by Alan Paul
Early SRV and DT trio promo shot, 1980. (Daniel Schaefer)
Behind his head at Austin’s Auditorium Shores, July 15, 1981. (Watt M. Casey Jr./www.wattcasey.com)
Austin’s Auditorium Shores, July 15, 1981. (Watt M. Casey Jr./www.wattcasey.com)
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble—Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon—at one of their favorite local haunts, Sam’s Bar-B-Que, July 20, 1981. (Watt M. Casey Jr./www.wattcasey.com)
Stevie and the band arrive in Europe, 1982. (Donnie Opperman)
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble perform at the Montreux International Jazz Festival, July 17, 1982. (Donnie Opperman)
After the Montreux gig, from left, John Hammond Jr., Tommy Shannon, Chris Layton, and David Bowie, who asked Stevie to record with him that night, July 17, 1982. (Donnie Opperman)
Jackson Browne takes Stevie’s hat and guitar for a spin during an all-night jam in the Musician’s Bar, July 18, 1982. (Donnie Opperman)
Post-jam group shot, left to right: Bottom row: Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar, unidentified, Jackson Browne, Chris Layton; second row: Richard Mullen, Tommy Shannon, Stevie, Bob Glaub; in back: unidentified. (Donnie Opperman)
Texas Flood photo session, March, 1983. First publicity shoot for Epic Records. (Don Hunstein © Sony Music Entertainment)
Band portrait for Texas Flood. First official Double Trouble photo session for Epic Records. New York, 1983. (Don Hunstein © Sony Music Entertainment)
Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Hammond. New York, 1983. (Don Hunstein © Sony Music Entertainment)
At ChicagoFest, on the Navy Pier, August 12, 1983. (Paul Natkin/Photo Reserve Inc.)
Riding high on the Texas Flood tour. Double Trouble backstage at the Metro, Chicago, Illinois, July 3, 1983. (Paul Natkin/Photo Reserve Inc.)
Buddy Guy and Stevie at Antone’s, circa 1983. (Andrew Long/www.bluesmusicphotos.com)
Texas Flood album release show at Fitzgerald’s, Houston, Texas, June 20, 1983. (Tracy Anne Hart/www.theheightsgallery.com)
Embassy Ballroom, Chicago, February 17, 1984. (Paul Natkin/Photo Reserve Inc.)
The brothers on stage at Memorial Auditorium, Burlington, Vermont, November 18, 1985. (Donna Johnston)
Shooting the cover for Couldn’t Stand the Weather, January 1984. (Betto Friedman/Sony Music Entertainment)
Stevie and Lenny on tour in Europe, circa 1985. (Tommy Shannon)
Look Ma, we won some Grammys. June 1985. (Courtesy Tommy Shannon)
In the studio recording Soul to Soul, with Doyle Bramhall and Joe Sublett. (Courtesy Chris Layton)
Catching some studio shut-eye during the Soul to Soul sessions. (Courtesy Tommy Shannon)
Another game of ping-pong during the Soul to Soul sessions. (Courtesy Tommy Shannon)
Soul to Soul. Recording group vocals for “Say What.” (Jimmy Stratton)
Soul to Soul sessions—Stevie in control at Dallas Sound Lab. (Jimmy Stratton)
Soul to Soul album cover outtake. (Brittain Hill/Courtesy Sony Music Entertainment)
Surrounded by his road essentials, 1985. (Agapito Sanchez)
Chicago Blues Fest, June 7, 1985. (Kirk West)
Stevie loved this headdress, which was a birthday gift from Jimmie. November 23 or 24, 1986, Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA. (Donna Johnston)
Cover photo of Live Alive, July 1986. (John T. Comeford/Courtesy Sony Music Entertainment)
During the final show of the Fire Meets the Fury tour with Jeff Beck, December 3, 1989, at the Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA. (Jay Blakesberg)
And the road goes on. … (Courtesy Tommy Shannon)
Author Andy Aledort and Stevie during the In Step interview, June 23, 1989, at Epic Records, NYC. (Charles Comer)
U2’s Bono and Edge dropped in on Stevie and Jimmie at Antone’s following their Joshua Tree show at the Frank Erwin Center, November 22, 1987. Chris Layton on drums, Sarah Brown on bass. (Andrew Long/www.bluesmusicphotos.com)
In Step Sony band portrait, 1989. (Alan Messer/Sony Music Entertainment)
Sam Houston Arena, Houston, Texas, November 24, 1989. (Tracy Anne Hart/www.theheightsgallery.com)
Stevie and Janna filmed a commercial together in New Zealand in 1988. (Rob Pearson/Courtesy Geoff Dixon)
When love comes to town: Stevie and Janna after show at the Jones Beach Theater, NY. (Michele Sugg/Courtesy Janna Lapidus)
At St. Catherine’s racetrack outside Toronto. “After we got clean, we started doing things on the road,” says Chris Layton. (Chris Layton)
Brothers, 1990. (Andrew Long)
Alpine Valley, Wisconsin, August 25, 1990. The next-to-last night. (Paul Natkin/Photo Reserve Inc.)
