Everybody loved this Southern stranger from that moment on. I had to respectfully say, You cannot make the man, a true bluesman, come, David. His comfort was important, and after we shedded, he was able to bring his thing to the rehearsals. She said, Look at that! Lennys intensity was not something Bowie would tolerate, and she and Stevie were doing a lot of drugs. Throughout the tour during performances, Vaughan would warn his audiences about the dangers of substance abuse. The band followed with a brief leg in the United States in April, appearing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Holy smokes, I cant even write him a dummy chart where you just get G, A, D. My job is just to make every guitarist sound great, and I got along with all of them. David Bowies on the phone! They talked for a while, and then Stevie said that Bowie asked him if he wanted to cut some tracks in New York for his new record and maybe join his band for a world tour. An exclusive excerpt from new Stevie Ray Vaughan biography 'Texas Flood' delves into the guitar legend's short-lived collaboration with David Bowie . In 1982, Vaughan and Double Trouble performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, catching the attention of musicians David Bowie and Jackson Browne. There he was playing his Albert King licks on the number-one record in the world. The solo on Lets Dance is iconic. This page is not available in other languages. Stevie asked, Well, dont they have a phone on that island? And they said, David cannot be reached. Stevie said he told them, Well, when you can get the word to him, tell him that Stevie Ray quit.. [21] The band hired Skip Rickert, a replacement tour manager who eliminated the wild backstage antics of their past concert tours by revising the stipulations of their hospitality rider. Im still in shock decades later! Carlos would just take over, and we worked around it. Who is going to pull him out of the rhythm and schedule of the big tour? Filled with testimonials from those who knew him best and from fans everywhere along with facts about tour dates and recordings stories about his bands and life on the road rare artistic and historic photographs and more this . Freddie Mercurys Exquisite Clutter Up for Sale, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Stevie Ray Vaughn, Birth Year: 1954, Birth date: October 3, 1954, Birth State: Texas, Birth City: Dallas, Birth Country: United States. The bags are packed, and suddenly he aint coming. is a word, but it doesnt tell you everything. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. His level of intensity was unbelievable and so unexpected. Go over to Sams and send it up. They packed it in dry ice, and I drove it to the airport. Tommy and I were very happy. Stadium-level intensity and power in a small club. Instead of ordering that days lunch, he ordered the next days lunch for all of us: amazing barbecue expressed from Austin. For his part, Stevie was voted Best New Talent and Best Electric Blues Guitarist in a 1983 reader's poll by Guitar Player Magazine. Tommy, Cutter, and I conference-called Chesley [Millikin, Vaughans manager] to discuss this, and he said gruffly, Dont bother me! * Estimated delivery dates - opens in a new window or tab include seller's handling time, origin ZIP Code, destination ZIP Code and time of acceptance . . It wasnt what I thought it was gonna to be at all. It tells the story of Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan by those who knew them best: brother Jimmie, Eric Clapton, Nile Rodgers, Jackson Browne, Billy Gibbons and their early band mates. Shannon later commented: "Before we got clean and sober, backstage you'd see all the coke dealers and everybody drunk and high and all these women running around. Milkowski wrote that by the time they started playing "Stormy Monday", the audience gave him a well-received response: "Some will no doubt head to their local record stores the next day and peruse the blues bins looking for Otis Rush albums. Layton: He felt black, culturally. [11] However, Vaughan's drug and alcohol habits continued to escalate. There he was playing his Albert King licks on the number-one record in the world. I was pretty hip to what Albert sounds like after playing with him for years, but Stevie got me! People wanted to know who this unknown guitar player who told David Bowie to take a hike was. He battled drug and alcohol problems. Layton: The Texas Flood tapes were in someones garage in South Austin. I did a really nice phone interview with Stevie, then he said, I gotta run. Vaughan bridged the gap between blues and rock like no other artist had since the late 60s. He identified more with the black race than the white race. They performed at concert halls in Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo. An exclusive excerpt from new Stevie Ray Vaughan biography 'Texas Flood' delves into the guitar legend's short-lived collaboration with David Bowie. After a show in Ludwigshafen, Germany, Vaughans hard-living ways caught up with him and he had to be hospitalized for a case of severe dehydration. the window and saw luggage on the ground and Stevie Ray standing against the hotel wall looking sad and saying goodbye to people. [5], In support of Double Trouble's second full-length studio album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, the band embarked on the Couldn't Stand the Weather Tour, which began in January 1984 and ran until the end of the year. Late Night with David Letterman: There was a lot of excitement surrounding Stevie and a lot of people from MTV were there to see him play. Steve Miller, guitarist, rock star: The first time I heard Stevie Ray Vaughan was seeing Lets Dance on MTV, and I was jumping out of my seat screaming, Who the hell is playing guitar?. was released on April 14, 1983, and became Bowies first platinum studio album in the United States. Stevie was about to become world famous as the guy who played that solo, but the video really bothered him. For most of his adult life, Vaughan battled dual addictions to hard drugs and alcohol. Most guitarists would have played the game and worked their career. Having a parallel tour makes sense as a goal, but there are built-in conflicts, including logistical ones. . I was happy, he was happy, and David was happy. His guitar playing really jumped out and got peoples attention. The band released the double live album Live Alive in November of 1986 and launched an extensive American tour in support. I asked him, What