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Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble were among 12 artists saluted by the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, in the Nashville-based organization’s first induction ceremony in nearly five years.

Joe Chambers with Double Trouble members Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon and Reese Wynans of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble at the Fourth Annual Musicians Hall of Fame induction ceremony Jan. 28, 2014, in Nashville. Vaughan was inducted posthumously. Photo credit: Steven S. Harman / The Tennessean

The inductees included:

Randy Bachman
Jimmy Capps
Peter Frampton
Buddy Guy
Ben Keith
Will Lee
Barbara Mandrell
Corki Casey O’Dell
Velma Smith
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
2014 Iconic Riff Award – Roy Orbison for “Oh, Pretty Woman”
2014 Industry Icon Award – Mike Curb

Read more and view photos at The Tennessean.

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble will be inducted this year into the Musicians Hall of Fame! The 2014 Induction Ceremony will be held at the 10,000-seat arena of Nashville’s Historic Municipal Auditorium on January 28th, the new home of the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

With Stevie on guitar, Chris Layton on drums, Tommy Shannon on bass guitar and Reese Wynans on keyboards, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble ignited the blues revival in the 1980s with sold out concerts and Gold records.

The 2014 Induction Ceremony is open to the general public. Tickets begin at $35 and are available for purchase at Ticketmaster.

Guitar World has rounded up the Top 20 reissued/remastered or archival releases of 2013, with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s Texas Flood Legacy Edition coming in at No. 1 on the list!
Read more at Guitar World.

The 1987 Cinemax concert special A Blues Session: B.B. King and Friends kicked off with one of the single most star-packed jam sessions ever held outside the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Phil Collins, Dr. John, Etta James, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Paul Butterfield and Billy Ocean all came together at the tiny Ebony Showcase Theater in Los Angeles to perform a supremely upbeat rendition of “Why I Sing the Blues.”

Watch the video below and read more at Rolling Stone.

October 3: Stevie Ray Vaughan was born on this day in 1954, and remains one of the most influential guitarists who ever lived.

Today, on the 23rd anniversary of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s passing, our friends at Rock Paper Photo are helping us to celebrate the life of the guitar legend by inviting you to discover a collection of photographs that capture his unique talent, raw power and unmistakable style. The photographers who shot these images, which are available for sale as limited edition prints, include Robert M. Knight, Tracy Ann Hart, Chuck Pulin and Deborah Feingold. For many, Stevie Ray Vaughan was more than just another musical legend to photograph; he held a special place in their hearts too.

Robert Knight got to know SRV well after shooting many dates on the 1989 tour with Jeff Beck, which produced several magazine covers. “A lot of time, he would come into Los Angeles, give me a call and we’d just hang out and talk,” recalls the photographer who is now based in Las Vegas. Painfully, Robert snapped the last shots of SRV shortly after the band played in Alpine Valley, Wisconsin, on August 26, 1990. It took the photographer two years even to look at those shots of his close friend again. In fact, Stevie had asked Robert to return to Chicago with him to see Buddy Guy play but Robert didn’t like the idea of flying at night in helicopters. Robert’s well-known image of Stevie on stage in Minneapolis was made with a special film developing process Robert developed in the late 60’s, producing the illusion of blackness around the musician. Another photograph of Stevie Ray appeared on the cover of the 2006 Sony Legacy release, The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Vol. 1.

Houston-based photographer Tracy Anne Hart also was deeply affected by her years of shooting Stevie from 1983 until his death in 1990. Her prints of SRV have been exhibited extensively throughout the U.S. and also appeared in Sony Legacy CDs, on PBS Television, and in many books, magazines and DVD’s. Tracy remembers photographing SRV at a live date outside the Houston Astrodome in 1989. She describes the sound as “sweeping through the crowd like a storm in the middle of a Texas summer.” She says, “To really understand the power of Stevie’s playing you have to look beyond the equipment and into his heart, and at his strong, beautiful hands.”

Working for Musician magazine, Deborah Feingold photographed the Texas bluesman in NYC in the summer of ’83 just after the release of Texas Flood. After initially shooting SRV in her apartment, the duo took a walk to a barren stretch of landfill by the World Trade Center. “He took his guitar out and we started shooting,” she recalled in a recent magazine interview. Rejected by the magazine in favor of a more “mainstream” shot, this beautiful image remains a personal favorite of hers.

Another New York-based photographer, Chuck Pulin, who was on staff at Billboard magazine for many years, met Stevie in the early 80’s and forged a close friendship. Chuck became Stevie’s personal photographer. His photos of Stevie included jam sessions, recording sessions, and backstage moments with music legends including Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Jeff Beck and Greg Allman. Chuck’s photos of Stevie have appeared on CD covers, DVD jackets, and in television shows, books and magazines.

