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Stevie Ray Vaughan : Caught in the Crossfire
Now available in paperback, here is the bestselling biography of America's last guitar legend, Texas firebrand Stevie Ray Vaughan. Hailed the greatest guitarist since Hendrix, Vaughan emerged from the hotbed of Texas blues to develop a blistering, unforgettable style all his own. "A rich, complete, and loving portrait."--Detroit Free Press.
313 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
August 28, 2015
I didn't start listening to SRV until 2013 but when I did, I was stunned, overwhelmed with emotion, addicted and obsessed, finding comfort and soul healing in his music. How could I have not known about this music when he was alive?! I used to listen to BB King, Aretha Franklin, CCR, Canned Heat, Johnny Cash, Jimmi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, The Doors, Alan Jackson...What I am trying to say is I listen to music, I love music. How could I have not known about the best and most passionate Blues guitarist in the world? When I go to yin yoga they play some new age ooooooo type music. I hate it! What relaxes me and soothes me is SRV. I listen obsessively. In my car I am almost always playing Guitar Hurricane, Letter to My Girlfriend, Cross-Cut Saw, Pride and Joy, Voodoo Child, Little Wing and my favorites The Sky is Crying and The Things That I Used To Do (and everything else he ever performed that I can get on CD). I especially love his performance of The Things That I Used To Do on the last concert he gave. Just gives me chills. I have also watched videos where he is interacting with fans; how kind he is. He has a sweetness, he gives off a loving energy. I love the man. So this book, I was bound to love it too, it is about SRV. I laughed and cried my way through it. His antics just kept me laughing and his strength in quitting his addiction, and bringing friends and family on the journey to sobriety, just blew me away. The ending was hard. I'm still a mess from reading it. I earmarked so many passages in this book to share in this review, I couldn't possibly put them in, way too many. I'll just settle for the last thing I bookmarked,
"Joe Cook kept thinking back to the time he got a telephone call from his famous nephew. "Where you at?" Joe asked him. "I'm in a plane thirty-five thousand feet over Dallas, just callin' to say "Hi," Stevie said."
That is Stevie. I'm laughing and crying. Rave On, Stevie Ray Vaughan!
"Joe Cook kept thinking back to the time he got a telephone call from his famous nephew. "Where you at?" Joe asked him. "I'm in a plane thirty-five thousand feet over Dallas, just callin' to say "Hi," Stevie said."
That is Stevie. I'm laughing and crying. Rave On, Stevie Ray Vaughan!
May 2, 2022
Month of April 2022: Celebrity Profiles
Now, if you are an avid blues listener, like my husband is, you will undoubtedly rate this book much higher. My husband absolutely has always, and still loves Stevie’s music. He gave this book a 3.5 stars. I never had even heard of him until we met in September 1987. Now, the blues is “almost” right up there with my ‘70’s music.
But, you won’t get the feel of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s real personality from this book. It is pretty dry reading. The authors dropped SOOOOO many blues artist’s names and every joint they ever played in from Dallas, Austin, Houston to San Antonio. I probably only heard about an eighth of the blues singers mentioned.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was a generation between me and my mother. She was born in 1945; I was born October 15, 1964. Stevie was the 2nd and youngest of two boys, born on October 3, 1954…almost exactly 10 years older than me. He was a native of small town, Terrell, Rockwall County, Texas, 33 miles east of Dallas.
Like my parents, Stevie’s parents didn’t decide on a name for him until they signed the birth certificate. They chose his name because it “sounded” good. His older brother, Jimmie Lawrence Vaughan was named after his father, Jimmie Lee Vaughan. My oldest and youngest sisters were both named after my parents. I’m the middle child. They didn’t know what to name me. A black nurse kept calling me Missy and the name has stuck all my life. But, on my birth certificate is a French name that “sounds” really nice: Yvette Renee.
Stevie’s family moved around a LOT for his dad’s job, but they finally settled in a house on Glenfield Street in Oak Cliff, known as “the Brooklyn of the South” (p. 27), and, today, is one of the oldest districts in Dallas, Texas.
By age 11, he was OBSESSED with playing the electric guitar and never looked back. He dreamed about it and, at times, slept with his guitar. If he didn’t have a guitar in hand, he would be fingering notes. He drove other people crazy because that’s all he would ever talk about. He really looked up to his big brother, Jimmie, and wanted to be just like him. Unfortunately, that included drinking and drugs.
When Stevie and Albert King played together at Antone’s, on 6th Street, in Austin for the first time, he sang “Texas Flood” and a few other songs, and because he wasn’t used to singing, Stevie actually apologized for his voice. (p.98) Crazy! He has a beautiful vibrato and quite a sexy voice. King was surprisingly impressed with Stevie’s performance and ability to keep up, where Eric Clapton and a few others had failed and disappointed the King.
