This article describes the band Double Trouble across its various incarnations. For further information on its most successful period, see Stevie Ray Vaughan § Double Trouble and following sections.
Double Trouble is an American blues rock band from Austin, Texas, which served as the backing band for singer-guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. The group was active throughout the 1980s and contributed to reviving blues music, inspiring many later blues and rock acts. Formed in Austin, Texas in 1978, the group went through several early line-up changes before settling on a power trio consisting of Vaughan, Chris Layton (drums), Tommy Shannon (bass). They became a four-piece by 1985 after adding Reese Wynans (keyboards). Whilst with Vaughan they were billed Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Rooted in blues and rock music, the group worked in various genres ranging from ballads to soul, often incorporating jazz and other musical elements.
Initially a five-piece lineup with Vaughan, Lou Ann Barton (vocals), Fredde Walden (drums), Jackie Newhouse (bass) and Johnny Reno (saxophone), they built their reputation playing clubs around Texas over a four-year period. Molded into a trio (Vaughan, Layton, Shannon), their musical potential was encouraged by producer John H. Hammond, who got the band a recording contract with Epic Records. They gained popularity after their debut album, Texas Flood, became a critical and commercial success in 1983. By the mid-1980s, they had become an international act, touring extensively around the world until August 1990, when Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash after departing East Troy, Wisconsin.
Various posthumous releases featuring Vaughan have been issued since his death, overseen by his brother Jimmie. Since Vaughan's death, Double Trouble has continued in various capacities, releasing a studio album in 2001 and acting as a session band for blues and local Austin musicians. The band has sold over 11.5 million albums in the United States, receiving platinum certifications for all four of their studio albums featuring Vaughan. They have won four Grammy Awards including Best Contemporary Blues Performance for their album In Step (1989). Double Trouble were inducted alongside Vaughan into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
History
Formation and early years (1978–1982)
In September 1977, Stevie Ray Vaughan formed a revue-style group with several musicians from the Austin live music scene, including singer Lou Ann Barton, bassist W. C. Clark, keyboardist Mike Kindred, drummer Fredde "Pharaoh" Walden, and sax player Johnny Reno. They called themselves Triple Threat Revue, which was a nickname for Vaughan in reference to his multi-instrumental talent.[1] By May 1978, Clark and Kindred had left the group; Vaughan changed the name to "Double Trouble", after an Otis Rush song of the same name, and a reference to both Vaughan and Barton. After Clark left to form his own band, Barton auditioned and hired Jackie Newhouse, who first met Barton in Fort Worth.[2] In July, Walden was replaced by Jack Moore,[3] a native of Providence, Rhode Island who moved to Austin to pursue drumming. After three months, Moore moved back to Providence to finish college, and was replaced by Chris Layton in September.[4]
When Barton and Reno decided to leave the band in 1979, the group morphed into a power trio and Vaughan became the lead vocalist,[5] and their name was changed to "Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble".[6] In October 1980, during one of the band's frequent appearances at Rockefeller's in Houston, Vaughan jammed with Tommy Shannon,[7] a former bassist for Johnny Winter, and was hired in January 1981.[8] During the next year-and-a-half, the group gained popularity by performing in Texas clubs such as Fitzgerald's and Club Foot.[9] They hired Chesley Millikin as their manager, who had been Epic Records' general manager in Europe, and ran Manor Downs, a horse racing track near Manor, Texas.[10] The band performed at the racetrack the following year, which was filmed for a proposed television series, though it was not picked up by any major network.[11]
In March 1982, producer Jerry Wexler recommended Vaughan and Double Trouble to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, after attending a performance in Austin.[12] In July 1982, the band performed at the festival and were the first unsigned act to perform at the event. Despite boos from the audience, their performance caught the attention of David Bowie[13] and Jackson Browne, the latter who offered the group free use of his recording studio in Los Angeles.[14] Layton recalls: "He goes, 'I have a studio in Los Angeles. I keep it for my pre-production work and have loaned it out to a number of people for special projects. If you guys are ever in Los Angeles and you want to use it, just let me know in advance and it's yours.'"[15]
Texas Flood and Couldn't Stand the Weather (1983–1984)
After recording at Browne's studio in November 1982 that yielded the release of Texas Flood, producer John H. Hammond signed the band to Epic Records in March 1983.[16] Released in June, Texas Flood peaked at #38 on the Billboard 200 and initially sold over half a million copies.[17] The band toured North America in the first half of the year, followed by a two-week European tour in August–September. Returning to the US, they opened for The Moody Blues, receiving $5000 per show plus bonuses for successful ticket sales.[18] They gave their first live television performance in December on Austin City Limits, broadcast in February 1984.[19]