Guitar World cover shoot, Colgate College, Hamilton, NY, April 29, 1988. “We sat at a table in a darkened, deserted cafeteria, drank coffee, talked about getting clean, music, and life,” says photographer Jonnie Miles. “It was the most enjoyable photo shoot I’ve ever done.” (Jonnie Miles)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are humbled and honored to tell the story of Stevie Ray Vaughan and did our very best to capture the man and the musician. In doing so, we were helped beyond description by hundreds of people, including those who knew Stevie the best and cared about him the most. Thank you for trusting us to try and uncover and illuminate the real person.
It isn’t easy for Jimmie Vaughan to talk about his brother and there are no words to suitably say thank you for his desire to help us tell the story as accurately as possible. Anyone who’s seen Jimmie over the years in the Fabulous Thunderbirds, or fronting his Tilt-a-Whirl band or organ trio knows that he always plays the perfect note and never anything extra. The way he plays guitar is a true reflection of his personality, which makes him such an insightful commentator.
The stories of Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon, and Reese Wynans—Double Trouble—form the beating heart of this book. They are the people who knew Stevie best. Chris and Tommy followed the road from broken down vans to stardom, from the edge of death to the height of clean living and the depth of despair in Alpine Valley. We are forever grateful to all three of them for opening up to us so completely, over so many years, and for so many countless hours of talking both on and off the record.
Thank you to everyone who spoke to us and whose words were used in this book: Larry Aberman, Gregg Allman, Carlos Alomar, Susan Antone, Cidney Cook Ayotte, Lou Ann Barton, Marc Benno, Ray Benson, Bill Bentley, Al Berry, Lindi Bethel, Doyle Bramhall, Doyle Bramhall II, Cutter Brandenburg, Denny Bruce, Bill Carter, Linda Cascio, Eric Clapton, W. C. Clark, Roddy Colonna, Bob Clearmountain, Rodney Craig, J. Marshall Craig, Robert Cray, Tim Duckworth, Ronnie Earl, James Elwell, Denny Freeman, Jim Gaines, Greg Geller, Billy F. Gibbons, Mindy Giles, Bob Glaub, David Grissom, Warren Haynes, Alex Hodges, Bert Holman, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Bruce Iglauer, Dr. John, Edi Johnson, Eric Johnson, Steve Jordan, Mike Kindred, Albert King, B. B. King, Russ Kunkel, Janna Lapidus LeBlanc, Chris Layton, Huey Lewis, Terry Lickona, Barbara Logan, Andrew Long, Mark Loughney, Richard Luckett, René Martinez, Tom Mazzolini, John McEnroe, “Pappy” Middleton, Steve Miller, Richard Mullen, Jackie Newhouse, Derek O’Brien, Donnie Opperman, Joe Perry, Scott Phares, Shawn Phares, Joe Priesnitz, Mark Proct, Bonnie Raitt, Diana Ray, Mike Reames, Skip Rickert, Nile Rodgers, James Rowen, Daniel Schaefer, Paul Shaffer, Lee Sklar, Al Staehaley, John Staehaley, Tommy Shannon, Mike Steele, Jimmy Stratton, Angela Strehli, Joe Sublett, Carmine Rojas, Gus Thornton, Jim Trimmier, Rick Vito, Don Was, Mark Weber, Pat Whitefield, Brad Whitford, Ann Wiley, Gary Wiley, Reese Wynans, and Connie Vaughan.
Jimmie’s team of Cory L. Moore and Sean McCarthy were of huge help along the way and much of what we were able to accomplish would not have been possible without them.
