30 Years Ago Today: A Legendary Blues Artist Dies

 We have lost Peter Green earlier this summer, but exactly three decades ago today was when a deadly crash took the life of Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Born Stephen Ray Vaughn, October 3, 1954 in Dallas. Vaughn formed the band Double Trouble in 1978, and has, in the years since, been labelled as a "second wave of blues." They had hits such as Couldn't Stand the Weather, Pride & Joy, Superstition (Stevie Wonder), Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (Jimi Hendrix), and The House is Rockin.' 

The doing of a helicopter

In the days leading up to his death, Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble were opening for Eric Clapton at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre near East Troy, Wisc. Thereafter, they started making plans for performing on the other side of the pond, at the Royal Albert Hall, being the 20th anniversary of Hendrix' death in 1991, and Vaughn and Clapton both citing him as a significant influence.

On the morning of August 26, 1990, Vaughn told his bandmates of a nightmare he had that he was at his own funeral, surrounded by thousands of mourners, and felt terrified. A little after midnight on August 27, 1990. That's when Slowhand's tour manager, Peter Brown, told Vaughn that all the seats were reserved for Clapton and his entourage, but soon learned that Vaughn's crew had taken the seats unbenknownst to them. 

Vaughn asked if he could take the last empty seat, and Brown agreed. The photo below shows a Bell 206B aircraft.
Too much speed, too little altitude

Pilot Jeff Brown took off around 1:30AM, but he sped faster than normal, and his altitude was lower than normal. The crash occurred a mile into the flight, when the copter skid along the Alpine ski hill. The pilot, and everyone else on the aircraft, were killed seconds after the crash.

No drugs involved

Coroner John T. Griebel conducted an autopsy nearly two months later in October 1990, and it was discovered that there were no drugs involved; as such,  it was determined that Vaughn must have bled to death because he'd suffered severe, traumatic injuries. His funeral saw 1,500 attendees, with twice as many crowding around outside the chapel. Eric Clapton, ZZ Top, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and Nile Rodgers of Chic fame were among the mourners.

Gone, but not forgotten

Even after Vaughn's death, his legacy lived on. Vaughn was buried at Laurel Land in his hometwon of Dallas, Texas. In 1998, the City of St. Louis began hosting annual Stevie Ray Vaughn tribute concerts with local bands. In 1993, the Stevie Ray Vaughn Memorial Scholarship was created in his honor for students looking to pursue music and who have demonstrated strong interest. 

There is a long list of artists who have listed Vaughn as one of their influences including Kenny Wayne Shepard, Mike McGrady of Pearl Jam fame, Doyle Bramhall II, and John Mayer, who inducted Vaughn into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame and performed some of his songs in 2015. 

In 2000, Vaughn was also inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

Legal action

Stevie Ray Vaughn's parents, Martha Jean, and Jimmie Dean, pressed charges on Omniflight, the agency operating the aircraft, claiming that visibility flight rules were broken. The case was settled successfully, and the National Transportation Security Board made a report that Brown was flying too low. However, they did discover that Jeff Brown had great experience in flying the 206-B Bell at night, but again, no drugs were discovered.






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