Jimmie Vaughan | |
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![]() Vaughan performing in 2012 | |
Background information | |
Born | Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas, U.S. | March 20, 1951
Genres | Electric blues, [1] blues rock, [1] Texas blues, jazz blues |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
Years active | Late 1960s–present |
Labels | Epic, Shout! Factory, Proper Records, The Last Music Company |
Formerly of | The Vaughan Brothers, The Fabulous Thunderbirds |
Website | jimmievaughan |
Jimmie Lawrence Vaughan Jr. (born March 20, 1951) [2] is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. [1] He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant influence on Vaughan's playing style, including the "Three Kings" (Albert, Freddie, and B.B. King) and Johnny "Guitar" Watson.
Jimmie Vaughan was born on March 20, 1951, in Dallas County, Texas, United States, [3] to parents Jimmie Lee Vaughan and Martha Jean Cook. Raised in Dallas, Texas, Vaughan attended L V. Stockard Junior High where on February 3, 1965, he first played before an audience in a group named The Pendulums, or the JSP's, along with Phil Campbell and Ronny Sterling. [4] Vaughan moved to Austin in the late 1960s and began playing with such musicians as Paul Ray and WC Clark.
In 1969, Vaughan's group opened for The Jimi Hendrix Experience in Fort Worth, Texas. It was at this show that Vaughan lent Jimi Hendrix his Vox Wah-wah pedal which Hendrix ended up breaking. In return, Hendrix gave Vaughan his own touring Wah-wah pedal.
Jimmie Vaughan developed his own easily recognized personal style. [5] He formed the band The Fabulous Thunderbirds with lead singer and harpist Kim Wilson, bassist Keith Ferguson, and drummers Mike Buck and Fran Christina. (The original Fabulous Thunderbirds were all protégés of Austin, Texas blues club owner Clifford Antone). The band's first four albums, released between 1979 and 1983, are ranked among the most important 'white blues' recordings. These early albums did not sell well, so the band was left without a recording contract for a couple of years (during the time when Vaughan's younger brother achieved commercial success). During this time, Vaughan played lead guitar on fellow Texas blues musician Bill Carter's 1985 album, Stompin' Grounds, also playing Carter's most well-known song, "Willie The Wimp", [6] which would be introduced a year later to Stevie Ray Vaughan and played on live albums.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds got a new contract in 1986, and made several albums with a more commercially popular sound and production style. Vaughan left the band in 1990, and made his only "duo album", Family Style , with his younger brother, Stevie Ray Vaughan. [3] Before the album's release, Stevie Ray died in a helicopter crash along with three members of Eric Clapton's entourage in East Troy, Wisconsin, on August 27, 1990. The album was released a month after the accident. The artist listed on the album was "The Vaughan Brothers". The album was light, blues-influenced rock, with Jimmie Vaughan singing on several tracks.
Vaughan released his first solo album, Strange Pleasure, in 1994. The album contained a song "Six Strings Down" that was dedicated to the memory of his brother. He has continued his solo career since then. Vaughan's solo albums contain mostly blues-rock material that he writes himself. He made a special guest appearance on Bo Diddley's 1996 album A Man Amongst Men, playing guitar on the tracks "He's Got A Key" and "Coatimundi". In 2001, Vaughan paid an installment on his (and the Fabulous Thunderbirds') debt to harmonica swamp blues when he contributed guitar to the Lazy Lester album Blues Stop Knockin.'
Since 1997 Fender has produced a Jimmie Vaughan Tex-Mex Stratocaster. Vaughan appeared in the 1998 released film Blues Brothers 2000 as a member of the fictional "Louisiana Gator Boys" blues band led by BB King. Vaughan was the third opening act for most of the dates of Bob Dylan's summer 2006 tour, preceded by Elana James and the Continental Two and Junior Brown.
Vaughan continues to perform. Shout! Factory released his first new album in nine years, Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites, on July 6, 2010.
Also in 2010, he appeared as a guest musician on Eric Johnson's album Up Close, and he played with Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, BB King, Hubert Sumlin, and others during the Crossroads Guitar Festival. [7] He also performed on the episode of the TBS cable television show Conan , that aired December 22, 2010.
Vaughan performed at the 11th Edition of the Rochester International Jazz Festival on Friday, June 29, 2012.
In 2014, Vaughan performed at the Mahindra Blues Festival in India alongside the Tedeschi Trucks Band. [8]
Vaughan appeared and performed as a guest on an episode of the PBS cable television show Austin City Limits, with the Foo Fighters, which aired on February 7, 2015. He and the Foo Fighters were accompanied on stage by another guest guitarist, Gary Clark, Jr., a native of Austin, Texas.
His 2019 recording, Baby, Please Come Home, was chosen as a 'Favorite Blues Album' by AllMusic. [9]
Vaughan performed with Bob Dylan in Austin, Texas on April 6, 2024 as a guest guitarist. He replaced Doug Lancio on nine songs.
Vaughan has a son, Tyrone Vaughan, who is also a guitarist.
Vaughan is close friends with Dennis Quaid. They worked together on the film Great Balls of Fire .
