partner at Classic Management provided the financial backing to launch Stevie's career. It was Chesley Millikin who was able to book Stevie at Montreux when he didn't have a record contract. It was Chesley Millikin who was responsible for Stevie connecting with Jackson Browne, John Hammond, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones,and many other music professionals. It was Chesley Millikin who got Stevie his first record contract and convinced John Hammond to produce it. Without Chesley Millikin's management and Frances Carr's financial backing, quite simply, Stevie Ray Vaughn would have probably never made it out of Austin. Anyone interested in the real story should read the following link:

[1] User: James Paxton

If true, does anyone know which songs Stevie Ray Vaughan played with Jackson Browne?

You would have to ask the people lucky enough to be there when they jammed back in '82.

It's true that Jackson Browne saw him at Montreux and immediately loved his music so much that he offered to support him financially for work that eventually became the Texas Flood album. As far as I know, Jackson Browne never played with Stevie Ray Vaughan, at least from the standpoint of appearing together on any officially-released songs.

The paragraph on SRV's lack of ability to read music ("Perhaps the most amazing thing about Stevie Ray Vaughan is that he never learned to read music.") violated the peacock terms rule. There is also no supporting evidence for the assertion that SRV could not read music. --TheJeffMiller 15:27, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

In the remastered version of Texas Flood, on the SRV Speaks track Stevie Ray Vaughan himself says "since I can't read music and everything...", which is some supporting evidence that could be added in. -Guest, Oct 7

It's an excerpt from a Timothy White interview, wherein Stevie (like Hendrix) candidly admits to not being able to read music. Guitar World interviews substantiate this, and if you want me to don a dust mask and go into the attic, I will. If you go to Amazon and look up the remastered version of Texas Flood, you can listen to a sample of 'SRV Speaks' wherein Vaughan clearly confirms his musical illiteracy. Additionally, on October 28, 1985, Vaughan reiterates his lack of musical knowledge to "Rockline" interviewer Bob Coburn, and adds that he failed a course on music theory before he dropped out of high school.

I hate to be the one to throw this but from what I understand in researching this and from remembering the immediate reports and stories after his terrible untimely death, I believe the whole Clapton gave up his seat thing is more nonsense and urban legend than reality.

Why is it ironic that Clapton gave up his seat on the helicopter that crashed causing his death?

There is no irony there. Often people call coincidental or otherwise interesting statements ironic when in fact there is no irony. I think Bush called his now-infamous Hezbollah remark ironic as well.

Good point, I don't see any irony in this fact either. It is interesting though, much like Waylon Jenning giving up his seat to Ritchie Valens in a coin toss. Maybe "incedently" would be a better choice of words207.157.121.50 10:19, 14 October 2005 (UTC)mightyafrowhitey

[edit] I'm dumbfounded here

Q:I do not know a lot about stevie, did he have a wife or kids?

He had a wife, Lenora, whom he married at Austin, Texas venue the Rome Inn in December of 1979. The Rome Inn was the first gig Double Trouble ever landed, in 1978, and over the next two years they would continue to play there often. It is said that the marriage ceremony took place between the two sets. Vaughan wrote the song "Lenny" about his wife, and would often do the song as a seated encore on the guitar his wife gave him, which Stevie also called Lenny. Vaughan once said that he wrote Pride and Joy for his wife as well, but was forced to compose Lenny because she believed the song was actually written about an old girlfriend. She is mentioned by name in 'Pride and Joy' during some verses.

"John Mayer famously lists Vaughan as one of his chief influences."

First of all, you might as well say that Stevie's favorite color is yellow.

Seriously though, out of the pantheon of musicians who have hailed Stevie as an influence, we are singling out John Mayer's reference as "famous?"

Please, someone who knows how to edit the wiki (I talk a big game but claim ignorance on all things technical) please remove this sentence immediately.

To Dumfounded: If you can post a message to a talk page, then you can edit the SRV page as well. Just go to the page, click the "Edit this page" link, and have at it. FWIW, at a minimum, I believe the word "famously" should be deleted from the line you mentioned.--TheJeffMiller 18:13, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

To The Jeff: Thank you sir. That was surprisingly easy. I decided to remove the sentence entirely. It just didn't stand alone as being very important. In the long list of Stevie's accomplishments, I don't think that influencing John Mayer deserves its own paragraph.

A little like crediting Shakespeare for inspiring Carrot-Top, don't you think?

I remember reading somewhere that Stevie had really bad stomach uncers from his habit of disolving a gram of cocaine in his bottle of Jack Daniels, which he would drink during gigs.207.157.121.50 10:25, 14 October 2005 (UTC)mightyafrowhitey

Dear Mr. IP Address

I think it was an eight-ball in a can of budweiser. Either way, I think you heard it on VH1 BTM. I don't think we should trust them. Not that it didn't necessarily happen - we know he was a heavy drug user and that his health suffered - but I've never heard the Jack Daniels thing.

I'm pretty sure his hospitalization in Europe was stomach-related though. I think that's when he got wise.

