STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN NEWS
TRIVIA & MISCELLANEOUS

For new releases and products, see page one of the News. This is page two.

New SRV Website: Sony Legacy has created a new website for Stevie fans at www.srvofficial.com. I did not immediately mention it here because I was disappointed they did not get their facts right in the Bio page of the website. I have decided to try to help them get it corrected, so for a while don't pay any attention to the dates in the Bio. There is a forum page on the site which is nice for fans to discuss SRV topics. I am hoping the content on the page will continue to grow. 

Photo Op for You! - If you have ever wanted to stand in the same spot Stevie was photographed for the cover of Soul to Soul, now's your chance. Click here for info.

Stevie's Jacket To Be Auctioned - Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com) will auction one of Stevie's suit coats in the spring entertainment auction. The auction includes photos of Stevie wearing the jacket. The seller obtained the jacket from the dry cleaner after Stevie died and comes with the laundry receipt bearing Stevie's name. Apparently the jacket was dropped off in May 1990 and never picked up. This is a rare opportunity to obtain a genuine item of Stevie's wardrobe. There are several photos of Stevie wearing this coat in various publications. Not many opportunities to obtain something like this have happened in the past 20 years. Online bidding will begin around March 22, 2010, and the live auction in Dallas is April 8-11. If you have wanted something that belonged to Stevie, do not let this chance go by without bidding. UPDATE: The jacket sold for just under $6,000 to a long-time member of the SRV Fan Club - a good new home for an important piece of history.

In the Studio syndicated radio show to feature SRV: The week of February 22, 2010, ITS will celebrate the 20th anniversary of In Step. The only problem is 2010 is the 21st anniversary. I do not know whether this is a rebroadcast of the ITS show from prior years or if it contains new interview material. Find out where to hear it here: http://www.inthestudio.net/on-the-radio/index.asp

SRV Elected to Austin Music Memorial - The Austin Music Memorial honors individuals who have made important contributions to the development of music and the Austin music community. A personalized engraved disc for each inductee is placed on the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts "City Terrace" overlooking Lady Bird Lake. Induction ceremony is March 28, 2010. For more info http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/music/memorial.htm

Memorabilia theif sentenced: The second of two theives who stole memoabilia from Jimmie Vaughan's U-Haul storage space was sentenced on October 28, 2009. Read about it here.

SRV Guitar Picks - The new website www.pickcollecting.com has an article entitled "The Top Ten Most Wanted Pick Survey." Check it out to see where Stevie placed.  I am doing a 3,000-word article for that website about SRV guitar picks. It will appear on August 15, 2009.

MusiCares MAP Fund Stevie Ray Vaughan Award: The 2009 recipient is Anthony Kiedis for his dedication and support of the fund and for his commitment to helping other addicts.

"Lenny" on tour: Guitar Center will take its iconic "Legends Collection" on the road beginning May 23 for a 4-city tour that will make weekend stops in Fountain Valley, La Mesa, San Francisco and Hollywood. The "Legends Collection" will feature three of rock's most famous guitars - Eric Clapton's "Blackie" Fender Stratocaster and Gibson ES-335, as well as Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Lenny" Fender Stratocaster.

SRV Museum Exhibition!! See the Museum page for information about upcoming exhibitions of the museum collection.

New SRV statue? A member of the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce has proposed a statue of Stevie near the hospital where he was born. The project is still in the "wishful thinking" phase, but hopefully the community will get behind the proposal in order to justify a fund raising campaign. Check back here for updates. If the statue project becomes a reality, I will let you know how to make a contribution. Here is a LINK to a preliminary design. posted 12-2008

SRV on TV: I am told Cox cable has an on-demand channel called ConcertTV which is offering Stevie's Rockpalast concert from 1985 in two parts. posted Fall 2008

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Stevie is now eligible for induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Nominees are announced in late September of each year, and inductees announced in December. My comments regarding this subject are on the FAQ page. USA Today's website  showed SRV in 2nd place to Bon Jovi in its public opinion poll as to who should be nominated in 2008. Neither were. 

