Texas Flood

by Alan Paul

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  To our wives and kids, who share us with the music and support us every day in every way.

  Rebecca, Jacob, Eli, and Anna

  —Alan Paul

  Tracey, Rory, and Wyatt

  —Andy Aledort

  FOREWORD

  Twelve years on the clock doesn’t seem like a long time at this point in my life, but playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan during that span of time provided me the greatest education I ever could have received, both as a musician and as a person learning to navigate life’s many challenges.

  The intent of what we were doing never changed from the time I joined Stevie in 1978 until his tragic death in 1990, whether we were jamming in dive bars as a duo, or the years on the road in a van with Double Trouble, to eventually touring arenas around the world. Everything we did as a group was based around Stevie’s fierce dedication to always giving it his all. The single-minded devotion we all shared helped to guide us through all of the low points and the dark days.

  Stevie was a sheer force of desire, seemingly incapable of giving anything less than 100 percent every time he picked up the guitar. His intent was exactly the same whether he was alone in the back of the bus, sitting with the two of us in a hotel room, onstage at Carnegie Hall, or in front of 115,000 people at the Chicago Blues Festival. The statement was, “Don’t do it unless you are going to do it with everything you’ve got.” That was apparent from the very first time I ever saw him play. He always seemed to be emotionally and spiritually in the music right now, which fascinated me. It’s what attracted me to him and made me know that I wanted to play with him, period.

  I had never played blues before, and Stevie actually liked that. He said, “There are a lot of things about you I really admire. Maybe I’ve got something I can give to you, too.” I told him I had a feeling that great things could happen if we could work together, not knowing anything other than that. The thought of it all was exciting.

  Stevie reached people profoundly because of the feeling and the emotion that he communicated. It was something that was truly mystical and baffling; he hooked the listeners and pulled them close. This was something that Tommy and I, and later Reese, understood without discussion.

  Stevie’s untimely death was tragic for me and for many others. Dying in the prime of his life put a stamp in time that can’t exist any other way. Something precious and rare was lost, and there’s an enduring curiosity about what might have been. I, too, can only wonder what the future would have held.

  Being involved in the writing of Texas Flood gave me a lot of insight into my own history and the life that we all shared together. I hope this book will give you a deeper understanding of who Stevie was as a person, as an artist, and as a friend.

  —Chris Layton, Double Trouble drummer

  Austin, Texas

  AUTHORS’ NOTE

  Unless otherwise noted, all quotes in this book came from interviews conducted by one or both of us. The only exception are the quotes from Cutter Brandenburg, which were adapted from his memoir, You Can’t Stop a Comet, with permission from his son Robert.

  Texas Flood represents three decades of work for two writers and musicians who have dedicated our lives to understanding and spreading the gospel of the music we love, music which has been at the very center of our lives. As important as Stevie Ray Vaughan has been to each of us, we came to his music from slightly different routes.

  ALAN PAUL

  I didn’t “get” Stevie Ray Vaughan when I first heard him because I was a young, dumb blues snob, and, like all snobs I was oblivious. I thought Stevie was too loud, too rocked up, and, frankly, too white to be legitimate. But a funny thing happened as I began meeting and interviewing my blues heroes: one by one, they told me how great Stevie Ray was. I heard it from Albert King, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, and Johnny Copeland. Eventually, this blind man saw the light. Then I smacked myself for not having been in the front row of every one of his shows within a hundred miles of me.

  I went in deep, and was fortunate enough to see Stevie and his brother Jimmie play together at the 1990 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. They were terrific together, and I looked forward to their upcoming album, Family Style. I was in the middle of begging magazines to let me interview the Vaughans when I heard the horrible news of Stevie’s death at Alpine Valley. A few months later I started working at Guitar World, which gave me an opportunity to further immerse myself in Stevie’s music, even though it often filled me with sadness; his absence was profound, a ghostly presence hovering over many of my interviews and interactions with guitarists who missed him dearly.

  When Jimmie launched his solo career a few years later with Strange Pleasure, I found solace in the joyful, swinging music. It was proof that music can overcome grief. Lengthy interviews with Jimmie around his album release and the tribute concert he organized for his brother helped me begin to understand him, and to form a vision of who Stevie really was. I was honored when he asked me to contribute writing to two great releases: 1996’s A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan and 2000’s SRV box set. It was clear from our first interview how difficult yet important it was for Jimmie to talk about Stevie. His insights are at the heart of this book, for which we are deeply appreciative.

  Stevie continued to have an outsized pull on me when I moved to Beijing in 2005. During my time there, I hired a young musician named Woodie Wu to repair one of my guitars. As we spoke, I saw familiar letters poking out from under his shirt and asked if I could see his tattoo; he pulled up his sleeve to reveal the letters SRV sitting beneath Stevie’s face, which covered his left triceps. He had bought a cassette of Texas Flood as a teenage metalhead, drawn to the gunslinger on the cover. He had never heard of the blues and didn’t know where Texas was, but the music flipped his world upside down.