It was stomach-related.
A little like crediting Shakespeare for inspiring Carrot-Top, don't you think?
How is referencing john Mayer as being majorly influenced by the man anything like that? For a start, John Mayer's citation of being influenced by SRV has increased sales of his albums in the last few years. It's not beyond the reproach of Wikipedia to include this. Though Mayer is a drop in the pond of the guitarists here, he is known now as one of the world's most influential guitarists (as is noted in this month's Rolling Stone Magazine). I'm not saying to necessarily note it in the way it was, but it bears notation somewhere in this page. Mayer cites SRV as one of his biggest influences, alongside Sting, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, but each of them he claims to have allowed into his heart via Vaughan (such as hearing Little Wing and because of that wanting to hear Hendrix etc). As to SRV being Shakespeare? He's great, but he's not that lauded himself. Carrot top Vs John Mayer is again almost like determining chalk and cheese. More like chalk and brimstone derived directly from hell! Anyway, I think it's worthy of noting, even if it's simply a sentence.
--lincalinca 05:07, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Influences

I was wondering wther it would be worthwhile adding a section listing his immediate influences, such as Freddy King, etc. Andrew Spinner 17:12, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

I believe you meant Albert King didn't you? I am an avid SRV historian and amateur musician and out of everything I have ever read I have never heard or seen Freddy King's name mentioned as an influence to SRV. other noteworthy influences are Jimi Hendrix of course and over all according to Stevie himself in numerous interviews (too numerous to list here) his Brother Jimmy was his biggest influence.

Freddie King is a huge influence on SRV, and pretty much any other guitar player out of Texas. SRV often opened with 'Hideaway' and SRV often cited the "three kings" (albert, bb, freddie) as major influences.

I have listened to some Freddy King tunes and it sounds to me like he could have well been an influence.he originated from Texas until he moved to chicago in 1949, where he jammed with Howlin Wolf and Muddy Waters. but like you I dont remmember hearing him mentioned when it relates to SRV but listen to some of Freddy's playin and you might have to ask yourself if there is some influence.

point taken, I guess you could say there may have been more ifluences than just the ones he mentions. I have oftened wondered how or what he felt about Jimmy Page, Rory gallagher, and Alvin Lee although these fellow guitarists weren't early blues musicians they have all claimed the same influences as Stevie did and since they were all around before him, I wonder if they had any influence on him....just curious has anyone out there heard any of these musicians mentioned in interviews or other media by Stevie?

I have read somewhere in the liner notes of a SRV CD that he also was strongly influenced by Lonnie Mack. This should be included. Check out this entry in WP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Mack

[edit] Equipment

I added the line about Number One being a gift from Ray Henning of Ray Henning's Heart of Texas Music in Austin, TX.

I deleted a made-up fact about his guitar 'Red'. The handedness of a guitar neck does not affect the sound or feel of a guitar in any significant way. 00:04 March 1 2007 (GMT)

Did a few corrections to this section, in order to make it more understandable for people who don't know a lot about guitars. For instance, the "rosewood neck" was corrected to "rosewood fingerboard" (Fender never used rosewood for the necks of its mass production Stratocasters - only for the fingerboards). Elp gr 09:57, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

I have read that the original neck on #1 was replaced due to excessive wear (and general abuse - such as during 'Third Stone...' on the El Mocambo show), and that this neck in turn was damaged in an on-stage accident in the months prior to Vaughan's death. Can this be corroborated and if so perhaps it ought to be included in the Equipment section?
Yes, I read in a biography of his that the neck on #1 was snapped in half in an accident that almost (or did, I dont' remember) injured Vaughan himself, from what I remember. A few other of his guitars were damaged too, I think. --Ortzinator 05:24, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

I don't know what caused the damage to the neck, but I do know he was pretty rough with it on stage. He had big hands and would really manhandle the guitar. I can't imagine that would break it though.

BTW, I'm pretty sure the tattoo he had on his chest was the logo from the old "Peacock" blues label, which was based in Houston in the '50s and early '60's.

Actually, when he got it when he was drunk. It was supposed to be a phoenix but he was squirming so much from the pain that it ended up looking like a peacock. (Something like that) --Ortzinator 04:47, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Time of death

Does anyone know what was the intended meaning of these two sentences?

"Vaughan's comeback was cut short when, in the early morning of August 27, 1990, he died in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin on a trip to Chicago. Before a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theater where earlier in the evening he appeared with Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and his older brother Jimmie Vaughan."

The second sentence is grammatically incorrect and is confusing. Are the two sentences supposed to be together? Is the "before" supposed to be an "after"? This should be rephrased, but I don't know what was intended.

It should be after the concert. Basically on August 25 and August 26 1990 the bluesmen all did a show together. On August 26, the five ended the show with 'Sweet Home Chicago' and afterward Stevie got on the Helicopter which shortly after crashed--The reason the death is given as the 27th is because it was technically (sorry--can't resist) after midnight.

[edit] race

is stevie ray vaughn mexican and white? how come he looks so diferent from his brother? i think whoever said his favorite color was yellow was making fun of him. if he is mexican and white did he know who his father was? because our fathers are drugdealers and they disappear alot. especialidad in oak cliff. and thats why mezikans are always saying"what the fuck is going on in oak cliff?" my name is mary and my daddy is a drugdealer. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.124.73.62 (talk • contribs)

No, Stevie Ray Vaughan is not Mexican. No, big Jim does not deal drugs.