Couldn't Stand the Weather, the band's second studio album, saw an outpacing of sales to Texas Flood. Recorded in January 1984, the album included musicians such as Fabulous Thunderbirds' members Jimmie Vaughan and Fran Christina, as well as saxophonist Stan Harrison, who performed on "Stang's Swang".[20] Following the album's release in May 1984,[21] the group toured internationally, staging concerts in Scandinavia,[22]Germany,[23]Australia, and New Zealand.[24] Acknowledging the challenge posed by constant international touring to his marriage, Vaughan admitted, "The hard part is that I don't get to see my wife very often, but if she comes out on the road it's harder because she's not used to it. If you're not used to it, it only takes two or three days and then you start getting on each other's nerves, and that's worse."[25] On October 4, 1984, the group performed at Carnegie Hall in celebration of Vaughan's thirtieth birthday, featuring many special guests such as the Roomful of Blues horn section, Dr. John, Jimmie Vaughan, Angela Strehli, and George Rains, and was met with positive reception.[26] The band's first Australia visit, in October–November,[27] included two sold-out shows at the Sydney Opera House.[28]
Soul to Soul, substance abuse, and rehabilitation (1985–1988)
The band's desire to experiment grew as they recorded Soul to Soul, beginning in March 1985. Vaughan recalled using two wah-wah pedals for "Say What!", sitting on a stool and working them separately. Parts of the album featured work by Joe Sublett, Doyle Bramhall and Reese Wynans, who was hired as the band's keyboardist. The group's cocaine use increased however, especially Vaughan's, as witnessed by Bramhall, who recalled seeing "mounds of cocaine on top of the organ". He said of Vaughan's cocaine use: "Where I was doing a lot, Stevie was doing five times, ten times more than I was doing."[29] Nearly 800 minutes of the studio recordings were devoted to the sessions and leaked into the collector's market.[30] Released in September, Soul to Soul received mixed reviews from critics. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine commented, "For all of its positive attributes, Soul to Soul winds up being less than the sum of its parts, and it's hard to pinpoint an exact reason why. Perhaps it was because Vaughan was on the verge of a horrible battle with substance abuse at the time of recording or perhaps it just has that unevenness inherent in transitional albums."[31]
In July 1986, the band recorded three shows in Austin and Dallas for a live album,[32] later released as Live Alive. One month later, Vaughan learned that his father was hospitalized for an illness, and flew to his hometown of Dallas to be with his family; his father died three days later from complications associated with asbestos. After attending the funeral, Vaughan immediately flew to Montreal for a performance in Jarry Park, which was reportedly the highest paying show for the band at the time. A fan recalls the Montreal concert: "He played for a solid two hours and never said a word to the crowd until he came back for an encore and said, 'This one's for you, daddy.' I was in the front row that night, and many times during the set he was crying while playing. I will never forget that performance."[33]
During a tour of Europe a month later, Vaughan was hospitalized in Ludwigshafen for near-death dehydration from years of alcohol and substance abuse.[34] After two weeks of treatment in London,[35] he checked into Peachford Hospital in Atlanta and spent a month in rehabilitation, emerging fully recovered and healthy;[36] he would often attend local Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings on tour.[37] Vaughan rejoined with Double Trouble to tour in support of Live Alive for the next two years, visiting countries such as England, Italy, and Germany.[38] The band also performed at the inaugural party for President George H. W. Bush in Washington, D.C.[39]
In Step, final tour, and Vaughan's death (1989–1990)
Vaughan and Double Trouble chose Jim Gaines, who worked with the band for the recording of Soul to Soul, to produce their next studio album. The group recorded at Sound Castle and Summa Studios in Los Angeles, as well as Kiva Studios in Memphis.[40] Although the sessions were completed in about four months, they were productive and mixed within two weeks.[41]In Step debuted at number 33 on the Billboard 200 album chart in June 1989. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote in his review of the album, "The magnificent thing about In Step is how it's fully realized, presenting every facet of Vaughan's musical personality, yet it still soars with a sense of discovery."[42]In Step went on to sell over two million copies in the United States and 50,000 in Canada.[43][44] That October, Vaughan and Double Trouble embarked on a North American arena tour for 34 shows, dubbed "The Fire Meets the Fury". For the tour, the band added Jeff Beck as a co-headliner.[45] The shows would often close with a rendition of "Going Down" by Freddie King.[46]
