TEXAS FLOOD

An oral biography that illuminates how far the inspiration of the virtuosic guitarist extends beyond music.

In the late 1980s, Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954-1990) was on the verge of drugging and working himself to death; he was forced to face the fact that if he didn’t change his ways, he wouldn’t last much longer. So he changed—his habits, perspective, relationships, routines, and music—and became as obsessed with living healthy and following 12-step precepts as he had been with scoring dope. He recorded an album with his older brother, Jimmie, his idol, one of the many musicians who had followed Stevie’s example by getting clean and sober. Sadly, when he had been sober for a few years, living happier and playing better than ever, he died in a helicopter crash following a concert, when the weather should not have permitted takeoff. He was just shy of 36 years old. Like co-author Paul’s previous oral history, One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band (2014), this account is exhaustive, drawing extensively from interviews with those who knew Stevie best—his brother, band mates, and the other musicians who witnessed his rise and fall—with the exception of his ex-wife. The narrative chronicles his lifelong obsession with his instrument, his transformation from Steve Vaughan the geek kid to Stevie Ray the guitar god, the ways in which his band was more like a family, and the reverence he displayed toward his idols. Paul and Aledort’s interviews also underscore Vaughan’s profound influence on other musicians, first as a blues revivalist who brought the music back into the mainstream and then as a testament to a sobriety that enriched his artistry. It’s a tragedy that the story had to end the way it did, but the authors show why the story still matters almost 30 years after his death.

Deep reporting makes this a treasure trove for anyone interested in the blues and Vaughan’s place within popular music.