-What is God's name are you talking about? Stevie Ray Vaughan was white, not Mexican at all. He looks just like his brother when he doesn't have long hair or his hat, if you even bothered to look at some photos of him. They had the same father, and defiantely was not a drug dealer. I think you need to avoid posting things on Wikipedia from now on. -Tim

On the topic though, did Stevie have any Maori ancestry? He ofton wore a hei matau, a whale bone fish hook around his neck.

Not likely. Stevie respected all cultures and sometimes wore Indian headdresses in concert, and Mexican stuff... according to the bio I have here, his father's father was a sharecropper. His mother is quite "Caucasian". Outriggr 04:50, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Stevie looks so different from Jimmie because Stevie's nose had been busted, and the cartilage collapsed. Madness 00:49, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

-Guys, how do you all not realise (Spelling anyone?) that IP adress up there was just being random and attempting to be funny. "Mary" was in no way being serious(Again, Spelling?). Isn't there supposed to be a team of moderators and admins to look for off topic, racist, and rather idiotic posts like the top one here? Kasha4890 00:36, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Voodoo Chile or Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

These are two separate songs recorded by Hendrix although Voodoo Child (Slight Return) is derivative of the other, more famous song. Both of these songs have Wiki articles. To add to the confusion, SRV's discography on his official Sony records website lists his version as, Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) on Couldn't Stand the Weather. Either reference in the SRV article would probably be acceptable, but the Voodoo Chile entry has the more complete article and is probably the better reference. SteveHopson 14:30, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I've never seen the song referred to as Voodoo Child (Slight Refrain), only Voodoo Child (Slight Return) --Ortzinator 22:24, 24 July 2006 (UTC)
My bad - corrections above. SteveHopson 23:30, 24 July 2006 (UTC)
Since the sentence is talking about Hendrix songs, I think it should be spelled as on the Electric Ladyland album, and definitely linked to the Voodoo Child (Slight Return) article. I have made those edits. I also removed the reference to "Come On" from that sentence, as the song was popularized by Hendrix, but not written by him. Outriggr 00:07, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
Voodoo Chile is not the name of a song. Voodoo Chile is a 55-minute Hendrix session upon which several Hendrix songs were cut--including Mannish Boy, Voodoo Child, Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), and Voodoo Chile blues. I don't think you should go out of your way to spell Stevie's version like Hendrix, especially considering the article is about Stevie.

[edit] Why did they boo?

Most of us here know about the Montreaux Jazz incident in 1982 where he was booed. I read from a couple diffrent sources that he was booed for his hard blues sound, whereas other sources(less) say he was booed for bein' to loud. In all honesty I dont know why, but in my opinion it would have to be for the loudness. I mean many famous people played there such as Eric Clapton and Johhny Cash, why wernt they booed for their type of music. Also on the dvd when SRV comes back he is treated as a hero. all i am doin is makin suggestions fly on Littlewing1 02:18, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Weren't they playing on a night that was supposed to be all acoustic music? Anyone know? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.41.126.234 (talk) 22:03, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

It says in the documentary section of the double DVD set, Live At Montreux, 1982& 1985, that the band was "overamped" and that the concert was a folk, acoustic one. I bought this DVD set from Public Television Station (PBS) KVIE in Sacramento. Not sure if it's available elsewhere or not. SRV lvr (talk) 06:03, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] First Wife

We should set up a page for First Wife (Number One). I would start making it, but it would be a mess if I did it.--Weewoz Oct. 6 2006

"First Wife" already has a page: Stevie Ray Vaughan Signature Stratocaster. It's actually about the Fender reproduction Sig model but any information regarding his guitar can just be incorporated there rather than having article overkill. Anger22 12:36, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

Good deal. --Weewoz 10/6/06

[edit] Django Reinhardt as an influence

Stevie was influenced by Django, what about putting it in the article.

It could be added to the article but would need a citation in order to remain Anger22 00:14, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

I have a cite, it is from a book,I will give it later

[edit] "Years Active?"

Could somebody explain what exactly does this mean? He was playing the songs heard on his first album well before 1983. Does this statement only regard album releases? Just looking for some clarification.139.67.202.33 04:53, 5 November 2006 (UTC)Tim

"Years active" is considered the term of the person or artist's notable musical career. So, even though the Colonel was cooking Chicken from age 12, he didn't start Kentucky Fried until he was 66, so his years actice were from when we has 66. So, because as of 1983 Stevie Ray Vaughan's music career became notable, 1983 is the year that he's considered "active". The terminology is a bit fuzzy, arguably, because bands and musicians are different in the ways that they're put together. A band is more definitive, whereas a musician it's hard to say that their music career began on XXXXX date.
--lincalinca 06:31, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
Years active are from when they started playing for the public until they died/retired. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.11.1.223 (talk) 22:47, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Depressing outline

His life and career. His death. His influences and his influence as a musican.

Hmm. Aren't these things a little out of order?