do you think youre doing here? Im not ashamed of that conversation. Double Trouble added keyboardist Reese Wynans in 1985, before they recorded their third album, Soul to Soul. Peak chart position: #38. Vaughans camp and label were debating if it would serve the album better to have Stevie out promoting the record, or to be featured on a very high-visibility tour with Bowie. He also recorded with his brother Jimmy. Not tomorrow, but today. That has only happened to me three or four times ever, and probably not for anyone in between Duane Allman and Stevie. Consisting of nine legs and 207 shows, the tour began in Towson, Maryland on November 22, 1986 and ended in New York City on December 31, 1988. Carmine Rojas, bassist on Lets Dance: There was talk about getting Albert King to play on Lets Dance, because David was a genius at putting opposite forces at work and understanding what would work brilliantly. Were all guns for hire, and I needed Stevie to understand that he would be comfortable working with me, that hed be able to dig in deep and improvise. [7] The tour included a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall and featured many special guests including the Roomful of Blues horn section, Dr. John, Jimmie Vaughan, Angela Strehli, and George Rains. I have my own band and our own record., Stevie said, They wanted to try and control what I could say or not say about the record and about me. Thats really crossing a line with Stevie Ray Vaughan, so he wanted to have a talk with David, and he was told David was on an island and couldnt be reached. [58] It peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200, where it spent 47 weeks on the chart. A preeminent bluesman, award-winning guitarist and singer Stevie Ray Vaughan earned critical and commercial success during the 1980s. Lets Dance went on to sell seven million copies, making it by far his most successful album. 60 and counting. Albert with David Bowie! Stevie is the only guitar player Ive ever heard who could approach Alberts touch, tone, and attack. Bowie insisted that he orchestrate all press. After paying his dues as a sideman Stevie formed Triple Threat Revue in 1977. I went through the regular stuff, you know 'What if they find out Im in here whos they you know. Finally, following a collapse while on tour in Europe in 1986, the guitarist checked himself into rehab. The rest of the time he was playing music, jumping in-and-out of various bands that had semi-regular gigs in the Austin area. Stadium-level intensity and power in a small club. Instead of ordering that days lunch, he ordered the next days lunch for all of us: amazing barbecue expressed from Austin. Although Vaughan and Double Trouble did not follow a set list, all thirteen songs from Live Alive were performed at least once during the tour, and as many as eleven of them were included in each of the band's performances. Renowned producer John Hammond hears a tape of the band's 1982 Montreux performance, and is instrumental in getting the band a record deal with Epic Records. Craig Hopkins, author of Stevie Ray Vaughan: Day By Day, Night After Night, contributed to this article. Concerts Photos Videos Scroll to: Top Concerts Videos Photos Setlist Years Comments FAQ The album was more successful than its predecessor, reaching number 31 on the charts; by the end of 1985, the album went gold. Vaughan and Double Trouble set off on a successful tour and quickly recorded their second album, Couldnt Stand the Weather, which was released in May of 1984. I gave Stevie two tracks to work with, and he would cut the vocal part for each song twice. I like the blues that we put on there, but the other songs were actually songs and not 12-bar blues. When I heard Lets Dance, I thought, Well, this is real nice. Ziggy Stardust? 9. Released in 2001, Live at Montreux 1982 & 1985 was a historically significant Stevie Ray Vaughan recording in purely audio form, but the 2004 DVD release ups the ante by providing video footage of both sets. His tragic death in 1990 at age 35 cut short a brilliant career in blues and American rock & roll just as he was on the brink of superstardom. And then Stevie was told that he couldnt mention his own band or music in interviews. Their success with overcoming long-term drug and alcohol addiction had been attained by entering a rehabilitation facility, where they stayed for four weeks. He identified more with the black race than the white race. Seeing Stevie that first time was like seeing the Police at their peak or seeing a phenomenal Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen show. It got to the point where if Id try to say hi to somebody, I would just fall apart, crying and everything. Cutter [Brandenburg, Vaughans friend and crew member] was the one who really made that point to us. Hearing that sound on the radio was real cool. He'll be delivering a tribute to the Texas blues legend Stevie Ray . To keep that part of myself under control while everybody is telling you how great you are is quite a task.. I found out that the biggest problem that I had was self-centeredness and ego. Layton: The Dallas Morning News ran a big story on Stevie, headlined Dallas Favorite Son on the front of the Entertainment section with a huge picture of Stevie and a little tiny shot of Bowie. On May 21, 1983, the Austin American-Statesman wrote about Stevie leaving the Bowie tour. [54] They then recorded the album In Step, from January to March 1989 at Kiva Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Stevie Ray Vaughan In Step Tour T-Shirt Reprint Style T-shirt at the best online prices at eBay! I dont know exactly what happened, and neither does anyone else, but the big picture is Stevie had never been told what to do and he wasnt going to start right when he seemed on the cusp of getting somewhere with his own music. He just listened down a few times and tore into each song. It was the memorable concerts of my whole life. You just dont play that card to David Bowie. Lenny disrupted things, but I think it was more of a buildup than one incident. Stevie Ray Vaughn began his last tour on May 4, 1989. Seeing Stevie that first time was like seeing the Police at their peak or seeing a phenomenal Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen show. were mine. In fact, he titled his next record In Stepas a tip of the cap to his new-found healthy lifestyle. He just listened down a few times and tore into each song. It was an 18-month affairthat almost never happened. Im not a sideman.