At age 22, Stevie decided it was time to finally put his own band together, Triple Threat Revue. But even then, band members came and went frequently due to Stevie’s drug use and disorganization in getting consistent gigs. Eventually, a new group was put together, called Double Trouble. Still, they stayed broke, looking for their next gig, drugs and alcohol. Stevie was 25 years old when he married Lenny (Lenora Darlene Bailey). They were so broke that they made wedding rings out of wire found on the ground.
I thought it was interesting that Stevie wasn’t a big fan of David Bowie (I’m not either. He’s just not my taste). He hated the “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” album most. Stevie didn’t just not like it, it made him mad. (p. 151) Haha! That’s exactly how Stevie’s wild solo guitar jams make me feel…mad and literally pissed off because it sounds like so much chaos with that electric guitar. It sure didn’t help that my husband had to blast it every chance he got for the past 34 years. So sorry Stevie! Otherwise, I do love your music. But, I’m really more of an acoustic guitar person.
In May 1983, radio stations all across the US were gearing up to play a few of Stevie’s music from his album Texas Flood: “Love Struck Baby” and “Pride and Joy”. While I was graduating high school, Stevie was becoming a big name in the blues industry. “Texas Flood” went gold. Double Trouble was travelling and playing at arenas making thousands now, but somehow losing even more than they brought in. He demanded a fifth of crown royal backstage before every concert, and snorted at least 7 grams of coke throughout the concert, and kept (and spent) $5,000 in his boots at all times.
Stevie had done so much coke that he had to have his cartilage in his nose removed. He used to entertain ( or showoff) at the after parties by pulling a hankie through his nose.
April 10, 1985, Stevie sang the “Star Spangled Banner”” at the Houston Astrodome at National League. It was horrible. The crowd boo’d him. They didn’t like it. My husband even said it was horrible. Stevie was so messed up on coke and crown he didn’t even notice. All he could think about at the time was getting Mickey Mantles autograph on his guitar.
In 3 years, by 1986, Stevie was nearly all washed up due to his daily dose of coke and Crown Royal.
On August 27, 1986, his father, who suffered from Parkinson’s, was taken off life support and died. The next day Stevie had to leave Dallas for a tour in London. A month later, on September 29, he began vomiting up blood due to ulcers and holes in his stomach. He collapsed and was taken to the London Clinic for a four-week rest and cared for by the same doctor who treated Eric Clapton through his heroin addiction. Clapton even gave Stevie a visit and encouragement, and sent wagon loads of flowers.
On October 16, 1986 (one day after my 22nd birthday) Stevie entered into the 28-day Charter treatment in Georgia (in the U.S.) on his own. It was life or death. Alcoholics Anonymous’s 12-Step Program was instrumental in helping Stevie come clean. In fact, attending the meetings had become just as much an obsession as snorting coke had previously been. He became a healthaholic, gave up red meat and shopped at Whole Foods Market natural grocery. He turned to God and often gave words of encouragement during his concerts. He was now giving “hugs, not drugs”.
Stevie wanted his next album to be meaningful, and not all about girls, cars and alcohol. When he sat to record “Riviera Paradise” onto Stevie’s last album with Double Trouble, “In Step”, (which was released in July 1989, and went gold, then platinum) lights were turned out in the studio and Stevie turned his back to everyone sitting behind the glass and he lost himself in his music. He finished the song with exactly 8 seconds left on the tape. It was the first take, and it was perfect. He is quoted, “To me the song was a much needed chance to turn the lights off in the studio and basically - I don’t know how to put it any other way - pray through my guitar.” (p. 240)
Listen to his live version here on YouTube (9:54 minutes long):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3c_8VUL...
“Tick Tock” carried the message of making amends before its too late, and was sung and played by Stevie and his brother, Jimmie. Stevie told his brother, “Let’s make it clean.” So, Jimmie went into rehab, and this song was made just after Jimmie came out of rehab. It is part of their album, “Family Style”, Stevie’s last recorded album before his death. This song made Billboard’s Top 10 just a few days after he was laid to rest.
Listen to “Tick Tock” here on YouTube. That’s Jimmie starting off the song with talking, then Stevie singing:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N8uUTW9...
On August 27, 1990, on the exact same day his father died, but four years earlier, Stevie, age 35, was killed in a helicopter crash, after finishing a huge concert in Chicago that included a lot of the big blues players…Jimmie Vaughan, Albert King, Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker. Incidentally, this was also one day after my husband’s 26th birthday. We were stationed in South Carolina with the U.S. Coast Guard. He remembers it like it was yesterday.