--Torchpratt 10:21, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Last Tour Recordings

I have just become aware of fella who has three 1st generation cassett recordings made during The Gorge Show in Washignton State on 7/21/90. I have heard them and there are the expected background noise, people chatter, but I was floored at the overall quality and I am sure some tech could clean them up. Any thoughts? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.37.30.239 (talk) 17:50, 18 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Grave location

Changed the location of his grave to the correct location. This is the original text "Stevie Ray Vaughan is interred in the Laurel Land Memorial Park, Austin, Texas."

I changed "Austin" to "Dallas" as this is where he is indeed buried (and I have visited the grave numerous times).

Just an FYI. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.194.58.134 (talk) 11:30, 23 February 2007 (UTC).

More Pictures

This page really needed some more info and pictures so I added them.

[edit] SRV & Double Trouble

I believe that the page Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble should be its own page. The reason for this is because the band is distinct from SRV himself. I don't know enough about the band and Stevie Ray Vaughan to be able to pioneer the page, but the Trio is divisible from Vaughan himself and is deserving of its own page (much like Ben Folds Five Vs Ben Folds; Glenn Miller Vs Glenn Miller Orchestra; John Mayer Vs John Mayer Trio; Dave Matthews Vs Dave Matthews Band Vs Dave Matthews & Friends).
--lincalinca 06:22, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree with this sentiment entirely. While the band was formed with Stevie, it remains active without him to this day. Chris and Tommy have played under the title of Double Trouble with various leading artists, and as such it acts as a distinct entity.
--YoooderYoooder 08:31, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Date correction under Adult Life and Career section, first paragraph:

The year 1975 is listed as the year he left the Cobras and started Triple Threat and is in error. I photographed Stevie with Paul Ray and the Cobras in 1976 at Steamboat Springs in Austin, Texas, for a story about Paul Ray.

Here's one of the shots I took:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/estabrook/502844563/

Just thought you guys would want to correct the date. I'm not going to get into some pissin' contest with screen names about editing this page. You can change it if you want to...

Mark

[edit] Guitar image

This edit http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stevie_Ray_Vaughan&diff=136275072&oldid=136219883 removed the link to the image of SRV's guitar (well, Fender's Artist Signature Series copy) because the image had been deleted (you can see the original image that was deleted at answers.com's copy of this article here http://www.answers.com/topic/stevie-ray-vaughan?cat=entertainment ). There's a copyright free image of the same guitar that was deleted on Wikipedia here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Fendersrvstratfront.jpg though. How about adding it under the "Vaughan's guitars and musical equipment" section (where the non copyright free image of the same guitar was)? I would do it myself but I don't know how Replenished entry 01:42, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Malicious vandalism of SRV and SRV discussion page

Deleting my discussion history is infantile. I don't know who you are or why you are doing it, but my contribution to Stevie's page on wiki has been historical in nature. Every single time I post an external link to historical photos of SRV with Paul Ray and the Cobras, you delete it. Who appointed you God of SRV? I am ready to go to wiki arbitration with you at any time. Just let me know. Secondly, I am the photographer who took the photographs of Stevie in late 1976 with Paul Ray and the cobras. What is it with you guys?

You added in personal information of an I.P. that could be used to attack the user. Secondly, why don't you just upload the photographs instead of trying to add in the link? Wouldn't that be much easier? ScarianTalk 19:31, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Commented out material

This was commented out in the article code so I've moved it here for now. The info on SRV's guitars should probably be condensed to just a few paragraphs with links to the individual guitar articles. The chronology in inappropriate to include, but there may be some info in it that's worth keeping. Strobilus (talk) 19:05, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vaughan's guitars and musical equipment

[edit] Number One

Vaughan's main guitars were Fender Stratocasters. His most famous was a sunburst 1963 Strat with a Brazilian rosewood veneer fingerboard fretted with Dunlop 6100 Jumbo fretwire; it had 1962 stamped on the neck and 1963 written in the back cavity of the body (where the tremolo springs are) [1], but 1959 written on the pickups leading Vaughan to mistakenly believe it was assembled in 1962 from 1959 parts. On this particular guitar, he also had a left-handed tremolo installed. He had it installed, most likely due to Jimi Hendrix's influence on his playing style. This guitar was known as Number One. It had a D-shaped thick neck that was perfect for his large hands and thick fingers. It possessed a deep, dark growl of a tone that was immediately identifiable.

An interesting story of Number One's left-handed tremolo system was told by Vaughan's amp tech, Caesar Diaz:

"That came from me, and it was a 50s block that almost looks like an octagon – it has a different kind of artful milling pattern to it, and I had that assembly lying around for the longest time. I told Stevie, “If you watched Jimi, his guitar was upside down, so the whammy bar is up here and you can hit it with your elbow. I gave it to him and I never thought he was going to put it on Number One, but the next time he comes around, he’s got it on his guitar. But he did it himself, and I think he must have used a knife or a chisel or something. That’s why there was a sticker that said “Custom” below the bridge – to cover the hack job that he did."