In August 1990, subsequent to a summer tour with Joe Cocker, the band co-headlined two shows with Eric Clapton at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin.[47] Following the final performance on August 26, Vaughan chartered a helicopter to take him to Chicago. He, along with the pilot and three members of Clapton's tour crew (agent Bobby Brooks, bodyguard Nigel Browne, and assistant tour manager Colin Smythe), were killed when their helicopter crashed into the side of a ski hill soon after taking off from a nearby golf course in the early morning hours of August 27.[48] Brother Jimmie Vaughan recalled that Vaughan was in a hurry to get back to Chicago:
I remember Stevie says, 'Well, I need to go back; do you mind?' I think I said something like, 'Yeah, I mind; I came all the way here to see you and we have to talk, and you shouldn't run off,' or something like that. Not thinking about it, really; you know, you just say stuff. And so he looked right at me and he said, 'No, you don't understand—I've got to go.' And then he got on the helicopter.[49]
Vaughan's funeral was held on August 30, 1990, at Laurel Land Cemetery in Dallas. The service was opened by the Reverend Barry Bailey of the United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, who was Vaughan's AA sponsor. The pallbearers included band members Shannon and Layton, as well as the group's manager and Vaughan's guitar technician.[50]
Double Trouble later worked as the rhythm section for Jimmy D. Lane and play on his album, It's Time (2004). They also play on two albums by Brazilian blues guitarist Nuno Mindelis, and toured with Joe Bonamassa later in the 2000s.
In 2019, Double Trouble, along with Reese Wynans, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and others, recorded the album Sweet Release, featuring many songs from Double Trouble's mainstream career. The album was released on March 1, 2019.
Stephen Ray Vaughan was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians in the history of blues music, and one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He was the younger brother of guitarist Jimmie Vaughan.
Soul to Soul is the third studio album by American blues rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble released on September 30, 1985, by Epic Records. Recording sessions took place between March and May 1985 at the Dallas Sound Lab in Dallas, Texas. Vaughan wrote four of Soul to Soul's ten tracks; two songs were released as singles. The album went to #34 on the Billboard 200 chart and the music video for "Change It" received regular rotation on MTV. In 1999, a reissue of the album was released, which includes an audio interview segment and two studio outtakes.
Tommy Shannon is an American bass guitarist, who is best known as a member of Double Trouble, a blues rock band led by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Born in Tucson, Arizona, Shannon moved to Dumas, Texas when he was nine, where he originally started as a guitarist, though he started playing bass at the age of 21. He appeared with Johnny Winter at Woodstock in 1969. He later joined Double Trouble in 1981 and became a permanent member of Double Trouble until Vaughan's death in 1990. Shannon and bandmate Chris Layton later formed supergroups such as the Arc Angels.
Doyle Bramhall II is an American guitarist, producer and songwriter best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Roger Waters. He is the son of the songwriter and drummer Doyle Bramhall.
The Sky Is Crying is the fifth and final studio album by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, compiling songs recorded throughout most of their career. Released 14 months after Vaughan's death in 1990, the album features ten previously unreleased tracks recorded between 1984 and 1989. Only one title, "Empty Arms", appeared on any of the group's previous albums. The tracks were compiled by Vaughan's brother, Jimmie Vaughan, and was Vaughan's highest charting album at number 10.
The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble is a compilation album of recorded material by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and his backing band Double Trouble, released in 2002. The album was released by Epic Records and includes songs from 1980 to 1990 including several live tracks on two discs. In 2008, the album was re-released as part of the Limited Edition 3.0 series, with a third bonus disc containing six additional songs culled from studio albums.
Arc Angels is a blues rock supergroup formed in Austin, Texas in the early 1990s. The band came together after the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan and was composed of Vaughan’s friends Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton and two of the band members from Vaughan’s band Double Trouble, drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon.
Lou Ann Barton is an American blues singer based in Austin, Texas since the 1970s. AllMusic noted that "The grace, poise, and confidence she projects on-stage is part of a long tradition for women blues singers".
Reese Wynans is an American keyboard player, who has done session work and has been a member of Double Trouble and progressive rock band Captain Beyond. In 2015, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Double Trouble.