The fog had begun to roll in. There was only one seat left in the helicopter that was about to take off. Jimmie, his wife and Connie were supposed to all ride back together. Stevie asked his brother if it was alright if he took this one back. It was filled with a few of Eric Clapton’s entourage. Eric Clapton was in the helicopter right behind them when he saw the helicopter simply disappear. He didn’t think anything of it because it was so foggy out, they couldn’t really see much anyways. It wasn’t until early the next morning when they discovered the crash. Jimmie Vaughan and Eric Clapton were asked to go to the sight to identify the bodies. Jimmie saw Stevie’s hat and picked it up. As he headed back to the vehicle, he was wishing he had some momentum from Stevie, when someone came running up and handed him Stevie’s cross from his neck.
Stevie’s cause of death was from a cut aorta, and he was tested negative for drugs in his system.
Stevie is buried in Veteran’s Section 15, next to his father, at Laurel Land Memorial Park in south Oak Cliff.
Stevie Ray Vaughan’s official YouTube Channel:
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCxPlXq...
Genealogy: Need to research
Stevie Ray Vaughan’s grandparents, James Robert and Sarah Catherine Vaughan, were originally from Fulton County, Arkansas. (p. 5) I have Vaughan ancestors on my dad’s paternal side that I have never researched before. My grandfather Julius Leslie Roberts mother was a Vaughan: Mary Roseanna Vaughan (b. 1841, Vermilion Parish, LA - d. 1929 Elton, LA). I haven’t even researched who her parents are. It might mean I will have to research a little of Stevie’s family as well to see if we connect anywhere along the line. FUN!
Now, if you are an avid blues listener, like my husband is, you will undoubtedly rate this book much higher. My husband absolutely has always, and still loves Stevie’s music. He gave this book a 3.5 stars. I never had even heard of him until we met in September 1987. Now, the blues is “almost” right up there with my ‘70’s music.
But, you won’t get the feel of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s real personality from this book. It is pretty dry reading. The authors dropped SOOOOO many blues artist’s names and every joint they ever played in from Dallas, Austin, Houston to San Antonio. I probably only heard about an eighth of the blues singers mentioned.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was a generation between me and my mother. She was born in 1945; I was born October 15, 1964. Stevie was the 2nd and youngest of two boys, born on October 3, 1954…almost exactly 10 years older than me. He was a native of small town, Terrell, Rockwall County, Texas, 33 miles east of Dallas.
Like my parents, Stevie’s parents didn’t decide on a name for him until they signed the birth certificate. They chose his name because it “sounded” good. His older brother, Jimmie Lawrence Vaughan was named after his father, Jimmie Lee Vaughan. My oldest and youngest sisters were both named after my parents. I’m the middle child. They didn’t know what to name me. A black nurse kept calling me Missy and the name has stuck all my life. But, on my birth certificate is a French name that “sounds” really nice: Yvette Renee.
Stevie’s family moved around a LOT for his dad’s job, but they finally settled in a house on Glenfield Street in Oak Cliff, known as “the Brooklyn of the South” (p. 27), and, today, is one of the oldest districts in Dallas, Texas.
By age 11, he was OBSESSED with playing the electric guitar and never looked back. He dreamed about it and, at times, slept with his guitar. If he didn’t have a guitar in hand, he would be fingering notes. He drove other people crazy because that’s all he would ever talk about. He really looked up to his big brother, Jimmie, and wanted to be just like him. Unfortunately, that included drinking and drugs.
When Stevie and Albert King played together at Antone’s, on 6th Street, in Austin for the first time, he sang “Texas Flood” and a few other songs, and because he wasn’t used to singing, Stevie actually apologized for his voice. (p.98) Crazy! He has a beautiful vibrato and quite a sexy voice. King was surprisingly impressed with Stevie’s performance and ability to keep up, where Eric Clapton and a few others had failed and disappointed the King.
At age 22, Stevie decided it was time to finally put his own band together, Triple Threat Revue. But even then, band members came and went frequently due to Stevie’s drug use and disorganization in getting consistent gigs. Eventually, a new group was put together, called Double Trouble. Still, they stayed broke, looking for their next gig, drugs and alcohol. Stevie was 25 years old when he married Lenny (Lenora Darlene Bailey). They were so broke that they made wedding rings out of wire found on the ground.
I thought it was interesting that Stevie wasn’t a big fan of David Bowie (I’m not either. He’s just not my taste). He hated the “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” album most. Stevie didn’t just not like it, it made him mad. (p. 151) Haha! That’s exactly how Stevie’s wild solo guitar jams make me feel…mad and literally pissed off because it sounds like so much chaos with that electric guitar. It sure didn’t help that my husband had to blast it every chance he got for the past 34 years. So sorry Stevie! Otherwise, I do love your music. But, I’m really more of an acoustic guitar person.
In May 1983, radio stations all across the US were gearing up to play a few of Stevie’s music from his album Texas Flood: “Love Struck Baby” and “Pride and Joy”. While I was graduating high school, Stevie was becoming a big name in the blues industry. “Texas Flood” went gold. Double Trouble was travelling and playing at arenas making thousands now, but somehow losing even more than they brought in. He demanded a fifth of crown royal backstage before every concert, and snorted at least 7 grams of coke throughout the concert, and kept (and spent) $5,000 in his boots at all times.