Memorabilia Stolen: A mini-warehouse storage garage rented by Jimmie Vaughan was broken into in early 2007, and many papers, guitars, amplifiers and other equipment and historical artifacts belonging to the Vaughan brothers were stolen. Many items have been recovered, but a number of guitars remain missing, some allegedly already overseas. Here are links to news reports:
http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/061807kvuevaughantheft-cb.16185b86.html  
http://www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=3507712&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1 
UPDATE 4-2008: Your help is needed to locate the following stolen guitars belonging to Jimmie Vaughan:
*Fender Stratocaster yellow with 1 pickup. This guitar was stolen in the 1980's and is still missing
*Tokai - red
*greenish custom with 2 pickups with SRV on back of the neck
*Plexi glass or clear or plastic body UPDATE: this guitar recovered 5/2009
*Reddish orange Mosrite double neck guitar
*1-2 lap steel guitars
*black and white guitar, probably an Epiphone.
If you hear of anyone claiming to have guitars or other items that once belonged to Stevie or Jimmie, contact me and I will put you directly in touch with the detective handling the case.

Additions to your SRV discography:  
1. Stevie played guitar on the Vince Bell recording of "I Don't Wanna Hear It" in December 1982. Unfortunately, I do not believe it was ever released in any format. On his way home from the recording studio,  Vince was struck by a drunk driver, and was not able to finish the album. Thankfully, after years of rehabilitation and hard work, Vince was able to resume his career and has released other albums.

2. Stevie also played on another track for Don Johnson in 1986 which I had never heard about until now, 21 years later (thanks, Paul). In addition to the Heartbeat album tracks, a song called "Streetwise" was recorded with Stevie adding guitar. It appeared on a 12-inch maxi-single in The Netherlands and the UK along with "Heartache Away" and "Love Roulette." It is also in the "Heart Beat" long-form video that Johnson released but in edited form, and it was used in one of the episodes of the Miami Vice TV show. The song is almost seven minutes long. To my knowledge, it was not released anywhere but The Netherlands and UK.

SRV Memorial vandalized: On December 23, 2005, the statue of Stevie in downtown Austin was vandalized for the second time. See the news report at http://news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=152545. The regular volunteers, Lynn and Bob, made a trip to Austin to perform an emergency cleaning and wax application on December 28, after the City of Austin's efforts fell short. Stevie looks much better again! My efforts to establish a reward for information leading to the identity of the criminals fell on deaf ears with the Austin Police Department.

Online Interview about the making of The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan. www.stratcollector.com/newsdesk/archives/000278.html

"Lenny" sold at auction: That's right. The guitar Stevie used during encores for many years to play "Lenny" and which he supposedly used to record "Riviera Paradise" was sold at auction on June 24, 2004, as part of the Clapton charity guitar auction benefiting the Crossroads Centre. UPDATE: The first SRV Tribute Strat (see gear pages) will also be in the auction, AND the double-neck Robin guitar that Stevie and Jimmie used to play at the same time when Double Trouble and the T-Birds toured together. The Robin was Jimmie's guitar, but I'm sure you've seen the photos and videos of them playing it simultaneously. By the way, if you ordered the Christie's auction catalog, pay no attention to the presale estimates. At the first auction in 1999, prices realized were five to ten times or more the presale estimates. So when you see Lenny is estimated at $15-20,000, you know they are just trying to increase the number of people who think they have a shot, not make a realistic estimate of value. UPDATE: Prices include the buyer's premium. Clapton's famous "Blackie" Stratocaster sold for $959,500. Clapton's Gibson ES-335 sold for $847,500 and the Unplugged acoustic for $791,500. "LENNY" SOLD FOR $623,500. Jimmie Vaughan's double-neck Robin guitar that he and Stevie played sold for $45,410. The first Fender "Number One" Tribute Stratocaster sold for $41,825. Blackie, the Gibson and "Lenny" all sold to the Guitar Center, whose representative has said that they will exhibit the guitars in their stores. The previous high sales were in May 2002 when Jerry Garcia's "Wolf" guitar fetched $789,500 and his "Tiger" guitar fetched $957,500. (thanks Daniel) Clapton's "Brownie" (a.k.a. the Layla guitar) sold for $497,500 at the first Crossroads auction several years ago. Unless I've missed others, "Lenny" ranks #6 on the all-time list. Number One and the Hamiltone would certainly rank with the top guitars. UPDATE: "Lenny" was displayed at the 2007 Dallas Guitar Show by the Guitar Center for the first time since they acquired it in 2004. It was part of a large exhibition of rare guitars and amplifiers, including Stevie's Marshall amp and one of his trademark black hats. CLICK HERE for a photo of me holding "Lenny" very carefully. And no, I did not play Lenny.