Vaughan loves classic and custom cars, and is an avid car collector. Vaughan has had many of his customs and hot rods displayed in museums, as well as featured in rodding and custom magazines. [10]
Vaughan has been politically active to some degree. He endorsed Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul in 2008 and played before one of Paul's speeches at the University of Texas. [11] Vaughan also opened for Ron Paul's keynote address at the Rally for the Republic in St. Paul, Minnesota on September 2, 2008. Vaughan appeared with Boz Scaggs & The Blue Velvet Band at the 2009 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Vaughan performed at Ron Paul's "We are the Future" rally in Tampa, Florida on August 26, 2012.
In Vaughan's later years, his declining health began to take a toll on his career. He suffers from stenosis [12] and has had three heart attacks; after his third heart attack in December 2022, he had quadruple bypass heart surgery. [13] [12]
In May 2024, Vaughan announced that he was postponing all tour dates to undergo treatment for "a curable form of cancer." [14]
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.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds is an American blues band formed in 1974. Singer Kim Wilson is the only constant member through the band's entire history. Their 1986 album Tuff Enuff sold over a million copies, and spawned two minor hit singles: the title track and "Wrap It Up".
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.
"Love Struck Baby" is a blues rock song performed by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Vaughan wrote the song about the night that he moved in with his then-wife, Lenny. The track was produced by Vaughan for the band's debut album Texas Flood, recorded in Los Angeles. "Love Struck Baby" was the first single from Texas Flood, released by Epic Records in the United States and United Kingdom. In the song's accompanying music video, bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton are shown relaxing at a bar before Vaughan enters and starts performing the song for a crowd. "Love Struck Baby" was a concert favorite for fans of the band; Vaughan would frequently play the guitar behind his head for part of the solo.
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".
Wesley Curley Clark was an American blues musician. He is known as the "Godfather of Austin Blues" for his influence on the Austin, Texas blues scene since the late 1960s.
Johnny Moeller is an American guitarist, currently with The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Doyle Bramhall Sr. was an American blues singer, guitarist and drummer with deep roots in the Austin, Texas music scene.
Alan Haynes, born in Houston, Texas, is an American Texas blues guitarist. Haynes has been playing professionally since the 1970s and has performed with a variety of blues musicians that include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter, Albert Collins, Albert King, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker, and Otis Rush among others. He now resides in Austin, Texas, and plays locally in and around Texas' major cities, especially Houston, occasionally in Dallas and Fort Worth, and also Europe, where he has a following in Scandinavian countries, Germany, Denmark and Israel.
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.
T-Bird Rhythm is the fourth studio album by Texas-based blues rock band the Fabulous Thunderbirds, released in 1982. The recording contains a mixture of covers and originals. Chrysalis dropped the band following the release of the album.
What's the Word is the second studio album by the Austin, Texas-based blues band the Fabulous Thunderbirds, released in 1980. Like its predecessor, the album initially sold poorly, but is now regarded as a noteworthy blues recording of the period. The 2000 CD reissue on Benchmark Records contains three bonus tracks, two of which were recorded live at Club Koda, Austin, Texas.
Keith Ferguson was an American bass guitarist, best remembered as a member of the blues rock band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, based in Austin, Texas. Ferguson received several awards for his musicianship.
Dennis Edward Freeman was an American Texas and electric blues guitarist. Although he is primarily known as a guitar player, Freeman also played piano and electronic organ, both in concert and on various recordings. He worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Bob Dylan, Angela Strehli, Lou Ann Barton, James Cotton, Taj Mahal, Barry Goldberg and Percy Sledge amongst others.
In the early morning of Monday, August 27, 1990, American musician Stevie Ray Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin, at age 35. He was one of the most influential blues guitarists of the 1980s, described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as "the second coming of the blues".
The Chessmen were an American garage rock band from Denton, Texas, near Dallas, who were active in the 1960s. They were one of the most popular bands in the region and recorded for Bismark Records, where they recorded three singles including, "I Need You There", which is now considered a garage rock classic. The band is notable for including several members who went on to greater fame. Jimmie Vaughan, brother of Stevie Ray Vaughan was briefly a member, joining after the death of original band leader, guitarist, and vocalist, Robert Patton, who died in a boating accident in 1966. Drummer Doyle Bramhall later played with and wrote songs for Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Bill Etheridge later played bass with ZZ Top. Following the breakup of the Chessmen, several of their members, including Jimmie Vaughan, went on to form a group that would come to be known as Texas Storm, which eventually included Stevie Ray Vaughan on bass.
Bill Carter is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and member of the Austin Music Hall of Fame. He is best known for co-writing "Crossfire" and "Willie The Wimp", recorded by Stevie Ray Vaughan; "Why Get Up?", recorded by The Fabulous Thunderbirds; and "Jacksboro Highway", recorded by John Mayall. Carter's songs have been covered by other blues, country, and rock artists including Waylon Jennings, Robert Palmer, Ruth Brown, Stray Cats, and Counting Crows.
Francis Anthony Christina is an American drummer known for his work in Texas blues band the Fabulous Thunderbirds (1979–97). He was also the founding drummer of Roomful of Blues (1967-1971).