Stevie had done so much coke that he had to have his cartilage in his nose removed. He used to entertain ( or showoff) at the after parties by pulling a hankie through his nose.
April 10, 1985, Stevie sang the “Star Spangled Banner”” at the Houston Astrodome at National League. It was horrible. The crowd boo’d him. They didn’t like it. My husband even said it was horrible. Stevie was so messed up on coke and crown he didn’t even notice. All he could think about at the time was getting Mickey Mantles autograph on his guitar.
In 3 years, by 1986, Stevie was nearly all washed up due to his daily dose of coke and Crown Royal.
On August 27, 1986, his father, who suffered from Parkinson’s, was taken off life support and died. The next day Stevie had to leave Dallas for a tour in London. A month later, on September 29, he began vomiting up blood due to ulcers and holes in his stomach. He collapsed and was taken to the London Clinic for a four-week rest and cared for by the same doctor who treated Eric Clapton through his heroin addiction. Clapton even gave Stevie a visit and encouragement, and sent wagon loads of flowers.
On October 16, 1986 (one day after my 22nd birthday) Stevie entered into the 28-day Charter treatment in Georgia (in the U.S.) on his own. It was life or death. Alcoholics Anonymous’s 12-Step Program was instrumental in helping Stevie come clean. In fact, attending the meetings had become just as much an obsession as snorting coke had previously been. He became a healthaholic, gave up red meat and shopped at Whole Foods Market natural grocery. He turned to God and often gave words of encouragement during his concerts. He was now giving “hugs, not drugs”.
Stevie wanted his next album to be meaningful, and not all about girls, cars and alcohol. When he sat to record “Riviera Paradise” onto Stevie’s last album with Double Trouble, “In Step”, (which was released in July 1989, and went gold, then platinum) lights were turned out in the studio and Stevie turned his back to everyone sitting behind the glass and he lost himself in his music. He finished the song with exactly 8 seconds left on the tape. It was the first take, and it was perfect. He is quoted, “To me the song was a much needed chance to turn the lights off in the studio and basically - I don’t know how to put it any other way - pray through my guitar.” (p. 240)
Listen to his live version here on YouTube (9:54 minutes long):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3c_8VUL...
“Tick Tock” carried the message of making amends before its too late, and was sung and played by Stevie and his brother, Jimmie. Stevie told his brother, “Let’s make it clean.” So, Jimmie went into rehab, and this song was made just after Jimmie came out of rehab. It is part of their album, “Family Style”, Stevie’s last recorded album before his death. This song made Billboard’s Top 10 just a few days after he was laid to rest.
Listen to “Tick Tock” here on YouTube. That’s Jimmie starting off the song with talking, then Stevie singing:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N8uUTW9...
On August 27, 1990, on the exact same day his father died, but four years earlier, Stevie, age 35, was killed in a helicopter crash, after finishing a huge concert in Chicago that included a lot of the big blues players…Jimmie Vaughan, Albert King, Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker. Incidentally, this was also one day after my husband’s 26th birthday. We were stationed in South Carolina with the U.S. Coast Guard. He remembers it like it was yesterday.
The fog had begun to roll in. There was only one seat left in the helicopter that was about to take off. Jimmie, his wife and Connie were supposed to all ride back together. Stevie asked his brother if it was alright if he took this one back. It was filled with a few of Eric Clapton’s entourage. Eric Clapton was in the helicopter right behind them when he saw the helicopter simply disappear. He didn’t think anything of it because it was so foggy out, they couldn’t really see much anyways. It wasn’t until early the next morning when they discovered the crash. Jimmie Vaughan and Eric Clapton were asked to go to the sight to identify the bodies. Jimmie saw Stevie’s hat and picked it up. As he headed back to the vehicle, he was wishing he had some momentum from Stevie, when someone came running up and handed him Stevie’s cross from his neck.
Stevie’s cause of death was from a cut aorta, and he was tested negative for drugs in his system.
Stevie is buried in Veteran’s Section 15, next to his father, at Laurel Land Memorial Park in south Oak Cliff.
Stevie Ray Vaughan’s official YouTube Channel:
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCxPlXq...
Genealogy: Need to research
Stevie Ray Vaughan’s grandparents, James Robert and Sarah Catherine Vaughan, were originally from Fulton County, Arkansas. (p. 5) I have Vaughan ancestors on my dad’s paternal side that I have never researched before. My grandfather Julius Leslie Roberts mother was a Vaughan: Mary Roseanna Vaughan (b. 1841, Vermilion Parish, LA - d. 1929 Elton, LA). I haven’t even researched who her parents are. It might mean I will have to research a little of Stevie’s family as well to see if we connect anywhere along the line. FUN!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
June 27, 2008Listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan makes me feel better when nothing else can, like a really good thunderstorm.
