To many, it seemed that Stevie Ray Vaughan burst on the music scene in 1983 with his stunning release "Texas Flood." However, this master blues guitarist paid his dues in the roadhouses in and around Austin, Texas for years before finally getting his break with an invitation to play the Montreax Jazz Festival, the only unsigned act ever to do so. As unbelievable as it seems now, he was booed by the blues purists there who seemed to think that what he was doing was somehow a sacrilege. Fortunately, David Bowie was in the crowd and clearly understood the talent that he was witnessing.
After backing Bowie on his album "Let's Dance" in early 1983, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble recorded their debut album with the help of Jackson Browne and hit the road. With three more releases over the next three years and an uncompromising non-stop touring schedule, Stevie became widely recognized as the very best of the new breed of blues guitarists, even crossing over into AOR station air play, a feat rarely accomplished by blues musicians. However, the grueling schedule and rock-n-roll party life began to take a toll on Stevie both physically and emotionally. He entered a rehab clinic in 1987 and in 1989 a rejuvenated, sober Stevie Ray Vaughan was back in peak form, with a new-found love of life.
Unfortunately, late in the summer of 1990, Stevie Ray Vaughan, along with four others, was killed in a helicopter crash just minutes after leaving the stage following a show at Alpine Valley Music Theater near East Troy, WI.