It should be noted Vaughan was given this guitar, known as Number One, as a gift by notable guitarist, Austinite and music shop owner Ray Henning, of Ray Henning's Heart of Texas Music. Vaughan also had some custom-made stick-on plastic letters reading "SRV" on one of the body cavities. Even though Number One used all stock Fender Strat parts, about the only original parts it possessed by 1990 were the body and the pickups. Over the years, Vaughan and Rene Martinez, his guitar tech, replaced the pickguard, tremolo, and neck. The guitar was meticulously examined by Fender Custom Shop workers to gather specifications for a run of 100 exact copies in early 2004.[citation needed] The pickups were never overwound purposely, but were from a batch of pickups made at Fender in 1959 that had been overwound by mistake, producing Number One's distinctive sound. The neck was damaged during a stage accident, and a spare was used from another of Vaughan's Stratocasters. After he died, the original neck was put back on and the guitar was given to his brother.

The actual Stevie Ray Vaughan signature model (first introduced in 1992) is modeled after SRV's original guitar. This American-made Artist Signature Strat features an early ’60s “oval” neck shape, pao ferro fingerboard with 21 jumbo frets, three Fender Texas Special single-coil pickups, gold-plated hardware, inverted left-hand vintage tremolo unit and distinctive “SRV” pickguard. Few rare examples made during the first year of production were available with a Brazilian rosewood neck.

[edit] Lenny

Lenny was a 1965 maple-neck that was named after his wife, Lenora. [2] It had a very bright, thin sound. Supposedly, Vaughan found this guitar in a pawnshop, but couldn't afford to buy it. One of Vaughan's roadies, Byron Barr, bought it and he and Lenora presented it to Vaughan for his birthday in 1976. According to the story, Lenora was supposed to pay Byron for the guitar; she started a pool party with her friends to collect the money, but it was Vaughan who eventually settled the debt, with cash and a leather jacket. Its neck was originally a thin rosewood, but Vaughan replaced it with a thicker non-Fender maple neck, that was given to him by friend Billy Gibbons. Lenny can be seen and heard on "Live at the El Mocambo". He played it sometimes at the end of the set during the encore, playing the song of the same name, Lenny. Vaughan also used the guitar during the song "Riviera Paradise", this can also be seen and heard on the DVD "Live From Austin Texas". After his divorce from his wife and the meeting of the new love in his life, Janna Lapidus, he started calling this guitar "Scotch". Despite other information from various sources, this shouldn't be confused with the butter-colored guitar, as described below. The Fender Custom Shop is currently making replicas for this guitar, coming out on December 12, 2007.

[edit] Scotch

This 1961 butter-colored Strat was bought by Vaughan in the fall of 1985. He gave away another guitar and bought this piece. It was all stock except for the tiger-striped pickguard, made by Rene Martinez. He usually used this guitar on the song "Leave My Girl Alone".

[edit] Charley

Charley was a custom-made Stratocaster built for him by the late Charley Wirz, a friend and owner of Charley's Guitar Shop in Dallas, Texas. It was made for Vaughan in late 1983, but had a neck plate with the engravement "More In '84". It had three Danelectro lipstick tubes and it had a hardtail bridge. The guitar was also rewired with 1 tone knob and 1 volume. This guitar was said by Vaughan to have a lot of "bite" in the guitar's tone.

[edit] Red

Red was a 1962 Strat bought in late 1983 at Charley's Guitar Shop. The finish was originally sunburst, but was repainted fiesta red. In 1986, a left-handed neck was installed on this guitar to emulate the sound and feel of Jimi Hendrix.

[edit] Main

Main was a custom-made Hamiltone Strat given to Vaughan as a gift from Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top on April 29, 1984. The guitar was originally supposed to be made in 1979 with "Stevie Vaughan" inlayed with mother-of-pearl in the fingerboard. The plan was crushed when Vaughan started using his middle name. It had cream-colored plastic binding around the body and neck. It was also constructed of 2-piece maple wood and originally had white EMG pickups, an onboard preamp, and Gibson-style "bell" knobs. For the making of the Couldn't Stand The Weather music video, Vaughan used Main instead of Number One. He said that he didn't want to ruin the circuitry in his "first wife" and didn't like the tone in "Main". Byron Barr, Vaughan's guitar tech at the time, rewired it with a standard Strat system. The guitar also had a jazzy and jangly-type tone.

[edit] Butter

Butter was the original yellow Strat originally owned by Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge. It was Vince who donated it to Charley's Guitar Shop. They painted it yellow and Vaughan bought it in 1981. It had a 'swimming pool' route for four humbuckers. Despite this, it only had a neck single-coil pickup, controlled by one volume knob and one tone knob. The guitar was stolen from him in 1985 and never recovered.

[edit] Other guitars

Vaughan also played a guitar made by deceased Minneapolis, MN, luthier, Roger Benedict. A semi-hollow, Alder-built guitar called the Groove Master was a model of choice for Vaughan. It is a seafoam-green Stratocaster-shaped guitar with three lipstick pickups.

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan owned and played a custom Stratocaster-shaped double-neck guitar named "Family Guitar", built by Robin Guitars of Houston, Texas. This guitar had two maple necks, each with a different scale length and a pointy "drooped"-style reversed headstock with locking machine heads and was equipped with Rio Grande single-coil pickups. The latter is tuned an octave higher than a standard guitar, producing a sharper sound similar to that of a mandolin. Both have also occasionally used a Danelectro guitar/bass double-neck with lipstick pickups during various live performances worldwide.

