[RETRO] Stevie Ray Vaughan's peculiar death

Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of our times greatest blues guitarist.

It all began with a concert at a ski resort in Wisconsin were Stevie Ray and his band Double Trouble first performed followed by Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Jimmie Ray, Stevie Rays three year older brother. At the very end they all got together for a jam in a fifteen minute long version of Eric Clapton – Sweet Home Chicago and right after that they were told that some helicopters were waiting for them outside.

The weather was very foggy but all the four choppers ascended up in the air and when they had reached over the clouds a starstruck vault of heaven revealed itself for the rock legends high up in the sky.

The morning after, Stevie Ray still had not landed. The chopper had flewn in the wrong direction and crashed right into an artificial ski slope. Nobody survived.

Such an absurd way to die. Even for a blues legend like Stevie Ray Vaughan. The remaining gang of artists kept the tour going in honour of Stevie's death.

I read all of this in Clapton's biography last night and today I have only listened to Stevie Ray. Never heard any blues like his before and his visionary ways of jamming as many complicated blues riffs into a song as possible almost made me suffocate. Listen to Stevie Ray if you like flashing guitar solos.

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Viktor Gustafsson