Texas Automobile License Plates: The State of Texas is now producing specialty license plates with the logo "Enjoy Texas Music" and a picture of a Texas music pioneer. The first artist to be featured is Blind Lemon Jefferson. Texas will issue a new plate every  two years. The Texas Music OfficeThe TMO seeks your input on the next honoree of the Enjoy Texas Music license plate; please email us your suggestions, comments and ideas at music@governor.state.tx.us. (For a list of 478 possible honorees, please visit Texas Music Pioneers.)

Stevie's dolphins: "Over the Fourth of July weekend, I was in St. Augustine and decided to take my family to Marineland, one of the oldest attractions in Florida. As we watched the bottle-nose dolphins run through their paces, I realized that the entire act was choreographed to "Hillbillies From Outer Space". Novelist Douglas Adams put forth the proposition that dolphins were Earth's most intelligent creatures. It only makes sense that they would prefer the Vaughan Brothers." Vince Welsh. Orlando, Florida

Sale of "SRV's Stratocaster:" Once again there is a story being reported about the sale of one of Stevie's guitars, this time to the Blue Moon Group in NY. No details have been offered. Regardless of the fact that Stevie owned many guitars, there are only a handful which are museum-quality instruments (described on the Gear page), and those all belong to Jimmie Vaughan now. Jimmie told me personally that he would never sell those guitars. Update: 7/03 I have just learned that this sale, reported in January 2003, did not go through. The guitar was a plum colored Tokai Strat which was sold in the spring of 2003 for approximately $10,000-$12,000.

Austin City Limits 1989: The running order for Stevie's complete set at ACL in '89: House is Rockin', Tightrope, May I Have a Talk With You, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Leave My Girl Alone, Crossfire, Look at Little Sister, Superstition, Cold Shot, Couldn't Stand the Weather, Voodoo Chile, Riviera Paradise. With the exception of Superstition, you can now reconstruct the whole concert from the DVDs of Live From Austin and the disk in the SRV box set.

Austin City Limits 1983: Here is the complete set list for the first ACL show: Testify (take 1), Instrumental (take 1 aborted), Instrumental (take 2), Voodoo Chile, Pride and Joy (take 1), Texas Flood, Love Struck Baby, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Tin Pan Alley, Rude Mood, Lenny (take 1 aborted), Lenny (take 2), Pride and Joy (take 2), Testify (take 2 aborted), Testify (take 3), (last 2 songs with Jimmie Vaughan, Kim Wilson and Angela Strehli) Blues Before Sunrise, Lost Cause.  Originally broadcast were Pride and Joy, Texas Flood, Rude Mood, Voodoo Chile and Love Struck Baby.

Who Was That Masked Man?? I've had the opportunity to peruse a large stack of Stevie's handwritten notes and papers and found it interesting the aliases he used at hotels: Ben T. Fender, Lee Melone, Mosey Long (my favorite), Vita Lee, Henry Blossom and Iza B. Klean. These all date from 1986-1990.

Oddest SRV Magazine Cover? As my friend Randy said when he sent me this magazine, "SRV shows up in the strangest places." Have you spotted a more unusual appearance of SRV anywhere? click here

I Don't Think Stevie Would Approve: DULUTH, MN -- An Eden Prairie man has pleaded guilty in connection with the 1998 stabbing death of a Minneapolis man near Duluth. Wayne A. Johnson, 37, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit intentional second-degree murder for his role in the death of Carlos San Miguel, 34. Dario Bonga, who pleaded guilty to stabbing San Miguel more than 42 times with a screwdriver, was sentenced to life in prison. Bonga said he killed San Miguel because he said Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bonga's favorite musician, wasn't any good. Johnson beat San Miguel before the killing and helped discard evidence. - Associated Press (thanks to Lonesome Dave for the newspaper clipping)

SRV & DT sales trivia: According to the RIAA, by 2001 Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble had sold over 13.5 million records! So where does that number stack against other artists? The top selling artists are The Beatles (163.5 million), Garth Brooks (101), Led Zeppelin (100.5), Elvis Presley (86.5) and the Eagles (66.5). Top blues artists: Eric Clapton at 36.5 million (okay, some of his stuff isn't blues); ZZ Top (25) and Bonnie Raitt (16.5). Where's Jimi Hendrix? Try 19.5 million. I'd say Stevie and the band stack up pretty well considering his relatively short national performing career, and that he's blues. I believe Willie Nelson is the top selling Texas artist (35 million). Stevie & DT's highest selling albums? Each of these have been certified for sales over 2 million: Texas Flood, Couldn't S.T. Weather, In Step, The Sky is Crying, and Greatest Hits (Vol. 1). Note: see the updated figures on the Awards page.

