The Life Of Stevie Ray Vaughan Essay — страница 2

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into her adulthood. Some thought that Lenora would have a hard time keeping up with Stevie, but it really ended up being the other way around. Lenora and Stevie wed at the Rome Inn Chapel, where they were scheduled for a gig later that evening (Patoski 127-130). “Double Trouble” made a quick rise to success upon releasing their first album starting in 1983 with Texas Flood, Couldn’t Stand The Weather in 1984, Soul To Soul in 1985, and Live Alive in 1986 As the money rolled in, Stevie’s drug problem escalated. While on a European tour in 1986. After Live Alive was released, upon finishing a gig in Germany, Stevie suddenly collapsed. Layton and Shannon rushed Stevie to a hospital. When the diagnoses came back, the doctor said that Stevie had the stomach of a sixty-year-old

man, due to alcohol eating holes into his stomach. Stevie’s problems didn’t stop there, he had been sniffing cocaine and downing LSD tabs like they were peanuts, but he wasn’t the only one. Tommy Shannon who had tried many times before to stop, was also in bad shape. As soon as they got back to the United States, they checked themselves into an Atlanta detox center (Patoski 130-222). In less then a month, they were out and Stevie was ready to get back to his life and more importantly, his music. While in Europe, in 1986 Stevie met a seventeen-year-old model from London named Janna Lapidus. Shortly after they meet, Stevie they fell in love with Janna. In 1988 Stevie and Lenora got a divorce after a long separation (Patoski 212-231). In 1989, In Step was released, which would

come to be known as Stevie’s and “Double Trouble’s” last recorded album together. In 1990, at Alpine Valley Music Theater near East Troy, Wisconsin, guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was onstage with fellow bluesmen Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Vaughan’s older brother, Jimmie (Patoski 257). Shortly afterward, at 12:15 A.M. on Aug. 27, Vaughan, 35, had planned to make the two-hour drive back to his Chicago hotel with his brother and sister-in-law, Connie, but at the last minute he chose to board a Bell 206B Jet Ranger, one of four helicopters waiting nearby. According to his New York City publicist, Charles Comer, Vaughan had learned from Clapton’s manager that there were seats enough to accommodate all three in his party. When he found only one place was

actually available, Vaughan said to Connie and Jimmie, “Do you mind if I take the seat? I really need to get back.” (Patoski 258). The helicopter took off in fog around 12:40 A.M. with Vaughan and four others aboard. Chicago would never be reached. Moments later the chopper’s remains lay spread across more than 200 feet of a man-made ski slope in a field. All on board were killed instantly in what National Transportation Safety Board investigator William Bruce later described as “a high-energy, high-velocity impact at a shallow angle.” (Patoski 259). The crash occurred on the far side of the nearby hill. A search for the lost copter wasn’t begun until 5 A.M. — more than four hours later — after an orbiting search-and-rescue satellite picked up the craft’s

emergency-locator transmitter signal. At 7 A.M. searchers found the bodies of Vaughan; Bobby Brooks, Clapton’s Hollywood agent; pilot Jeff Brown. Clapton’s assistant tour manager, Colin Smythe; and Clapton’s bodyguard, Nigel Browne. Later that morning Clapton and Jimmie Vaughan were summoned by the Walworth County coroner to identify the bodies. After arriving, upon gazing at the wreckage, Jimmie noticed Stevie’s Coptic cross laying in the rubble. Jimmie picked it up, put it around his neck, and went back to the limousine with Eric, followed by a long quiet trip back to Chicago (Patoski 259, 260). Stevie Ray Vaughan wasn’t just another blues musician, he was a blues legend that revolutionized and set higher standards for blues artists across America. In 1990, when this

great legend was tragically killed in a fatal helicopter accident, those who have come to know and love Stevie for his music and his genuine kindness, mourned his passing. This is a legend that for sure will never be forgotten and will always live on in the hearts of blues artists everywhere. Bibliography Work Cited Patoski, Nick. Caught In The Cross Fire.Little Brown and Company: Canada, 1993 Cherry, Steven. “Stevie Ray Vaughan, October 3, 1954 – August 26, 1990″. www.uark.edu/~scherry/srv. 23 Feb, 1994. Online. Aol Fushay, Sheri. “The Sky Is Cryin’”. www.aramisgraphics.com/srv/index.htm. 24 Apr. 1997. Online. Aol