Stevie Ray Vaughan, the blues guitarist whose brushfire voice, lightning-fast guitar work and gunslinger stage presence were major forces in the blues revival movement of the 1980s, was born on this day (October 3) in Dallas, Texas, in 1954. In his short lifetime, Vaughan would establish himself as one of the greatest technical rock guitarists of all time, rising to prominence on the strength of such albums as Texas Flood and Soul To Soul, which merged the grit of Delta blues with the flash and sizzle of psychedelic rock. Tragically, his life was cut short when he died in a helicopter crash in 1990 at the age of 35. Though countless jazz guitarists are indebted to his sound, we remember his outsize legacy on blues and rock with this cut of “Voodoo Chile,” a Jimi Hendrix staple that Vaughan resurrected on Can’t Stand The Weather, his 1984 album with the band Double Trouble.
Feature photo of Stevie Ray Vaughan courtesy Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