March 1, 2018
Parents let me read this book in 8th grade and I learned about coke and the blues. I really thought they were talking about Coca Cola Classic all this time until my buddy Mike told me they were talking about something else. CLASSIC ME!
July 24, 2019
This book made me want to listen to ALL the SRV.
Stevie was my introduction to The Blues, so I’m surprised it took me this long to read about him. I didn’t realize how influential his big brother was for him. There was so much about Jimmie that it came close to annoying me. I went in wanting to read about SRV and Jimmie was there nearly every step of the way. It didn’t quite get there because of how interesting their lives were.
Stevie worked for a long time before getting his break. He was playing during the 60s blues revival and his skin color actually worked against him; college white-dudes wanted authenticy. AKA black dudes. Stevie always took every opportunity to give credit to his black influences. So much so that he wished he was black. That also had the side effect of his various bands’ members calling him Little N-Bomb, except they used the real world.
When that break finally came, he didn’t even a decade left. Texas Flood was recorded in 1983 and Family Style in 1990. That fateful plane ride after a concert with Jimmie and Clapton happened before Family Style was released. Yet he didn’t even had those full seven years. After Live Alive came out in 1986, his addictions got the best of him. It took him a few attempts but he finally dried out and released In Step in 1989. Even though I knew it was coming, I got chills when he died.
And now for some quick hits:
SRV’s talking about the 12 steps is actually a point of contention. Even though he didn’t specifically talk about AA, the second A = Anonymous and so his even obliquely talking about it defeats that purpose. (223)
Lenny was his wife. I thought that song was named after someone, I just thought that someone was a guy.
His hands and forearms were huge and it helped him play with the thick strings that gave him his signature sound.
There’s a lot about Jimmy, which I was surprised at. I am of the brotherhood who found SRV first.
Jimmy quit The Fabulous Thunderbirds and recorded Family Style with Stevie and so when Stevie died Jimmy was without a band. So he used that time to protect Stevie’s work. He didn’t want it to end up like Hendrix’s; owned by a Caribbean Chartered Company (266)
Stevie was my introduction to The Blues, so I’m surprised it took me this long to read about him. I didn’t realize how influential his big brother was for him. There was so much about Jimmie that it came close to annoying me. I went in wanting to read about SRV and Jimmie was there nearly every step of the way. It didn’t quite get there because of how interesting their lives were.
Stevie worked for a long time before getting his break. He was playing during the 60s blues revival and his skin color actually worked against him; college white-dudes wanted authenticy. AKA black dudes. Stevie always took every opportunity to give credit to his black influences. So much so that he wished he was black. That also had the side effect of his various bands’ members calling him Little N-Bomb, except they used the real world.
When that break finally came, he didn’t even a decade left. Texas Flood was recorded in 1983 and Family Style in 1990. That fateful plane ride after a concert with Jimmie and Clapton happened before Family Style was released. Yet he didn’t even had those full seven years. After Live Alive came out in 1986, his addictions got the best of him. It took him a few attempts but he finally dried out and released In Step in 1989. Even though I knew it was coming, I got chills when he died.
And now for some quick hits:
SRV’s talking about the 12 steps is actually a point of contention. Even though he didn’t specifically talk about AA, the second A = Anonymous and so his even obliquely talking about it defeats that purpose. (223)
Lenny was his wife. I thought that song was named after someone, I just thought that someone was a guy.
His hands and forearms were huge and it helped him play with the thick strings that gave him his signature sound.
There’s a lot about Jimmy, which I was surprised at. I am of the brotherhood who found SRV first.
Jimmy quit The Fabulous Thunderbirds and recorded Family Style with Stevie and so when Stevie died Jimmy was without a band. So he used that time to protect Stevie’s work. He didn’t want it to end up like Hendrix’s; owned by a Caribbean Chartered Company (266)
November 27, 2009
Huge SRV fan! Recommend and true guitarist to read this book!
January 21, 2009
This biography of Steve Ray Vaughn was fascinating for me, not only because he is one of my favorite musicians, but also because his life was very closely tied to the evolution of Dallas and Austin from the 60's through the 90's. The bio story is fairly typical rock star stuff, filled with wildly extravagant lifestyles, incredile drug abuse and lots of easy women. Some of the more interesting stuff had to do with Stevie's relationship with his brother, guitarist Jimmie, and the reverence that Stevie had for the blues greats from music history. For anyone who lived in Austin or Dallas during these years, the descriptions of the changing cities and nightlife spots is good fun, too. It is a damn shame that SRV died in a helicopter accident, only a couple of years after he finally kicked drugs and alcohol and had taken his rightful place as the greatest rock guitarist in the world.
