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| Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) |
| Cold Shot |
| Texas Flood |
| GUITAR SPACESHIP |
| Stephen "Stevie" Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American blues-rock guitarist, whose broad appeal made him an influential electric blues guitarist. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stevie Ray Vaughan #7 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, and Classic Rock Magazine ranked him #3 in their list of the 100 Wildest Guitar Heroes in 2007. Vaughan's blues style was strongly influenced by many blues guitarists. Foremost among them were Albert King, who dubbed himself Stevie's "godfather," Otis Rush, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Jimi Hendrix. The song "Rude Mood" is a direct derivative (according to Vaughan himself) of a Lightnin' Hopkins tune called "Lightning Sky Hop." He was also strongly influenced by early blues-rock guitarist Lonnie Mack, who, according to Vaughan, "really taught me to play guitar from the heart" (Davis, History of the Blues, DaCapo 2003, p. 246). Vaughan, who had idolized Mack since childhood, produced and played on Mack's 1985 Alligator Records album Strike Like Lightning and covered "Wham!" which was written by Mack, as well as playing on a Mack tune from the 1980s, "If You Have To Know." "Scuttle Buttin'" was influenced by one of Mack's songs "Chicken Pickin'". Vaughan's brother Jimmie Vaughan has stated that Johnny "Guitar" Watson was the guitarist he and Stevie studied the most. Vaughan's sound and playing style, which often incorporated simultaneous lead and rhythm parts, drew comparisons to Hendrix; Vaughan covered several Hendrix tunes on his studio albums and in performance, such as "Little Wing," "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," and "Third Stone from the Sun." Some blues greats say that "Vaughan can play Hendrix better than Hendrix himself." He was also heavily influenced by Freddie King, another Texas bluesman, mainly in the use of tone and attack; King's heavy vibrato can clearly be heard in Vaughan's playing. Another stylistic influence was Albert Collins. By utilizing his index finger as a pick a la Albert Collins, he was able to coax various tonal nuances from his amplifiers. -- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: January 15, 2009 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan) |
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