SRV Landmark destroyed. On August 20, 1999, the former site of a movie theatre where Stevie performed some of his earliest public shows was destroyed by fire. The theatre was the first one opened by Gene Autry in 1946, and was known as the Hill Theatre until 1964. It had been an auto parts store for the past 35 years, but the owner had left the original stage intact because of the historical significance of the theatre (although he probably didn't know Stevie played there in the early 60's).

Steamboat 1874, the club where Stevie performed many times, and where In the Beginning was recorded in 1980, has closed. The site on Sixth Street in Austin is still a nightclub, though. Steamboat reopened in a new location in Austin, but I think it's closed now, too.

Caravan of Dreams, the club where Stevie rehearsed his Carnegie Hall show in 1984, and the best nightclub in Dallas-Fort Worth from 1983-2001 closed at the end of September 2001.

Austin's Bar-B-Que in Oak Cliff, where Stevie dined many times, closed on July 14, 2000. I ate lunch there after attending Stevie's funeral, not knowing at the time that there was a Stevie connection.  

Testify! Several folks have asked me this question over the years, and I finally got the answer. Stevie said in an interview that there was a track on Texas Flood where a mistake was made and the band just picked up the song in the middle right where the mistake was made, and the engineer and band got it fixed on the first try. The fix was so seamless that only those in the studio knew where the track was cut. In the interview from which the question arose, Stevie would not reveal which song was recorded in two pieces. However, in an earlier interview with Jim Ladd, Stevie identified the song as "Testify." Armed with that info, can you hear where the tape was spliced?

SRV Contracts. Ever wonder what it cost to hire Stevie Ray Vaughan to play? Here are a few examples from contracts I have seen. Some of these are the flat rates, to which would be added percentages of the gate. 
    June 1982 - $800 (outdoor festival in Houston)
    July 1983 - $1500 (Dallas record release party for Texas Flood)
    November 1983 - $5000+ (opening for The Moody Blues)
    August 1984 - $6500 to $7500+ (typical road gigs)
    May 1990 - $24,000+ (typical road gig)

SRV the Dog: From a fan: "Up here in Canada is a gorgeous American/Canadian champion Boxer dog named Stevie Ray Vaughan.  He is a Best in Show and Best in Specialty Show winner and he's also a Sire of Merit (has sired 14 champions or more) and he was the #4 Boxer in Canada in the year 2000.  You can view Stevie at http://www.geocities.com/mgmboxers/NUchstevie2.html"

SRV Soothes the Ghost: Even ghosts like Stevie's music: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1437982/posts.

Upcoming Events

A. Fan Gatherings, Tours & "Stevie's Bath": Click here to go to the Events page.

B. Other Events & Broadcasts:
    Other than rebroadcasts of the Austin City Limits program (check your local PBS listings), I am not aware of any upcoming SRV events or broadcasts. I do not expect to see the VH-1 Legends program rebroadcast because to my knowledge they only had broadcast rights for three years, which have expired.
    August 27 events:  The Vaughan family is on record as preferring remembrances on Stevie's birthday, October 3rd. So if radio stations or concert promoters are "celebrating" the anniversary of Stevie's death, please take a moment to call the program manager or promoter and suggest they celebrate Stevie's life and music on the day of his birth, October 3. 
    October 3 events: The Annual SRV Remeberance Ride & Concert is the first Sunday each October. See www.srvrideandconcert.org. 

Awards & Achievements

Click here for the awards page.

Where Are They Now?

TOMMY SHANNON and CHRIS LAYTON: 
The band they were in for several years, Storyville, broke up in the early part of January 1999, but Double Trouble's CD, Been a Long Time, was released in early February 2001.  It features appearances by Jimmie Vaughan, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson, Susan Tedeschi, Dr. John, Reese Wynans, Doyle Bramhall II, Charlie Sexton, Malford Milligan and others. 