In total, Vaughan owned 34 guitars throughout his career.[citation needed]

Jimmie Vaughan has possession of all of his brother's guitars, save for the only one released to the public, Lenny. It was sold in the Eric Clapton guitar auction for more than $600,000.

[edit] Effects

Stevie is known for using the Ibanez Tube Screamer, including the TS-808, TS-9, and TS-10 Classic models. He connected 2 together as one of his album experiments.

Stevie also used an original Dunlop Cry Baby wah-wah pedal before he got a Vox wah-wah used by Jimi Hendrix, as a hand-me-down from his brother Jimmie. On stage, he would duct-tape the Crybaby wah-wah with another Vox wah-wah together and use them with the Vox wah-wah from Hendrix.

Stevie usually used one TS-9 Tube Screamer and the Hendrix Vox wah-wah on his pedal-board with an MXR Loop Selector. This stomp box has multiple plugs and acts as a splitter box, as well as the ability to bypass all the effects via a switch (turn them off).

He then started briefly using the Univox Univibe for a swirling chorus/phasing effect. Stevie also used a Boss DC-2 Dimension Chorus stomp-box for a bright, warbly chorus effect.

Another effect that Vaughan used in only one show was the Electro-Harmonix Hot Tubes Distortion on March 25, 1987 in Daytona Beach, FL. This was used as his prime overdrive.

In the later years, Vaughan acquired a couple of Arbiter Fuzz Faces. One can be heard on "Leave My Girl Alone" from his In Step album. Others in the later years include a Roger Mayer Octavia, Tycobrahe Octavia, Boss DC-2 Dimension Chorus, and a Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe.

All these effects are in the hands of Vaughan's brother Jimmie Vaughan.

[edit] Amplifiers

A constant in Stevie's sound was a pair of Fender Vibroverbs, numbers 5 and 6 in the production line, that had 1 x 15" Electro-Voice EVM speakers and obtained them in different years. The Vibroverbs were used for the desired "tube breakup" at low volumes.

Another pair of amps that regularly drifted in and out of Vaughan's rig were a pair of Fender Super Reverbs. The Super Reverbs were 40-watt monster combo amps that would stay almost totally clean even at high volumes. He would blend these with other amps for sheer power.

Stevie also relied at various times on a couple of Marshall Plexis: a 100-watt Super PA and a 200-watt Major. These power heads were usually used with 2 4 x 12" cabinets, although at times he would use a 8 x 12" cabinet.

Later the Marshalls were generally retired in favor of a Howard Dumble Steel String Singer. Stevie's Steel String Singer was made differently than stock Dumble amps. His was modified to have 150 watts of clear tone and used 4 6550A tubes.

Finally, he also possessed a cabinet called a Fender Vibratone in January 1984 for the Couldn't Stand the Weather studio sessions. He used about 2 different models throughout his career. This is a Leslie-style speaker cabinet, but instead of a rotating speaker, it had a slotted, rotating foam cylinder around the stationary speaker. The effects are numerous — from shimmering sounds to rich, warbling tones. This unit can be heard in various live performances on pretty much every one of his songs.

It was said by Stevie in an interview after the Let's Dance recordings that he used Mesa Boogie Mark IV amplifiers. Whether this is true or not is unknown.

In 1990, Stevie started using 2 Fender '59 Bassman Reissues along with a Fender Vibroverb driving the Fender Vibratone.

In a publication of Guitar World, they revealed a Soldano SLO-100 amp head that Vaughan commissioned before he died. Mike Soldano built Vaughan a customized SLO-100 after repairing a few of his's amps. Vaughn told Soldano that he was not happy with the fact that he had to crank his amps to such high volume and use pedals in order to get his overdriven tones. Soldano offered to build an amp for Vaughn that would allow him to get his tones from the amp without any overdrive or distortion pedals. The amp that Soldano ended up giving Vaughn was a customized SLO-100 with a switch that would cut mid frequencies after 700 Hz. The amp was delivered to Vaughn a few months before his death. Vaughn never had enough time to fully incorporate the new amp into his rig. The amp was returned to Soldano since it was never paid for and therefore not part of Vaughan's estate. Mike Soldano currently keeps the amp in his shop.

[edit] Stevie Ray Vaughan chronology

1954 - Stephen Ray Vaughan is born October 3 at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, Texas to Jim and Martha Vaughan.

1961 - Vaughan receives his first guitar. He described it as "a plastic toy, with only three strings." Under the guidance of his brother Jimmie Vaughan, his talent begins to form.

1966 - Jimmie Vaughan's friend, Doyle Bramhall, hears Stevie Ray Vaughan playing guitar (a song called "Jeff's Boogie") and is duly impressed. He encourages the young guitarist to keep practicing. As Vaughan put it, "He was the first one that ever told me I was good."

