His tragic death in 1990 only emphasised his influence in blues and American rock & roll.īorn and raised in Dallas, Stevie began playing guitar as a child, inspired by older brother Jimmie.
For the next seven years, he was the leading light in American blues, consistently selling out concerts while his albums regularly went gold. Stevie bridged the gap between blues and rock like no other artist had since the late '60s.
Stevie Ray Vaughan ignited the blues revival of the '80s, with his astonishingly accomplished guitar playing, He drew equally from bluesmen like Albert King, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters and rock & roll players like Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, as well as the stray jazz guitarist like Kenny Burrell, developing a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre.