December 6, 2010
Eighteen-plus years after his death, I finally read this story and I was moved by his recovery from drug abuse, his tragic death, and the legend he became at the time this book was published.
My personal first encounter was hearing the song Couldn't Stand the Weather back in 1984, during the beginning of my divorce from Debra. This album (once I bought the cassette) really got me through a rough patch.
Then I saw him live during the "Fire and the Fury" Tour in 1989 with Jeff Beck. Awesome concert that also had an appearance by Carlos Santana! --From A Reader's Journal, by d r melbie.
My personal first encounter was hearing the song Couldn't Stand the Weather back in 1984, during the beginning of my divorce from Debra. This album (once I bought the cassette) really got me through a rough patch.
Then I saw him live during the "Fire and the Fury" Tour in 1989 with Jeff Beck. Awesome concert that also had an appearance by Carlos Santana! --From A Reader's Journal, by d r melbie.
October 1, 2009
And I thought I knew all about Stevie - great read! Sex, drugs, and Rock and Roll....but mostly drugs. RIP Stevie....
(Made me want to listen to some BLUES but not necessarily mix cocaine into my Crown Royal....)
(Made me want to listen to some BLUES but not necessarily mix cocaine into my Crown Royal....)
September 9, 2012
I'm conflicted on this one - if there were half stars , I'd give it 3.5. The journo writing style was off-putting at first, and I nearly put it down for that reason But ultimately, the book's heart is in the right place. Recommended to the fans, especially those who saw him back in the day.
August 30, 2012
Loved every word of it! Great to read that one of my favorite people to have lived was a great human being also! He was soooo talented and the world is missing him being in it. I'm thankful that he left behind his music and people that will always remember him!
August 27, 2012
Today is the 22nd anniversary of SRV's untimely passing... This is the definitive book on his life; buy a copy today..!
November 25, 2014
Fantastic bio about the greatest of the modern" blues players. Lots of photos and anecdotes, Stevie made it out of liquor and drugs but could do nothing against fate.
October 21, 2025
Good look at a great musician who died way too soon. Hard to keep some of the background people straight, but great insight into Stevie Ray.
July 19, 2022
The short, but eventful career of the late lamented guitarist, singer and songwriter Stevie Ray Vaughan is laid out in this warts and all biographical study of one of the most influential blues and rock guitarists of the past fifty or so years.
It starts with his childhood, and looks at his early start, playing in all sorts of bands in his teens, growing up in the shadow of his older brother Jimmie Vaughan, who was making a name for himself in the same field.
We learn all about the heady days of the bands, of Vaughan, finding his feet, his tone, and eventually his voice, and the record contracts. We learn of his playing for the Rolling Stones, and his appearances with David Bowie.
The reader is also made aware of the addictive side of Vaughan’s personality, the drink and drug binges, taking toxicity to levels that few people could survive, and how close Vaughan got to being destroyed by his own demons.
There is also a heroic redemptive arc in the book, where Vaughan gets clean and stays sober, sharpens up his act as a musician, ploughs his time into his talent, before the day after supporting lifelong guitar hero Eric Clapton, he is tragically killed in a helicopter crash.
The book is very well written and moves along at quite a pace. There is much here for the general music fan, and the blues fan as the book discusses Vaughan’s relationships and dealing with such figures as BB King, and Albert King and making peace and a better relationship with his biggest influence, his brother Jimmie.
The tragedy of Vaughan’s life, the highs and the lows are all discussed, and we get a full range of Vaughan the man, and the musician, this is not a hagiography of a much-missed musician, but it is a testament to his life, his talent, and an important reminder of this talented musician, and what he might have offered music fans if he hadn’t been on that ill-fated helicopter ride.
It starts with his childhood, and looks at his early start, playing in all sorts of bands in his teens, growing up in the shadow of his older brother Jimmie Vaughan, who was making a name for himself in the same field.
We learn all about the heady days of the bands, of Vaughan, finding his feet, his tone, and eventually his voice, and the record contracts. We learn of his playing for the Rolling Stones, and his appearances with David Bowie.
The reader is also made aware of the addictive side of Vaughan’s personality, the drink and drug binges, taking toxicity to levels that few people could survive, and how close Vaughan got to being destroyed by his own demons.
There is also a heroic redemptive arc in the book, where Vaughan gets clean and stays sober, sharpens up his act as a musician, ploughs his time into his talent, before the day after supporting lifelong guitar hero Eric Clapton, he is tragically killed in a helicopter crash.
The book is very well written and moves along at quite a pace. There is much here for the general music fan, and the blues fan as the book discusses Vaughan’s relationships and dealing with such figures as BB King, and Albert King and making peace and a better relationship with his biggest influence, his brother Jimmie.