We aimed for the book’s art to be as thorough and dynamic as the words and our quest to do so was greatly aided by the people who allowed us to use their photos, snapshots, booking calendars, tour itineraries, postcards, etc., including the Vaughan and Cook families, Donna Johnston, Joe Priesnitz, Robert Brandenburg
III, Janna Lapidus, Gary Oliver, Skip Rickert, Barbara Logan, Chris Layton, and Tommy Shannon.
An incredible array of pro photographers worked with us to make the impossible possible. Deep thanks to Jay Blakesberg, J. Watt Casey, John Durfur on behalf of his late wife Mary Beth Greenwood, Tracy Anne Hart, Ken Hoge, Andrew Long, Jonnie Miles, Kathy Murray, Mark Proct, Agapito Sanchez, Jimmy Stratton, and Kirk West.
Others who were helpful in ways big and small, oftentimes pointing us toward amazing art or introducing us to crucial people include: the fine folks at the Austin History Center, Steve Berkowitz, John Bionelli, Michael Caplan, Joan Cohen, Roger “One Knite” Collins, Mural Cook, David Cotton, John Cruz, Adam DePollo, Sam Enriquez, Buddy Gill, David Gomberg, Anand Giridhardas, Dayton Hare, Alan Haynes, Craig Hopkins, Beverly Howell, John Jackson, Zana Bailey-King, Robbie Kondor, Lance Keltner, Eric Krasno, Betty Layton, Larry Lange, Steve Leeds, Marc Lipkin, Greg Martin, Vicky Moerbe, Mark Murray, Wayne Nagle, Rob Patterson, Priya Parker, Jack Pearson, Tom Reynolds, Art Rummler, Joe Satriani, Will Schwalbe, Chris Scianni, Kumi Shannon, Ken Shepherd, Jim Suhler, Morgan Turner, Rick Turnpaugh, Jimmy Vivino, Kirby Warnock, Steve Wilson, and Woudie Wu.
Deepest thanks to Robert Brandenburg III for allowing us to quote and adapt from his father Cutter’s memoir, You Can’t Stop a Comet. The inside story of Stevie Ray Vaughan could not be properly told without Cutter’s input.
Our agent David Dunton is the best in the business and he shepherded this from idea to completion. Marc Resnick at St. Martin’s is always a pleasure to work with, an editor who sees the big picture, offering encouragement, support, and enthusiasm. Thank you also to Hannah O’Grady, Kathryn Hough, Paul Hochman, Martin Quinn, and everyone at St. Martin’s for believing in this book and doing so much to bring it to life and get it out to people.
Thank you to Damian Fanelli, Jeff Kitts, and everyone at Guitar World, home to both of us in many ways for many, many years. Before all of them, there was our good friend and mentor Brad Tolinski, who assigned both of us so many great Stevie Ray stories and helped us edit and formulate them. He also gave an earlier version of this book an incisive read which helped to make it much better.
We give thanks to each other—we were good friends before this project and that friendship has only grown. Our occasional butting of heads only resulted in a better book.
Both of our families had to share us not only with Stevie Ray Vaughan for many years, but with music forever. Thank you to our wider families and especially to Rebecca Blumenstein, Jacob, Eli, and Anna Paul and to Tracey, Rory, and Wyatt Aledort. We’re nothing without you. Our parents nurtured us and encouraged us to pursue our artistic dreams. Thanks always to Robert and Marilyn Aledort and Dixie and Suzi Paul.
Thank you to everyone who’s come out to see our bands and to our bandmates in all of them: Andy Aledort’s Groove Kings, Alan Paul’s Big in China, and our joint project Friends of the Brothers. Support live music!
APPENDIX
Stevie’s Gear
Stevie’s guitars, November 1985. (Donna Johnston)
EARLY GUITARS
MASONITE GUITAR
Given to Stevie for his birthday in 1961, a very inexpensive guitar made of Masonite with gut strings featuring stencils of cowboys, cows, and rope.
1957 GIBSON ES-125T
Inherited from Jimmie.
1951 FENDER BROADCASTER
Inherited from Jimmie.
1963 STRATOCASTER WITH MAPLE NECK
Acquired in 1969.
1963 EPIPHONE RIVIERA
Acquired in a trade for the Broadcaster.
1954 GIBSON LES PAUL JUNIOR TV MODEL
1952 GIBSON LES PAUL GOLDTOP
GIBSON BARNEY KESSEL
1959 GIBSON 335 DOT-NECK
A gift from Roddy Howard, owner of the Continental Club.