1970 - While working as a dishwasher in a Dallas burger joint called Dairy Mart, Vaughan falls into a barrel full of grease. He decides to quit his job and pursue his dream of being a full-time musician and forms the band Blackbird. He later described the "grease incident" in a television interview:

"Part of my job was to clean out the trash bins. One night, I was standing on top of a barrel, [and] the top caved in. I fell in grease up to [my chest], and right then I decided 'I'm not gonna do this anymore. I'm gonna play guitar'."

1971 - Vaughan sits in with a high school band called Cast of Thousands for two songs as they record an album called A New Hi. Over Christmas break, he drops out of high school and moves to Austin with Blackbird.

1972 - Vaughan joins Krackerjack, a rock band, but quits a few months later when the lead singer decides the band should wear makeup on stage. Krackerjack's bassist is future Double Trouble member Tommy Shannon.

1973 - Marc Benno invites Vaughan to join his band the Nightcrawlers. Doyle Brahmall is also a member of the band. Later that year, the Nightcrawlers drive to Hollywood to record an album for A&M records. A&M decides not to release the record and the disappointed band travels back to Texas. He finds a battered 1963 Stratocaster in Ray's Music Exchange in Austin. He names it "Number One" and becomes his favorite guitar for the rest of his life.

1974 - Vaughan joins Paul Ray and the Cobras, a popular Austin band. For the next two-and-a-half years, He hones his talent on the Austin club circuit.

1977 - The Cobras win "Band Of the Year" in an Austin music poll. Vaughan leaves the Cobras in September to form a blues/R&B band called Triple Threat Revue. The line-up stars Vaughan, W.C. Clark (bass), Lou Ann Barton (vocals), Freddie "Pharoah" Walden (drums), and Mike Kindred (keyboards).

1978 - W.C. Clark leaves the band and is replaced by Jackie Newhouse. Saxophone player Johnny Reno briefly joins the band. Freddie Pharoah later quits and is replaced by Chris "Whipper" Layton. The band renames itself Triple Threat.

1979 - In August, Triple Threat plays at the San Francisco Blues Festival. Lenora (Lenny) Bailey and Stevie Ray Vaughan are married between sets at the Rome Inn in Austin on December 20.

1980 - Lou Ann Barton leaves Triple Threat to join Roomful of Blues. Vaughan renames the group Double Trouble. The group performs at the Steamboat 1874 club in Austin on April 1. This performance is recorded for radio and will later be released as the 1992 album In The Beginning.

1981 - On January 2, Tommy Shannon replaces Jackie Newhouse on bass. A taping of a performance at Joe Ely's Texas Tornado Jam winds up in the hands of Mick Jagger.

1982 - Double Trouble play a private party for the Rolling Stones at New York's Danceteria on April 22. The band performs at the Montreux International Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the first unsigned and unrecorded band to do so. David Bowie, who was in the audience, asks Vaughan to play on his Let's Dance album. Jackson Browne, who was also in the audience in Montreux, offers Vaughan free studio time at his Downtown Studio in Los Angeles. In that studio, the band records what will become Texas Flood in only two days. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble are signed to Epic Records by A&R man John Hammond.

1983 - Texas Flood, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble's first album, is released on June 13. It is nominated for two Grammy awards: "Best Traditional Blues Recording" and "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" (for "Rude Mood"). The band appears on the "Austin City Limits" television show. Vaughan wins three categories in the Guitar Player's Readers Poll: "Best New Talent", "Best Blues Album", and "Best Electric Blues Guitarist" (beating out none other than Eric Clapton!). He becomes only the second guitarist in history to win three Guitar Player awards in one year (the first is Jeff Beck). Vaughan will win the "Best Electric Blues Guitarist" award every year until 1991.

1984 - Couldn't Stand The Weather is released on May 15. Vaughan wins his first Grammy: "Best Traditional Blues Recording" for his performance of "Texas Flood" from Montreux (this song appears on Blues Explosion from Atlantic Records). "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" from Couldn't Stand The Weather is nominated for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance". In October, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, with a handful of guests, perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City. They wore custom-tailored velvet suits. In November, Vaughan wins two W.C. Handy National Blues Awards: "Entertainer of the Year" and "Blues Instrumentalist of the Year." It is the first time a white person has won either award.

1985 - Keyboardist Reese Wynans joins Double Trouble. Epic releases Soul To Soul on September 30. This becomes Double Trouble's third gold album. Vaughan receives his fifth Grammy nomination: "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" (for "Say What!" from Soul To Soul). He also produces Lonnie Mack's comeback album Strike Like Lightning and plays in several of its songs.

1986 - While on tour in Ludwigshafen, Germany, Vaughan's years of drug and alcohol abuse catch up with him and he collapses. He manages to struggle through two more shows, but the last 13 tour dates are canceled when he enters a London drug rehabilitation clinic. Vaughan's father Jim dies of Parkinson's disease on August 27. Live Alive is released on November 15.

1987 - Vaughan makes a cameo appearance as himself in the movie "Back to the Beach", performing a duet of "Pipeline" with surf-guitar legend Dick Dale. In April, Vaughan appears on the Cinemax special "Blues Session" with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, B.B. King and Albert King. He and Tommy Shannon emerge clean and sober from an Atlanta detox center. Later that year, he files for divorce from Lenora Bailey Vaughan.

