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Lost and Found and Lost Again: Stevie Ray Vaughan 1954-1990

Tony Scherman, Musician, November 1990

"STEVIE WAS on it. Playin' great, kickin' butt," says Robert Cray, and when Double Trouble was done, everybody — the Vaughan brothers, Cray, Buddy Guy — came up on the bandstand to watch Eric Clapton. During one of his solos Clapton quoted 'Strangers in the Night' and Cray went over and tapped Jimmie Vaughan on the shoulder and shouted, "You hear that?" "Aw," said Stevie, turning around, "he's been tryin' to do that all night and he finally got it right" and Jimmie and Stevie had a good guffaw over that one — just a coupla Texas boys rankin' out God — and if the multi-guitar superstar jam on 'Sweet Home Chicago' was a rowdy mess it was fun, and when it was over Stevie Ray hugged everybody, said goodbye to Jimmie, hitched a ride on one of the Clapton choppers and died instantly when the helicopter ploughed into a man-made ski slope a half-mile away. It was four years to the day since his father had died.

Total word count of piece: 3768

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