TOKAI SPRINGY SOUND STRATOCASTER COPY
A gift from guitar tech Donnie Opperman in 1982.
RICKENBACKER PROTOTYPE STEREO SEMI-HOLLOW GUITAR
PRIMARY GUITARS
1962/3 SUNBURST FENDER STRATOCASTER “PARTS” GUITAR, AKA NUMBER ONE
Known as Number One and First Wife, acquired in 1974 from Ray Hennig’s Heart of Texas Music in Austin. Assembled parts from different years: the neck is stamped December ’62 and features a “veneer board” rosewood fretboard; the body is stamped ’63. 1959 is written on one of the pickups (the reason Stevie often referred to the guitar as a ’59).
1962 RED STRATOCASTER WITH THE “SLAB-BOARD” ROSEWOOD NECK, AKA RED
Acquired from Charley Wirz at Charley’s Guitar Shop in Dallas in 1984. In 1986, Red was refitted with a knockoff Fender lefty neck, and in July 1990, a new Fender neck was installed after this neck was broken in a preshow accident at the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey.
CUSTOMIZED YELLOW STRAT, AKA YELLOW
This guitar was sold to Charley Wirz by Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge; Wirz painted it yellow and fitted it with a single neck pickup before giving it to Stevie in the early ’80s. The pickup cavity had been routed out, so the guitar was virtually hollow inside. This guitar was stolen in 1987 and has never been recovered.
1963/64 NATURAL FINISH STRATOCASTER, AKA LENNY
A gift from his wife, Lenny, in the early ’80s. It was stripped down to the natural wood and features a brown stain as well as a butterfly tortoiseshell inlay in the body. The guitar originally had a neck with a rosewood fretboard, but it was soon replaced with a maple neck that was a gift from his brother, Jimmie. This was Stevie’s only maple-neck Strat.
1961 WHITE STRATOCASTER WITH ROSEWOOD NECK, AKA BUTTER OR SCOTCH
Acquired in the fall of 1985 during an in-store appearance. The non-original wood-grain pickguard was made specifically for the guitar by Stevie’s tech René Martinez.
HAMILTONE CUSTOM STRATOCASTER, AKA MAIN
Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top gave this guitar to Stevie as a gift in 1984. Built by James Hamilton, the guitar features a two-piece maple body with a neck-through-body design. It originally included EMG pickups that were replaced with vintage Fender Strat pickups. The fingerboard is ebony with Stevie’s name inlaid in abalone, designed by the artist Bill Narum.
WIRZ STRATOCASTER, AKA CHARLEY
This white Strat “parts” guitar with Danelectro “lipstick tube” pickups was made by Charley Wirz and René Martinez in 1983 and given to Stevie as a gift, with the inscription “More in ’84” on the neck plate. It features an alder body and an ebony fingerboard and is a hardtail (non-tremolo) guitar with single tone and volume controls.
1928/29 NATIONAL STEEL
A gift from roadie Byron Barr, who bought it from Charley’s Guitar Shop in 1981. Stevie poses with this guitar on the cover of In Step.
GUILD JF65-12 TWELVE-STRING ACOUSTIC
Stevie used this guitar, owned by his friend Timothy Duckworth, for his MTV Unplugged appearance on January 30, 1990.
GIBSON JOHNNY SMITH
Stevie used this guitar to record “Stang’s Swang,” and possibly “Chitlins Con Carne” and “Gone Home.”
GIBSON CHARLIE CHRISTIAN ES-150
Stevie used this guitar to record “Boot Hill,” released on the posthumous disc The Sky Is Crying.
FENDER PROTOTYPE 1980 HENDRIX WOODSTOCK STRATOCASTER
This guitar features an upside-down large headstock with two string trees but otherwise was set up like a normal Stratocaster. Stevie allegedly bought the guitar in the summer of 1985 prior to performing at the Riverplace Festival in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
AMPLIFIERS
MARSHALL 1980 4140 2×12 CLUB AND COUNTRY 100-WATT COMBO
Used in the early 1980s, either alone or in conjunction with other amplifiers. Refitted with JBL speakers in the early eighties.
FENDER 1964 BLACKFACE VIBROVERBS
Stevie often used two Vibroverbs at once; this type of amp remained in his arsenal for his entire career.
FENDER 1964 BLACKFACE SUPER REVERBS
Stevie usually used two of these
amps along with many others for live performances. Refitted with EV speakers.