Stevie Ray Vaughan : Caught in the Crossfire

Stevie Ray Vaughan : Caught in the Crossfire Review

This book covers Stevie Ray from childhood, all the way up through his death in 1990, and even after his death, up through about 1992. Stevie Ray was killed in a helecopter crash. Stevie Ray was born & raised in Dallas, Texas. He first started playing his older brother's guitar at their home. His older brother is Jimmy Vaughan, founding member of the "Fabulus Thunderbirds" band. Stevie grew up in the same neighborhood with another Texas Guitar Great, Doyle Bramhall (who is the father of current Texas Guitar Great Doyle Bramhall II). Also Stevie had some interaction with Texas Guitar Great Charlie Sexton,who was younger than Steive. Doyle II & Charlie along with Double Trouble currently have a band called "ArcAngels". They have a great new concert dvd and live cds of this concert available from their website, and they are highly SRV influenced.

This book covers the Texas Music scene, and especially the Austin, Texas Music scene also, because this environment influenced Stevie's life. It covers that Willie Nelson was instrumental in getting the Austin, Texas Music scene going, back in the early 1970's. It covers some other Texas musicians that somehow had interacted with Stevie, such as ZZ Top, Johnny Winter, Doug Sham, & especially Albert Collins, and others. It covers a little of the "Cosmic American Music" explosion of Gram Parsons, even though he was not a native Texan.

On page 163 it covers the "Southern Rock Music Scene", including the Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Wet Willie, and others.

This book covers how Stevie Ray gained fame by playing in huge, Texas Honky Tonks, how he met Chris Layton & Tommy Shannon (Double Trouble) and the formation of their band. During this time they started working on their first album "Texas Flood". They were interrupted, by getting an opportunity to play in the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switerland. So they went & performed. This was during 1982, and they were booed off the stage. However, David Bowie was in the audience & he was very impressed with Stevie's guitar playing, and invited him & Double Trouble over for a talk. The result, Stevie Ray played the lead guitar on David Bowie's famous studio album of 1982/83, "Let's Dance". So, when you listen to the music on that album to songs like "Let's Dance" & "Little China Girl", the fantastic guitar playing you are hearing is that of Stevie Ray's. Bowie wanted Stevie to go on a World Tour with Bowie, but after agonizing over it, Stevie declined the offer to tour with Bowie. He instead wanted to finish his 1st ablum "Texas Flood", with Double Trouble, and they did in 1983. It won a Grammy for best Blues Album or something like that.

Stevie Ray & Double Trouble returned to the Montreaux Jazz Festival again, during 1985, and this time they received standing ovations, plus there were people in the audience waving Rebel flags, this was sometime around the performance of "Look at Little Sister". Anyway, there is a DVD of both Montreaux performances, in one package, available from Amazon. I have one, and it is fantastic, especially the 1985 performance, because it includes Reese Wymans on keyboards, and Texan, Johnny Copeland on electric guitar for a couple of songs. This book mentions that Stevie had Texas black bluesman Johnny Copeland to join him on stage for a few songs in the 1985 concert. The crowd loved them, this time around. They actually did 2 encores!!!

Stevie Ray won 2 awards at the 5th annual W.C.Handy National Blues Awards Convention in Memphis. Stevie was named "Entertainer of the Year & Blues Instrumentalist of the Year." It was the 1st time in the history of the event that a white person had won either category. (P.180). Stevie Ray was heavily influenced by black bluesmen, especially Albert Collins & Jimi Hendrix.

This book covers Stevie's drug & alcohol addiction & how he totally recovered from it.

It covers the addition of Reese Wymans to Double Trouble. Stevie spotted him playing keyboards in a Texas Honky Tonk.

Anyway, this book covers Stevie's marriage & divorce to Lenny, and his new girlfriend who he was living with, when he was killed. Her name was Janna Lapidua, and she was from New Zealand. It covers Stevie's & Double Trouble's career up through Stevie's death in a helecopter crash, 20 years ago, in 1990.

This book covers Stevie's funeral, and it is very touching, you had all these great blues musicians there, paying respect & tribute to Stevie.

Then the book covers the next few years after Stevie's death, up until about 1992.
It has a discogrophy from "Texas Flood" in 1983, & releases on up through about 1992. This book has an index, making it easy to locate specific things in the book.

This book has been praised by "Entertainment Weekly" and The "Austin Chronicle".

The book was published/copyrighted in 1993, the author is Joe Nick Patoski, who at the time was a senior editor at "Texas Monthly", & columist for the "Austin American-Statesman". He also had contributed articles to "Rolling Stone" and other music magazines.

This is a great book about a great man, and I highly recommend it. Thanks!!!

Stevie Ray Vaughan : Caught in the Crossfire Overview

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.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 01, 2010 12:00:07