The tragedy of Vaughan’s life, the highs and the lows are all discussed, and we get a full range of Vaughan the man, and the musician, this is not a hagiography of a much-missed musician, but it is a testament to his life, his talent, and an important reminder of this talented musician, and what he might have offered music fans if he hadn’t been on that ill-fated helicopter ride.
December 16, 2019
When we came to Austin, we were pretty young and always into music. Austin, being a city caught up with a lot of music and musicians were just everywhere.....we met people that played in bands, that knew people...so we always went to see live music. Stevie Ray Vaughan was an up and coming VERY young musician. We would go see him often, he was just such a part of Austin. Got to where we saw him so often, that by the end of his music career, we would give our tickets away. Feel so bad now!
This book gives you an insight to what probably most musicians went through. The drugs, the alcohol, the sex, the highs of being onstage. Sounds like being a musician was a very hard life, in terms of making real money before you were well known, not to mention all the hangers on that were all too eager to share their booze or drugs. Stevie Ray went through many struggles to make himself known, but seems like he really did it all for his music. Sounds like he spent many many days just too wasted to care for anything BUT his music. Seems like everybody in Austin knows something about Stevie Ray Vaughan, but this book's author, Joe Nick Patoski knows quite a bit more. Sad that after cleaning himself up, he dies in a helicopter crash after a concert. We still always enjoy hearing his music, brings back a lot of good memories.
(I like that it talks about his brother Jimmie's fascination with cars and mentions one that my husband used to work on. Jimmie had some fine cars!)
This book gives you an insight to what probably most musicians went through. The drugs, the alcohol, the sex, the highs of being onstage. Sounds like being a musician was a very hard life, in terms of making real money before you were well known, not to mention all the hangers on that were all too eager to share their booze or drugs. Stevie Ray went through many struggles to make himself known, but seems like he really did it all for his music. Sounds like he spent many many days just too wasted to care for anything BUT his music. Seems like everybody in Austin knows something about Stevie Ray Vaughan, but this book's author, Joe Nick Patoski knows quite a bit more. Sad that after cleaning himself up, he dies in a helicopter crash after a concert. We still always enjoy hearing his music, brings back a lot of good memories.
(I like that it talks about his brother Jimmie's fascination with cars and mentions one that my husband used to work on. Jimmie had some fine cars!)
March 5, 2020
I am a huge Stevie Ray Vaughan fan, saw him several times in concert, and have a deep appreciation for his music. SRV grew up as a musician, as did most of his family, and everyone familiar with his story knows that his rise to fame was also accompanied by his descent into drug abuse.
Vaughan’s professional musical career lasted only seven years and six albums. By 1986 Vaughan was in rehab, hopelessly addicted to drugs and alcohol. After cleaning up his act, it looked like he got his personal life and music back on track. In 1990, just as he was reaching new artistic heights, his helicopter crashed near Alpine Valley, Wisconsin after a concert. Music deaths rarely get as tragic as Vaughan’s.
At the time of his death on August 27, 1990, Stevie Ray Vaughan left behind a large collection of recordings. Over the years, his record companies have continued to issue his music in various formats. Jimmie Vaughan, his brother, took control of his intellectual property rights after his death so his music continues to live on decades after his death.
1479
Vaughan’s professional musical career lasted only seven years and six albums. By 1986 Vaughan was in rehab, hopelessly addicted to drugs and alcohol. After cleaning up his act, it looked like he got his personal life and music back on track. In 1990, just as he was reaching new artistic heights, his helicopter crashed near Alpine Valley, Wisconsin after a concert. Music deaths rarely get as tragic as Vaughan’s.
At the time of his death on August 27, 1990, Stevie Ray Vaughan left behind a large collection of recordings. Over the years, his record companies have continued to issue his music in various formats. Jimmie Vaughan, his brother, took control of his intellectual property rights after his death so his music continues to live on decades after his death.
1479
September 4, 2021
This is one of the better rock 'n' roll bios that I have read. It is dense with information, especially as to Stevie (and older brother Jimmie's) upbringing in South Dallas. The years that Stevie spent as a "struggling musician" in Austin are thoroughly represented including his love for alcohol and drugs, which he consumed for years at a level considerably higher than was my understanding prior to reading this book. Vaughn's love for his craft, and infatuation from an early age with the guitar, is well told throughout the book and helps to understand why he became the guitar virtuoso that he did. Thankfully, there is little content about his death in the helicopter crash beyond an explanation of how and when it occurred. The book sticks to facts, and presents them clearly and interestingly.
June 14, 2018
This one found me in a second hand stores throw out bin and really engaged me to the end. The detail regarding not only Stevie and Jimmie ( his older, as efficient with the axe, rockstar brother ) is in depth and highly intriguing. The third character in the book is Austin itself, heartland of the blues from the mid 70’s onwards, pioneered by the Vaughn brothers, Zz Top and co.
