Pride and Joy Remembering the Legend

By Kieran McDonald

The theater is packed, and fans, family, and friends gather 33 years after his death to see a film tribute. The energy is electric, the tension palpable, like every time he took the stage in his career. They are here to watch a small part of the commemoration of him and his band, alongside his reason for becoming a musician, his brother. A continuing inspiration to so many people and an influence on young musicians, 30 years after they last played together. They are Double Trouble and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Stevie Ray Vaughan formed Double Trouble in 1978, bouncing around Austin and playing various clubs for about four years, the lineup varied in those years before finally settling on the power trio of Vaughan on guitar, Chris Layton on drums, and Tommy Shannon on bass. They had a breakout performance at the Montreux jazz festival in 1982, and even though they received boos from the crowd, their performance caught the their debut album Texas Flood propelled them to worldwide fame.

Amid Vaughan’s struggles with alcohol and drugs, they continued to tour, though Vaughan eventually recovered from the serious addiction before In Step was recorded attention of big names like David Bowie and Jackson Browne. This led to producer John H. Hammond signing the trio with Epic Records, and and released in 1989, he was now better than ever. Sadly, this legendary career came to an end in August 1990. After a legendary performance on August 26th, 1990 with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Jimmie Vaughan among others, a tragic helicopter crash killed everyone onboard, including Vaughan and members of Clapton’s crew.

Career professional musician, drummer for Double Trouble, and currently for the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, Chris Layton, described Vaughans playing.

“He was so good, no matter what was going on, he was always right with you, whatever I might do, he’d be right there. He knew where I was going, It was delightful. It

Vaughan performs in Austin, Texas with his signature SRV emblazoned Stratocaster, 1983 was inspiring, and through all the time that we were together and the challenges that we went through you could lose sight of that, you lose sight of how special something is until it’s no longer around. And that hit me pretty hard as the years went on after he was gone.”

Vaughan and Double Trouble’s legacy endures not only in things like statues and recordings but in the hearts and minds of people. In a time when garage bands and live music clubs were a dime a dozen, Double Trouble stood out.

Jody Denberg, A radio DJ in Austin with 42 years of experience in private in public radio and across all genres, said that in the early 80’s, during Double Troubles’ ascendance, the music industry was flourishing.

“Well in the early 1980s a brand of blues rock was really popular in Austin along with The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble in 1983 during their rise to fame and the release of Texas Flood (Left to right: Chris Layton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tommy Shannon) Photo by Don Huntstein and other artists that were playing Antones, but there were other scenes as well.”

Denberg said “There was the punk rock scene that came out of Rauel’s club

According to Layton, Vaughan kept turning around, impressed with Layton’s playing.

“He came over to the apartment the next day. We met and from the first time I’d listened to him, and then played with them. I knew, I told him, I want to work with you. I don’t care how much money we make, don’t care where we do this. I don’t care how we get there. And all I know is that I want to play with you.”

Every band has their own in Guadeloupe, and there was the New Wave scene that flourished at a venue called Clubfoot in the early 80s, and there were still the remnants of progressive country music, like Willie Nelson and Jerry Jeff Walker. So all of those things were happening at the same time as Double Trouble’s ascendance.’’ unique way of creating music. According to Layton, Double Trouble created records organically, creating pieces that they all found to be real and good music, and then once several of those were imagined they would put them together into a record. This process led to lots of fans and memories. When asked how he thought their music inspired so many, Layton reasoned that because the band felt inspired by their own music, then maybe it is not so surprising that people listening feel inspired and enjoy their music. But there was one other thing that made the band unique, when asked about it Denberg said “No one else played with the attack and the grit and the power of Stevie Ray. So that alone made them a unique band. Were they a unique rhythm section? They had a great rhythm section. I don’t know if they were unique. The uniqueness was all down to the frontman Stevie Ray.” Layton agreed that Vaughan was the driving force behind the uniqueness. According to Layton, even players with the Boston Symphony revered the band.

Layton said that he ended up playing with Stevie when the current drummer slept late and Layton was brought in as a replacement for several songs until the drummer arrived.

As for making the records, every group has their own unique way of creating music. According to Layton, Double Trouble created records organically, creating pieces that they all found to be real and good music, and then once several of those were imagined they would put them together into a record. This process led to lots of fans, great performances, and irreplaceable memories. These fans led to a legacy of legendary music and performances especially in the blues community, Denberg said of Vaughan’s Legacy. “Stevie Ray’s impact was that he was part of the link in that chain that continues making blues viable for younger people, whether it’s the people that came up in Stevie’s wake like Jonny Lang, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, or even the people right now like Christo and Kingfish Ingram, they’re all in a lineage that stretches back to Stevie Ray, and then stretches back to the guys that invented the form.”

The Legacy of Vaughan and his life is remembered by a sculpture on Town Lake in Austin Texas, that has

The iconic Paramount Theater in Austin,TX before the Austin premiere of a documentary called Brothers in Blues on Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan become a key part of the city’s character. Ralph Helmick, career public artist, and the mind behind the statue of Vaughan, wanted to honor Vaughan in a different way than is typical for most musicians. Helmick described the thought behind how he designed the sculpture. “So it’s in a way like the most famous Western sculpture, Michelangelo’s David, in Florence, where he’s contemplating. Before he confronts Goliath,he’s standing there, and there’s a stillness to him and imminence. And I thought, that’s a way to get inside somebody’s head, and to make them relate to a figure. It’s to occupy that time, even if it’s just an inhalation or exhalation. And so that was one thing I would try to do with Stevie. Having everybody know his music, it’s eternal, it’s digitized. And it’ll be around for a long, long time. And so it was more mission for me was more about honoring the man, as well as the musician. So that’s why this sculpture’s actual figure is in, not repose, exactly. But a still standing figure and the shadow would show him playing guitar as his legacy. So it was a way where people can contemplate Stevie and who the guy was, rather than his music. And I think that struck a chord, so to speak, with Jimmy and Martha. So it was a great opportunity [for me].” Another unique thing about Vaughan that Helmick wanted to remember was how he dressed, which was a key part of his personality. “He dressed very flamboyantly, but he also had a wide ranging wardrobe. So I intentionally chose the poncho and the hat as being the least flashy, of, of what he would wear, and he wore something like that In Step. I think his poncho is pretty timeless, you could be wearing it in the 1800s, or you could be wearing it today, and people wouldn’t think you landed from Mars or anything. He’s also known for wearing bows and giant feathers in his hat and things like that. His right hand has a ring on it that has a circle with a triangle in it. And that’s a symbol of AA. So, if you’re recovering alcoholic, you might be able to recognize and acknowledge that this guy was famous and excellent, but had his share of struggles like anyone else.”

It was very important to Mr. Helmick, and the family, to include the ring with the symbol of AA, to symbolize his recovery and the fact that he beat his addiction as a person. Helmick wanted people to remember the man, not just the musician. While we as a society remember rockstars elevated on pedestals, he wanted to remember Vaughan as an extraordinary guitarist, but also one of us.

The legacy of Double Trouble and Vaughan lives on in records, and recordings, notable ones like their performance at the Elmocambo or Montreux, and unpublished ones like the Tower Theater. Everyone agrees: “no one else played with the attack and the grit and the power of Stevie Ray.”