In 1988 I'd been learning guitar on acoustic for about 6 months, I bought a copy of Guitarist mag, saw Stevie Ray Vaughan on the cover, listened out when Radio 1 had a Fender Strat documentary including him, heard Scuttle Buttin', and thought "THAT'S what I want to play".
It was the biggest musical turning-point in my life, and to this day SRV is still the biggest identifiable influence in my soloing.
In August 1990 I was on my way to go travelling in Europe for a couple of weeks before university, was due to be in Paris when SRV was playing there, although I hadn't bought a ticket I intended to see if I could go. I mentioned this to the friend I was staying with in London on my way, she said, "Isn't he the one that has just died in a helicopter crash?"
Here's a great version of Couldn't Stand The Weather - I consistently prefer the sound of this lipstick-pickup Strat to his main guitar. SRV plays the solo from the record at 2:40, there's a fantastically funky keys solo at 4:00, then SRV plays a bonus guitar solo at 5:15.
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Watching that fantastic performance of Couldn’t Stand the Weather highlights the fact I have yet another facet of guitar playing I need to work on.
What would I rather do? Listen to my rather stunted playing in an effort to improve? Or go straight to yootoob and watch a recording of SRV do it properly?
RIP Stevie.
I couldn't play his music for a year after his death.
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I would have been a few months old then, yet 28 years later I still play his music! Incredible thought
Maybe not someone I listen to often these days but SRV was someone who genuinely excelled. Pretty much gave rebirth to the blues and defined the start of an era. Wow, 1990.
I don't know how many people will have seen this, one of his odder appearances:
https://youtu.be/REZ55oM7HfI
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I've read his book 'Caught in Crossfire' countless times and it gives you an insight into how great a musician and human-being he was. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
RIP SRV
How casual does he look whilst ripping through that riff?
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