The Texas Flood World Tour was a concert tour in North America and Western Europe, undertaken by American blues rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble in 1983 and 1984. The band had released their debut album, Texas Flood, a week before the tour began.
The Couldn't Stand the Weather Tour was a worldwide concert tour by blues rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Produced in support of their 1984 album Couldn't Stand the Weather, the tour visited North America, Europe, Australasia and Japan from 1984 to 1985. To reflect the new musical direction that the group took with Couldn't Stand the Weather, the tour was aimed to differ from their past and surpass expectations of the band. In comparison to Vaughan and Double Trouble's modest stage setup from the previous Texas Flood Tour, the Couldn't Stand the Weather Tour involved a slightly more elaborate production. It utilized grander amplifier setups and sound systems to take advantage of the larger venues in which they performed. To avoid their renowned strictly blues material, Vaughan and Double Trouble embodied a more expanded and varied repertoire during performances. In disparity to the previous tour, each of the Couldn't Stand the Weather shows opened with mostly the same three songs before other material was played. The album and the tour were the beginnings of the group's mid-eighties musical development.
The Soul to Soul Tour was a concert tour through North America, Europe and Australasia, undertaken by American blues rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble from 1985 through 1986. At the beginning of the tour, the band had finished recording their album Soul to Soul. Their commercial and critical acclaim had been demonstrated during the Couldn't Stand the Weather Tour in 1984, when they had played before a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall. Longing for opportunities to expand the group's lineup, Vaughan and Double Trouble hired keyboardist Reese Wynans during the Soul to Soul recording sessions in Dallas, Texas. Throughout the tour, the band's success was confirmed as their performances consistently amazed and gratified their audiences.
The Live Alive Tour was a concert tour through North America and Europe, undertaken by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble from 1986 to 1988. At the start of the tour, Vaughan and bassist Tommy Shannon had both achieved sobriety. Their success with overcoming long-term drug and alcohol addiction had been attained by entering a rehabilitation facility, where they stayed for four weeks. Although Vaughan was nervous about performing while sober, he received encouragement from his bandmates. Throughout the tour during performances, Vaughan would warn his audiences about the dangers of substance abuse.
The In Step Tour was a concert tour through the United States and Canada, undertaken by American blues rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble from 1989 to 1990. Launched in support of their fourth and final studio album In Step, this was the third tour to include keyboardist Reese Wynans, who joined the band in 1985. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble achieved international fame when their debut album, Texas Flood, was released in June 1983. Throughout their subsequent concert tours, the group's success was confirmed as their performances consistently amazed and gratified their audiences. Similar to their previous tours, the In Step Tour was a minimalist production. The stage featured a simple light show that changed according to the mood of certain songs performed. Although Vaughan and Double Trouble never followed a set list, all ten songs from In Step were played at least once during the tour, and as many as seven of them were included in each of the band's performances.
The Real Deal: Greatest Hits, Volume 2 is a compilation album of material by Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1999. The album was released by Epic Records and includes material from the five studio albums he released with Double Trouble as well as live material and collaborations with brother Jimmie and surf guitarist Dick Dale.
Live from Austin, Texas is a live video by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. It is a retrospective of the band's two performances on Austin City Limits in 1983 and 1989. The film was released as a DVD on September 3, 1997.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble released in 1995. It was also released on vinyl in the U.S.
Live at Montreux 1982 & 1985 is the fourth live album of American blues musician Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band Double Trouble, recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 17, 1982 and July 15, 1985, and released November 20, 2001 on Epic Records. Neither are complete concerts.
Christopher Layton, also known as "Whipper", is an American drummer who rose to fame as one of the founding members of Double Trouble, a blues rock band led by Stevie Ray Vaughan.
References
Aledort, Andy (August 2000). "The Lost Interviews". Guitar World.
Harris, Shelly (November 1984). "SRV: A Guitarist's Guitarist". Chicago Soundz.
Hopkins, Craig (September 15, 2010). Stevie Ray Vaughan - Day by Day, Night After Night: His Early Years, 1954-1982. Backbeat Books. ISBN978-1-4234-8598-8.
Hopkins, Craig (October 18, 2011). Stevie Ray Vaughan - Day by Day, Night After Night: His Final Years, 1983-1990. Backbeat Books. ISBN978-1-61774-022-0.
Minutaglio, Bill (July 19, 1985). "Stevie Ray Vaughan is true to the blues". Montreal Gazette.
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