Stevie Ray Vaughn

Stephen ("Stevie") Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990), born in Dallas, Texas, was an American blues guitarist , known as one of the most influential electric blues musicians in history.

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's debut album was released in 1983. The critically acclaimed Texas Flood (produced by John Hammond) featured the top-20 hit "Pride and Joy" and sold well in both blues and rock circles. The follow-up albums Couldn't Stand the Weather (1984) and Soul to Soul (1985) also sold well, though they did not become as respected as the debut album. Drug addiction and alcoholism took a toll on Vaughan in the mid-1980s, and he started throwing up blood in the middle of the street while in Germany. He managed to struggle through three more shows. He checked into a drug rehabilitation program in Atlanta, Georgia later that year. He managed to recover from his addictions and became a teetotaler. Upon his return from rehab, Vaughan recorded In Step (1989), which is often considered his best work since Texas Flood; it won a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Blues Record.

Vaughan's comeback was cut short when, in the early morning of August 27, 1990, he died in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin. After a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theater, where earlier in the evening he appeared with Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and his older brother Jimmie Vaughan, the musicians expected a long bus ride back to Chicago. Stevie was informed that three seats were open on one of the helicopters returning to Chicago with Clapton and his crew, enough for Stevie, Jimmie, and Jimmie's wife Connie. It turned out there was only one seat left, which Stevie requested from his brother; Jimmie obliged. Taking off into deep fog, the helicopter crashed moments later into a ski slope on the side of a hill within the Alpine Valley Resort. Vaughan, the pilot, and members of Clapton's crew (his agent, assistant tour manager, and a bodyguard) died on impact. No one realized that the crash had occurred until the helicopter failed to arrive in Chicago, and the wreckage was only found with the help of its locator beacon.