Stevie Ray Vaughan: Never Another Like Him

Hey everybody I'm back for my third week of blogging on Music Reviews by a Musician and I've decided to start off the week with something special to me.



Stevie Ray Vaughan

Last Friday I talked about what makes a guitarist special and I mentioned one in particular; Stevie Ray Vaughan. The reason I focused on SRV for Friday's blog is because he is my first and truly number one inspiration for my guitar playing. Stevie Ray Vaughan is a very special guitarist in many, many ways. His tone, phrasing, stage presence, soul, and heart poured through every song he played and made him the soul reason in my opinion that blues music became popular again in the 1980's.

From his debut album "Texas Flood" until his untimely death in a helicopter crash on August 27, 1990 in Alpine Valley, Wisconsin; SRV completely turned the world of guitar and blues music on its ear and made people stop and listen to his music when they heard it.

His fiery Texas style guitar playing combined with elements of R&B, jazz, early blues pioneers, and influence from other artists like T-Bone Walker, Otis Rush, Lightning Hopkins, and most notably Jimi Hendrix on top of countless others became a centerpiece for a remarkable career.

From early hits on songs like Pride and Joy, Texas Flood, Voodoo Chile, and Love Struck Baby to later hits such as Couldn't Stand the Weather, Crossfire, Tightrope, and The House is Rockin, SRV turned on a whole new generation of guitar players to the blues. And his effect is still being felt today some 20 years after his death.

Countless young artists are doing their best to pick up where SRV left off after his passing and keep the blues alive. Guys like Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Tyler Bryant, Jonny Lang, and even John Mayer all have elements of SRV's playing infused into their playing styles and they are all doing their part to keep alive a type of music that is slowly dying away amidst the mainstream music today.

But even then no matter how hard these guys try there is no way to duplicate or match what SRV did and still does today. He was a phenomenal talent that will never, ever be matched in my opinion. He is simply an amazing talent and the odds of someone like him coming along in the future are very small. If I were a betting man I would not put money on that. That is why I feel that there will never be another like him.

Until next time keep on rocking away music lovers,

JAS

Image coutesy of Joe Bielawa, Creative Commons/Flickr

Who Is the Greatest Guitarist To Date

Rolling Stone's article on the 100 Greatest Guitarists is widely looked at as one of the best, comprehensive lists of the world's greatest guitar players to date. However as much as many people tend to agree with this list, I have some minor discrepancies with it. So for my first blog post I would like to look at Rolling Stone's top 10 guitarists on their list and explain how I think the top 5 should look.

For starters here is the top ten from Rolling Stone:

10) Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones

9) Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin

8) Ry Cooder

7) Stevie Ray Vaughan

6) Chuck Berry
5) Robert Johnson

4) Eric Clapton

3) BB King

2) Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band

1) Jimi Hendrix

Now this list is very good. All of these men have provided something significant to the guitar world throughout their careers. However I believe that the greatest guitarists list should have some basis for technicality of playing, contributions to the instrument, body of works, and overall influence. In that case my top 5 would look something like this.

5) Eric Clapton- Clapton is a very great guitar player. From his early days with Cream to his solo stuff today he continues to unleash that wonderful tone and sound that keeps people coming back for more. The one thing that I think keeps Clapton lower is because although he has influenced many, some of his music is not what people like to hear out of him. I think Clapton would be higher if he would let that blues flag fly and show off that vocabulary much more than he does with his solo recordings.

4) Duane Allman- Two words, slide guitar! Duane Allman was a slide master and he helped bring the Allman Brothers Band to fame. Had his career not been cut short like many other great guitarists I can only imagine what he would have accomplished.

3) Stevie Ray Vaughan- Now I am a huge Stevie Ray fan and nut. The first blues/rock guitar experience I had was listening to his debut album Texas Flood. Some say that he was a Hendrix clone but to that I say not entirely. People copy other people's licks all the time in the guitar world. SRV was an amazingly technical guitarist and he provide tons of great music in such a short time period. Had he been around longer I think he could have easily been the best guitarist in the world. This was just another career cut short by an untimely death.

2) Eddie Van Halen- Rolling Stone shocked me with this. Eddie Van Halen is nowhere near the top 10, in fact he is at number 70 on their list. Are you kidding me! Eddie Van Halen, love him or hate him, is one of the world's supreme guitar players. There are some that question whether or not he came up with the tapping concept on guitar but either way his mastery and use of it influenced so many young guitarists in the 1980's and it helped Van Halen sell millions of records. The man is a guitar genius and he deserves to be recognized as one. That definitely means he is not the 70th best guitarist out of 100 all time!

1) Jimi Hendrix- You cannot argue with this one very much. Jimi Hendrix is arguably the most innovative, most influential guitarist to this date. The body of works that he compiled in a short time span are some of the most influential works on the guitar. Countless guitarists young and old study his works to better understand his techniques and ideas. Had Hendrix lived longer than he did there is no telling what he would have accomplished. The man was one of a kind and I do not think there will ever be another like him.

So that is my top 5 guitarists of all time. Granted I will probably never be able to play like any of these guys or any of the guys off Rolling Stone's top 10 I still am influenced by many of them and their work on the guitar has helped make it what it is today. If you would like to share your thoughts on my top 5 feel free to comment as I will always accept feedback and discussion.

Until next time keep on rocking away music lovers,

JAS

Photo courtesy of Flickr, tuppus (tup wanders)