Stevie Ray Vaughan
But the greatest blues rock guitarist? Stevie Ray Vaughan, hands down. He is the next Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee I'm posting on.
I'll admit I didn't know much about him before listening to The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan. Blues is not something I listen to very often. The only song I was familiar with, ergo the only one that gets mainstream radio airplay, was Pride and Joy, which is just about a perfect rock song. But I was happy to find that this double disc is a constant pleasure, and proved to me that Vaughan deserves to be discussed in any conversation of great guitarists, no matter the genre.
Born in Texas, Vaughan achieved his greatest fame as part of the band Double Trouble. He took over the vocals as well as the guitar sometime during the band's development, and he sings all the songs here, except for the instrumentals. Many of the songs cover blues greats, such as Buddy Guy, and he also covers Jimi Hendrix, most notably on a burn it up of "Voodoo Child," and Stevie Wonder's "Superstition."
But, like "Pride and Joy," there are some Vaughan compositions that are terrific. I'm thinking especially of an instrumental called "Riviera Paradise," which has such beautiful guitar playing that it almost took my breath away. Other terrific tracks are "Texas Flood," an old blues standard that Vaughan made his own, and "Cold Shot," which is more rock and roll.
Vaughan died in a helicopter crash in 1990 at the age of 35. In one of rock history's strangest events, Vaughan was touring with Eric Clapton in Wisconsin. He happened to get on the helicopter that crashed. Not to be too morbid, but if Clapton had gotten on the wrong helicopter, rock history would have certainly changed. Unfortunately for Vaughan, not only was his talent snuffed out much too early, he's kind of slipped into obscurity, at least for those who don't know any better.
If you're like me, and an ignoramus when it comes to blues, check out Stevie Ray Vaughan immediately.
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