Stevie lead an atypically tragic rockstar life but it was his ability to react to the near death state he reached, to become a championing of the clean life, right before he was struck from us, far too soon, that stands as his legacy alongside his magical guitar prowess.
He’s a true inspiration
Stevie lead an atypically tragic rockstar life but it was his ability to react to the near death state he reached, to become a championing of the clean life, right before he was struck from us, far too soon, that stands as his legacy alongside his magical guitar prowess.
He’s a true inspiration
November 5, 2025
I got this at a book sale and thought it'd be a good read on one of the best guitar players ever.
I didn't know much about Stevie's early career and the people he met through his brother Jimmie. There was fear of drug and alcohol abuse early on before he got his record deal, where he was partying a lot according to this book.
There are great tales here about how labels didn't want to sign a blues act (esp a white one) and tales of his interactions with Bowie, Prince, and The Stones which I enjoyed. The language was pretty strong for my taste from the writers but overall a nice read and insight of the music biz and one a blues legend.
I didn't know much about Stevie's early career and the people he met through his brother Jimmie. There was fear of drug and alcohol abuse early on before he got his record deal, where he was partying a lot according to this book.
There are great tales here about how labels didn't want to sign a blues act (esp a white one) and tales of his interactions with Bowie, Prince, and The Stones which I enjoyed. The language was pretty strong for my taste from the writers but overall a nice read and insight of the music biz and one a blues legend.
January 23, 2021
Karu, yksityiskohtainen kuvaus legendaarisen blueskitaristin elämästä. Kirjoitettu journalistisella tarkkuudella, ilman fanitusta tai turhaa hypetystä.
Kirja perehtyy etenkin Stevien uran alkuvuosiin, kivikkoiseen tiehen huipulle ja kitaristiveljesten väliseen suhteeseen. Ensimmäisestä levystä kerrotaan vasta puolivälin jälkeen.
Eikä huipullakaan ollut helppoa. ”Stevie oli valinnut vaikean elämäntavan, vaikka sitä ei aina ollut helppo ymmärtää hienon kiertuebussin, hotellisviittien, intohimoisen yleisön, takahuoneen ihailijoiden ja ikuisen juhlan takaa.”
Kirja perehtyy etenkin Stevien uran alkuvuosiin, kivikkoiseen tiehen huipulle ja kitaristiveljesten väliseen suhteeseen. Ensimmäisestä levystä kerrotaan vasta puolivälin jälkeen.
Eikä huipullakaan ollut helppoa. ”Stevie oli valinnut vaikean elämäntavan, vaikka sitä ei aina ollut helppo ymmärtää hienon kiertuebussin, hotellisviittien, intohimoisen yleisön, takahuoneen ihailijoiden ja ikuisen juhlan takaa.”
September 4, 2019
I loved SRV from the first time I saw him, on Global News at Noon in the early 80s ... apparently Canada was into him well before he hit big in the US ... and really enjoyed this book too.
I remember almost turning the channel from the show, and then they went to a commercial break and he played them out. I was hooked. Watched the rest of the show just to see him. Fantastic.
I still remember where I was the day I heard he'd died. He was one of the best musicians ever.
I remember almost turning the channel from the show, and then they went to a commercial break and he played them out. I was hooked. Watched the rest of the show just to see him. Fantastic.
I still remember where I was the day I heard he'd died. He was one of the best musicians ever.
August 13, 2020
Interested in music biographies & this is a good illustration of one of the founding fathers & sons of the continuation & expansion of the blues music scene by bad boy, turned good Stevie Ray Vaughan (RIP).
It's somewhat an acquired taste, limited to those with a penchant for modern music, rock n roll & blues history, but well worth it if you have an interest in all things Guitar.
It's somewhat an acquired taste, limited to those with a penchant for modern music, rock n roll & blues history, but well worth it if you have an interest in all things Guitar.
June 25, 2019
Solid read with lots of Texas area music background and depth. Especially enjoyed the stories about Jimmy and Stevie Ray growing up and getting started in the business. Also paints a vivid portrait of SRV--who he was--qualities and flaws. Does a wonderful job of de-glamorizing the music business.
March 15, 2022
For a shortened life, a book on Stevie Ray Vaughan could be much bigger. It's a good read for any SRV/guitar/blues fan. Gives you a good oversight to Stevie's upbringing, career and his personality as well as his struggles & overcoming them.
February 20, 2020
Fantastic , Texas Gunslinger stories right here.
December 31, 2020
Very interesting and a good read. SRV is one of my top three electric guitar players. A tragic life but thank you for the music.
March 9, 2021
Great history of the great guitarist.
March 16, 2021
This book goes into amazing detail about Stevie Ray Vaughan’s life and him as a person, definitely recommend to anyone interested & passionate about his music 🤍🤍
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