Check out the great works by these and other noted photographers in the special Rock Paper Photo collection of limited edition prints celebrating Stevie’s years as one of our greatest musicians. You also can view selected images in the Stevie Ray Vaughan photo gallery.

Please share your thoughts about Stevie in the comments below and on his official Facebook page.

Nearly 23 years ago — on August 27, 1990 — blues-rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash after a show at East Troy, Wisconsin’s Alpine Valley Music Theater. Vaughan won millions of fans and almost singled-handedly put blues back on the commercial map during his seven years as a major-label recording artist, even while transcending many of the genre’s customary limitations.

He also captivated the imagination and earned the respect of a list of ruling six-string virtuosos that includes Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Larry Coryell, Keith Richards and Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. The latter unabashedly refers to Vaughan as one of his all-time favorite players. Veteran blues artists Etta James, B.B. King and Buddy Guy directly attributed the mid-’80s revival of their previously ebbing careers to Stevie Ray. And today, new generations of guitar heroes — from established hit-makers like John Mayer to newcomers like Nashville’s Bart Walker — all follow in his stylistic path and openly celebrate his influence.

What made and still makes Vaughan and his music resonate with so many, players and laymen alike? The nut answer is this: typically great guitarists either pivot toward the intellectual/technical or the visceral/gut-level. Vaughan was among the rare masters who’ve combined both.

Read more at Gibson.com.

Radio.com’s Not Fade Away has taken a look at Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble‘s classic debut album, Texas Flood, which hit its 30th anniversary this month. Here is an excerpt:

Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton recently told Radio.com that, back then, recording in the studio tended to be a more refined musical effort than playing live. “Our philosophy was, we were the same band no matter where we were or what we did,” he said.

Their song selection for their debut, which included the SRV-penned classic “Pride And Joy,” along with covers of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Tell Me,” Larry Davis’ “Texas Flood” and the Isley Brothers’ “Testify,” was equally simple: “We played the songs that we had in our repertoire that we liked the best, and we recorded them all a few times, and that was, essentially, the record.” Ditto for their studio technique: “We just put some mics up and just played the songs.”

As simple as that was, the album had a huge effect, showing a new generation of guitarists that the blues wasn’t just something that old folks listened to. Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang and John Mayer, among many others, were profoundly influenced by Vaughan’s playing. Slide guitarist Robert Randolph told Radio.com that Vaughan has been his single biggest influence.

Read the complete article at Radio.com.

The all-new March 2013 issue of Guitar World is available now, featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan! For the 30th anniversary of SRV and Double Trouble’s Texas Flood, the magazine is celebrating Stevie Ray’s phenomenal rise, including an in-depth guide to his amps and effect pedals. The issue also covers the history of his beloved “Number One” Fender Stratocaster, complete with up-close, detailed images.

Read more at Guitar World.

The love keeps coming for Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s Texas Flood 30th anniversary Legacy Edition. Here are more reviews:

If people were already comparing Vaughan to Jimi Hendrix, he seems — on this October 1983 date at Ripley’s Music Hall — more than ready to accede to the throne of the most electrifying guitarist from a generation before. In short order, Vaughan covers not one, not two, but three Hendrix songs, beginning with “Voodoo Child” and then melding “Little Wing” and “Third Stone from the Sun” in cocky closing salvo. There’s a thunderous second pass at “Testify,” a salacious journey through “Pride and Joy,” and a crackling take on Buddy Guy’s memorable update of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” to boot. – Something Else!

The Ripley’s performance is filled with classics: the amazing rhythm-as-lead/lead-as-rhythm workouts of “Love Struck Baby;” the magnificent slow burns of “Tin Pan Alley” and “Texas Flood;” and the playful funk of “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” The night closes with one more Hendrixian workout – the grace and majesty of “Little Wing” leading into an amp-torturing “Third Stone From The Sun.” It’s hard to imagine anyone having enough energy left to work off the stage, let alone speak, but Vaughan sounds like a man sitting on top of the world as he introduces the band and himself. – Jambands.com

Vaughan’s ongoing significance is reflected in the newly released 30th Anniversary Edition of Texas Flood. His music made a difference in a lot of people’s lives. The two-disc package contains a remastered version of the original album, plus a second live CD from a 1983 performance at Ripley’s Music Hall in Philadelphia. Vaughan’s incendiary debut record has never sounded better, and the additional live material is phenomenal. …He was a master, and this set is a marvelous tribute to his talent. – Blogcritics.org