  I couldn’t believe I had found a Chinese blues guitarist with a tattoo of Stevie. He couldn’t believe the guy who wrote liner notes for his favorite musician had walked into his shop in a Beijing suburb. We became soul mates, formed a band that toured China and changed each other’s lives in too many ways to count. I credit Stevie.

  Pondering a follow-up to my book One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band, I knew it had to be about someone whose music had impacted me in a similar manner and whose story I found equally compelling. It had to be Stevie, and I knew that to do this right, I had to partner with my friend and Guitar World colleague Andy Aledort, who interviewed Stevie four times and had spent decades immersed in the music. I believe that working together, we have truly presented the inside story of Stevie Ray Vaughan. May Stevie’s music continue to inspire people from one end of the earth to the other.

  ANDY ALEDORT

  There are some musicians that you never forget the very first time you heard them play. Robert Johnson and B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix and Charlie Parker, the Beatles and Ornette Coleman are all t
hat way for me. The memory of hearing each one of these visionary artists for the very first time is so vivid—I will never forget exactly where I was and the circumstances surrounding that initial introduction and the impact that it had on me. Experiences like these leave an indelible mark. Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of the musicians on this list.

  In the spring of 1983, I was at my mother’s house and there was a radio playing softly in the background. A new David Bowie song had come on, “Let’s Dance.” I wasn’t really paying attention to it at all—until the guitar solo. I stopped in my tracks and thought, “What is this?! Albert King is playing on a David Bowie record?” The completely unexpected juxtaposition of pure blues intensity over what was essentially a disco/new wave track was startling, and sounded totally new. As disparate as these two musical styles seemed to be, the combination was brilliant and powerful.

  I soon found out that it was a new guitar player named Stevie Ray Vaughan. And as Alan and I discovered in the writing of this book, that unforgettable impact of the very first time hearing Stevie play is one shared by just about everyone we spoke to, from his fellow musicians to the people that would become his closest friends, as well as his musical compatriots in Double Trouble—Tommy Shannon, Chris Layton, and Reese Wynans. All three have vivid memories of that very first moment they heard him play and the impact it had on them.

  Shortly after hearing “Let’s Dance,” I picked up Stevie’s debut album, Texas Flood, and I immediately felt a kinship to his playing and his music. Stevie was about a year older than me and I could hear so many of the same influences in his playing that I had in my own. Along with the musical DNA of the big blues heroes Albert, B. B., Freddie King and T-Bone Walker, the album’s final track, “Lenny,” revealed the distinct influence of Jimi Hendrix. But there was something else about Stevie’s playing that really set him apart: there was a precision in everything that he did that was flawless. And that precision was delivered with an intensity of emotion and a guitar tone that was just beautiful. Another important aspect was that Texas Flood sounded like what it was: a three-piece band playing live in the studio with no overdubs. It was about as direct and pure as a record could ever be. The power, the drive, and the focus of Stevie and of the band was undeniable.

  Less than a year later, in early 1984, I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble for the first time, at My Father’s Place, a Long Island club that held just over three hundred people and was packed to the gills. Stevie had just finished recording his second album, Couldn’t Stand the Weather, though it would be a few more months before the record’s release. At this point, Texas Flood was the only album on the market. Stevie’s performance that night was truly phenomenal. Three things struck me immediately: He played the guitar with the natural ease of breathing; his tone—and it was LOUD—was the greatest live Stratocaster tone I had ever heard; and his vibrato was absolutely perfect. With his head held down for most of the time, at one point he peeked up for a moment from under his black bolero hat, exposing a grin. It is a moment I will never forget.

  Two years later, I met and interviewed Stevie for the first time. I’d brought a guitar and a small practice amp so he could demonstrate some of his songs and guitar parts. After greeting each other, we spontaneously started to jam on a blues shuffle in E for about ten minutes. When I put my guitar down, he asked what I was doing and I replied, “Oh, I have to interview you now.” “Aw,” he said, “I thought we were just gonna have fun.” This gives you an idea of the kind of warm, generous, sweet, and friendly person Stevie was—ever enthusiastic and happy to play and share his love of music and the guitar.

  Over the next four years, I interviewed Stevie three more times, as well as his brother Jimmie Vaughan. One of the most fun occasions was when I interviewed them both right before their “brothers” album, Family Style, came out. At the time of the interview, the album was still being called by its working title, Very Vaughan. It was fantastic to talk to the brothers together, as they picked on each other, laughed at each other’s jokes, and shared in the trip down memory lane as only brothers can. Their closeness was crystal clear. Stevie was just as warm and friendly as ever, with a big smile on his face. As he had done previously, he sat back and played my guitar the entire time. At the end of the interview, he stood up, handed my guitar back, and said, “I still love your guitar.” It was the last time we ever spoke.

  In the years after Stevie’s death, I interviewed Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon for their successive projects: Arc Angels, Storyville, and the Double Trouble album. By the end of the decade, they had heard my playing and invited me to record and play some shows with them, a great honor and absolute pleasure. It was through this relationship that I got the opportunity to perform with Jimi Hendrix’s bandmates Mitch Mitchell, Buddy Miles, and Billy Cox, as well as Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, Paul Rodgers, Edgar Winter, and many other musical legends.

