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. Born and raised in Dallas , Vaughan began playing guitar at age seven, initially inspired by his brother Jimmie. In , he dropped out of high school and moved to Austin , where he began to gain a following after playing gigs on the local club circuit.
The band established itself in the Austin music scene and soon became one of the most popular acts in Texas. Bowie contacted him for a studio gig in December where he played blues guitar on the album Let's Dance John Hammond heard a demo album that Vaughan and Double Trouble had recorded and interested major label Epic Records in signing them to a record deal in March Within months, they achieved mainstream success for the critically acclaimed debut album Texas Flood.
With a series of successful network television appearances and extensive concert tours, Vaughan became the leading figure in the blues revival of the s. Vaughan struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction for most of his life. He also struggled with the personal and professional pressures of fame and his marriage to Lenora "Lenny" Bailey. He successfully completed rehabilitation and began touring again with Double Trouble in November His fourth and final studio album In Step reached number 33 in the United States in ; it was one of Vaughan's most critically and commercially successful releases and included his only number-one hit, "Crossfire".
He became one of the world's most popular blues performers, and he headlined Madison Square Garden in and the Beale Street Music Festival in An investigation concluded that the cause of the accident was pilot error. Vaughan's music continued to achieve commercial success with several posthumous releases and has sold over 15 million albums in the United States alone.
Rolling Stone has twice ranked him among the top twenty guitar players of all time. Stevie's father, Jimmie Lee Vaughan, was born on September 6, Navy during World War II. Stevie was born at Methodist Hospital on October 3, , in Dallas. Big Jim secured a job as an asbestos worker. The family moved frequently and lived in other states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma before ultimately moving to the Oak Cliff section of Dallas.