1988 - Vaughan appears on the MTV special "Stevie Wonder's Characters" and headlines a concert at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The performance (including a jam with B.B. King, Albert Collins and Katie Webster) is filmed for inclusion in the Showtime special "Coast To Coast". Vaughan's divorce from Lenora is finalized.

1989 - In January, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble perform at an inaugural party for President George Bush in Washington, D.C. In Step is released on June 6. This is the first album that Vaughan makes without the aid of drugs. "Crossfire" becomes his first #1 album radio hit and earns him another Grammy ("Best Contemporary Blues Recording"). Double Trouble tours North America with Jeff Beck and appears on "Austin City Limits" for the second time.

1990 - On January 30, Vaughan performs three songs on "MTV Unplugged." Vaughan and his brother Jimmie travel to Memphis to record Family Style in March and April. The album is released later that year. In June, he embarks on a two-month co-headlining tour with Joe Cocker. On August 25 and August 26, Double Trouble performs at a concert at Alpine Valley, Wisconsin. The line-up includes Robert Cray, Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy. After a rousing final encore on the 26th, Vaughan boards a helicopter on its way to Chicago. Shortly after midnight on August 27, Stevie Ray Vaughan is killed, along with the pilot and three members of Eric Clapton's entourage when the helicopter crashes into a fog-shrouded hill. He is buried in a private ceremony at Laurel Land Cemetery in Dallas, Texas on August 31. The mourners include Billy Gibbons, Stevie Wonder, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Ringo Starr and Dr. John. Outside the chapel, more than 3,000 fans gathered to say goodbye. -->

[edit] Merger proposal

Resolved.

I propose that the article Lenny (guitar) be merged into this one. While Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitars may be of encyclopedic interest enough to include in the parent article, it seems highly unlikely that alone it can meet the notability guidelines. Since this information might, if sourced, be of interest to readers of this article, I am beginning with the proposal to merge rather than examining options within the deletion process. The article was tagged for speedy, but under an invalid criterion. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 03:27, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

I agree that SRV's guitars don't require individual articles for each one; however, I'm concerned that a section about his guitars will become overly long in comparison to the rest of the article if we merge it all here. What about merging the individual guitar articles into just one article, separate from this one, called SRV's guitars or something like that? Strobilus (talk) 03:36, 15 December 2007 (UTC)
Are there other articles about his guitars that you know of? :) It might be helpful to determine if an article on his guitars can sustain standalone status. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 03:40, 15 December 2007 (UTC). Oh, I see by the infobox that there are, although several of them have already been redirected back to this article. I don't see much by way of sourcing on any of them, which is problematic for creating a new article. Taht said, I do think it would be better to have a single article on his instruments than to have multiple articles. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 03:50, 15 December 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, there are all these articles: SRV's Number One, SRV's Scotch, SRV's Red, and SRV's Main, plus all the info here. I reckon it would make a decent article if it were all amalgamated. Strobilus (talk) 03:57, 15 December 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, let's just put them in one article called "SRV guitars". Anyone agree? Izzy007 Talk 15:38, 15 December 2007 (UTC)
"SRV guitars" sounds good to me. It's a reasonable compromise between several small disjoint articles (one for each guitar) and creating an incorrect emphasis on guitars in the main artist's article. Truthanado (talk) 21:33, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

<reset indent>Well, let's wait a few days to see if anybody has any objections and, if not, I'll merge them into a single article. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 15:14, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

I'm in the process of joining them together at SRV guitars. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 15:12, 18 December 2007 (UTC)
I've merged all of the information that I've found at SRV guitars. The article needs a better header section, obviously, which I hope one of you can supply. :) Improved sourcing would be valuable, also. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 15:33, 18 December 2007 (UTC)
I added an intro and did some cleanup, which should satisfy the tags that were on the article. Like most articles, this could still use some improving. Truthanado (talk) 02:27, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

dfbdzfgzdfbdf nlbjzd —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.48.207.41 (talk) 11:34, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Re: Family. I am curious to see a photo of his wife, Lenny, and girlfriend, Janna Lapidus, but cannot find any photos at all of Lenora, and only one photo of Janna Lapidus apparently with the fan club President. Also there are no updates that I can find on their lives w/Google. SRV lvr (talk) 06:11, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Question: On the main entry page it states that Stevie was "was still driving a delivery truck to support himself" when Let's Dance came out. It has often been repeated, including by Stevie himself, I believe, that the last "day job" he ever had was the one he quit in his early teens after falling into a barrel of cooking grease. Am I missing something here? Perhaps he is being confused with Muddy Waters, who was driving a delivery truck when "I Can't Be Satisfied" hit it big? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.54.66.218 (talk) 20:49, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] tube screamers do not 'push tubes harder'

The gear section, specifically the section regarding effects/pedals, needs to be touched up. A tube screamer (ts808, ts9, ts9dx), while very good, is not dependent on amp tubes to make or alter sound. This can be shown without any mechanical know-how: It has virtually the same effect on tone/sound whether the amp's tube, transistor, or a combination. Comments or notes are welcome. I've taken the liberty to change the wording. Aceholiday (talk) 03:21, 15 May 2008 (UTC)