Chris and Tommy appear on Kenny Wayne Shepherd's CD, Live On, and  with Roy Cox and Alan Haynes on the Blues Knights CD, released in the fall of 1999.  The "Hot Licks" series of instructional videos has added tapes from Chris and Tommy. The guys have also been playing a few gigs as the ARC Angels, too. Also watch for the Mighty Zor, playing in Austin occasionally (Chris, Tommy, Little Doyle and Denny Freeman). Debbie Davies, formerly of Albert Collins' band, features Double Trouble on her CD, Tales From the Austin Motel. Double Trouble also appear on the CD Treat Me Like a Lady by SRV fan club member Catherine Denise.

See the website: www.tommyshannon.com

DOYLE BRAMHALL: Big Doyle's latest CD Is It News was nominated for a Grammy Award. He has produced CDs by Indigenous, Chris Duarte and Marcia Ball.   Check his website at www.doylebramhall.com 

JANNA LAPIDUS: As you probably know, Janna was Stevie's fiance, and I receive many inquiries about her. She has been very well, having moved from New York City to Australia about 7 years ago, and will soon be moving back to the U.S. with her husband and their two sons.

FREDDE "PHAROAH" WALDEN: Fredde Walden, drummer for Triple Threat Revue, and the original drummer for Double Trouble, lost his battle with cancer in early April, 2000. Walden played behind most major blues artists in Austin at one time or another.

LENNY: I've never had an opportunity to meet or speak with Stevie's ex-wife. I got a message to her requesting an interview for the new book, but she declined the invitation to participate.

JACK CHASE: Those of you who have attended recent fan club events, and those with a good memory for liner notes, know that Jack played a very important role in Stevie's career. "I spent almost 32 years as Vice President of Marketing for CBS Records/Sony Music Southwest Region. The last 3 years at Sony Music Dallas were rewarding to me as my Southwest Branch established national careers for Texans...Dixie Chicks, Destiny Child, Jessica Simpson and Beyon'ce Knowles. But...establishing the careers of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie Vaughan and Stevie Ray were two of my most cherished accomplishments of my long career.  I presently still live in the Dallas area and am enjoying semi-retirement with my family." See also Jack's comments on the art and jewelry page about the guitar strap he had made for Stevie.

ROBIN SYLER: Highly regarded guitarist and friend of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robin Syler died in December 2005 at age 54. He toured with Canned Heat, was a member of Krackerjack with Tommy Shannon, Bruce Bowland, and Uncle John Turner, and released two solo CDs.

JERRY LYNN WILLIAMS:  It is believed that Stevie Ray Vaughan's last studio work was contributing to Jerry Lynn Williams' song "Just How You Play the Game" from his Peacemaker CD, recorded in 1990 but not released until 1996.    (from the L.A. Times): The little-known writer of such songs as Eric Clapton's "Running on Faith," Bonnie Raitt's "Real Man" and B.B. King's "Standing on the Edge of Love," died Nov. 25 of kidney and liver failure.  A familiar name only in the music industry, Williams was probably the most successful unknown songwriter in rock and rhythm and blues. In 1989, five of his songs — "Pretending," "Anything for Your Love," "Running on Faith," "No Alibis" and "Breaking Point" — were included on Clapton's "Journeyman" album. The same year, his "Real Man" and "I Will Not Be Denied" were on Raitt's "Nick of Time," which won three Grammy Awards. Williams also contributed five songs to King's 1992 album, "King of the Blues," and wrote Clint Black's "The Hard Way" and Delbert McClinton's signature song, "Givin' It Up for Your Love." He helped Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan write the song "Tick Tock." Williams made four blues-rock albums of his own, but none of them sold well. Born in Dallas, he grew up in Fort Worth and learned music in church. A pastor's wife taught him to play piano, but at the age of 11, he got his first guitar and focused on playing like Jimmy Reed. By 14, Williams had dropped out of school and was working Texas roadhouses with his own band, the Epics. He toured with Little Richard's band until authorities discovered Williams' age and sent him home. He learned to play lead guitar from a fellow band member, Jimmy James, better known as Jimi Hendrix. A maverick, Williams spent nearly four decades bouncing between Los Angeles, where he wrote, recorded and performed, and Texas and Oklahoma, where he ranched. On one drive west, he stopped to look at the Grand Canyon and was inspired to write "Standing on the Edge of Love." The songwriter was recommended to Clapton in 1984 when the singer needed material for what is regarded as his comeback album, "Behind the Sun." Williams wrote the album's "See What Love Can Do," "Something's Happening" and "Forever Man."