  Regarding Chris and Tommy, this book could never have been as focused, honest, or accurate in terms of their relationship and understanding of Stevie without the many hours of discussion with each of them over the last three decades. The relationships cultivated and that I continue to share with them are ones I will always cherish.

  Stevie Ray Vaughan has been the most important and influential musician in the lives of many of the musicians that I have met and communicated with over the last thirty-five years. This is true for people older than myself as well as for people two generations younger. His impact has been felt across every age bracket in every corner of the globe. He remains a true guitar legend and a guitar hero. He set the bar so high, and set an example for performing on the highest level and with the deepest level of emotion. He was a true artist.

  For all of these years since his passing, I felt that no one had written the kind of book Stevie deserved, one that would honor his memory appropriately and also tell the story of a life filled with triumph and with no lack of adversity and personal difficulties to overcome. It was a honor to get to speak with and get to know so many of his closest friends and family members, all of whom generously shared their thoughts, impressions, and feelings about Stevie at great length.

  Most of all, I have to give great thanks to Jimmie Vaughan. Speaking about his brother is something that has not been easy. After many conversations, Jimmie felt confident that Alan and I would do our very best to tell Stevie’s story the right way. The story of Stevie Ray Vaughan could not be told without the guidance of his brother, and we are so thankful for his confidence in us.

  I believe this book tells Stevie’s story truthfully and completely, and the reader will gain insight into his life as well as a far greater understanding of him as a person and as a musician. Working on this book was a true labor of love, and I dedicate all of the work to the lasting strength of Stevie’s music and his spirit. He will continue to inspire for many generations to come.

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN Perhaps the last true blues guitar legend. Born October 3, 1954, Dallas, Texas. Died August 27, 1990, East Troy, Wisconsin.

  JIMMIE VAUGHAN Stevie’s older brother and primary guitar influence. Founding member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, solo artist since 1991.

  CHRIS LAYTON Double Trouble drummer.

  TOMMY SHANNON Double Trouble bassist.

  REESE WYNANS Double Trouble keyboardist.

  * * *

  LARRY ABERMAN Drummer on Family Style.

  ANDY ALEDORT Coauthor, interviewed Stevie Ray Vaughan four times.

  GREGG ALLMAN Allman Brothers Band founding singer, keyboard player; died 2017.

  CARLOS ALOMAR David Bowie guitarist and bandleader.

  CLIFFORD ANTONE Founder of Antone’s, Austin’s home of the blues; died 2006.

  SUSAN ANTONE Clifford Antone’s sister, partner in Antone’s club.

  CIDNEY COOK AYOTTE Vaughan cousin.

  LOU ANN BARTON Triple Threat and Double Trouble singer, 1977–1979.

  MARC BENNO Texas guitarist, bandleader of the Night
crawlers.

  RAY BENSON Asleep at the Wheel founder, guitarist, friend of Stevie’s and Jimmie’s.

  BILL BENTLEY Music editor, The Austin Sun, 1974–1978.

  AL BERRY Bassist on Family Style.

  LINDI BETHEL Stevie’s girlfriend, 1974–1979.

  DICKEY BETTS Allman Brothers Band guitarist.

  DAVID BOWIE Rock star. Hired Stevie to play on his 1983 album Let’s Dance, which introduced the guitarist to the world (and helped Bowie to his greatest success); died 2016.

  DOYLE BRAMHALL Songwriting partner and longtime friend and bandmate of both Stevie’s and Jimmie’s; died 2011.

  DOYLE BRAMHALL II Guitarist, lifetime friend of Stevie’s, son of Doyle Bramhall.

  CUTTER BRANDENBURG Lifelong friend of Stevie’s, crew member 1980–1983; died 2015.

  JACKSON BROWNE Singer/songwriter who gave Stevie and Double Trouble free time in his Los Angeles studio, where they recorded Texas Flood.

  DENNY BRUCE Fabulous Thunderbirds manager, 1977–1982.

  FRANCES CARR Stevie’s patron. She funded the band during their crucial early years and formed Classic Management with Chesley Millikin.

  BILL CARTER Guitarist, singer, songwriter, cowriter of “Crossfire.”

  LINDA CASCIO Vaughan cousin.

  ERIC CLAPTON, British blues guitar legend; friend and admirer of Stevie’s.

  W. C. CLARK Austin guitarist who played bass in and co-fronted the Triple Threat Revue with Stevie and singer Lou Ann Barton.

  BOB CLEARMOUNTAIN Recording engineer, Let’s Dance.

  RODDY COLONNA Drummer in Blackbird, lifelong friend of Stevie’s.

  J. MARSHALL CRAIG Writer, confidant of Chesley Millikin.

  RODNEY CRAIG Cobras drummer.

  ROBERT CRAY Musician and friend of Stevie’s.