“Muddy Waters told my dad, ‘Jimmie, when I’m gone, teach everybody how to play like that.’ He liked the way he played slide”: He's the son of Jimmie Vaughan and the nephew of SRV, now he’s carrying the weight of his family playing legacy

Tyrone Vaughan was 17 when his uncle, Stevie Ray Vaughan, died in 1990. “Texas shut down for a couple of months, if not a whole year,” he tells Guitar World. “It was just hanging your head, trying to figure out what happened.”

Tyrone’s father, Jimmie Vaughan, even stopped playing guitar for a time. “It took him a year or two to get things together and get back out there – but he did with the Strange Pleasure record.”

That was also when Tyrone got things together, touring with his father in support of the album, picking up blues licks and an itch of his own for six-strings. Now in his early 50s, he has gathered a following of his own. He’s straddled the line between blues and country, but lately he’s leaned hard into straight-up Texas blues.

His upcoming album is what you’d expect from a Vaughan.

“I like a very clean tone,” he says. “I like to hear the hands. My dad told me a long time ago, ‘With a Twin and a Tube Screamer, you can take over the world.”

Carrying Stevie and Jimmie’s legacy isn’t easy, but Tyrone is up for it.

“Right now, it’s just a blues thing for me. I’m building some good stuff and I’ve got some yet to build.”

Tyrone Vaughan - Goin' Home [Official Music Video] - YouTube

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You’re Jimmie’s son and Stevie’s nephew. Can you measure their impact on you early on?

“They had everything to do with it. I was also influenced by Muddy Waters, who, when I was three, gave me a harmonica. My dad was good friends with Muddy; he told my dad, ‘Jimmie, when I’m gone, teach everybody how to play like that.’ He liked the way Jimmie played slide.”

Were you aware that Jimmie and Stevie were doing something special?

“When you look back, you see the significance of that blues movement in Texas. From Dallas to Austin, you can see how it developed – but growing up in it, you didn’t think much of it.

“Stevie would play on a Sunday night with the Cobras [in the mid/late-'70s], and there’d be 10 people in the crowd as he’d be playing blistering blues for two and a half hours straight. Before he was ever playing Albert King-type licks, Stevie was just trying to follow Jimmie.”

Is it true that Stevie bought you your first two guitars?

“He came to my fifth birthday and gave me a pawnshop Harmony guitar. He saved up money for it, and it didn’t have a gig bag; it was like two paper grocery bags on either end, and he was like, ‘Here you go.’ Then he bought me a Fender Musicmaster, which was another pawnshop guitar.

“Stevie came over one night and told my mom, ‘Jimmie’s boy is going to be a player.’ He was excited. The fact that his favorite player – his brother – had a kid who was going to play too, he just thought the world of it. Stevie was a kid at heart. That’s always stuck with me.”

Can you remember his passing?

“Thank goodness he got sober. He was really busy, in a good way. He was pouring his heart and soul into every note, every night. He was going to take a break and come back after that tour, and we were going to hang out and really soak each other up.

“Stevie was my main guy, you know? After he died, my dad really made an effort. He got sober too. He scooped me up and said, ‘Hey, let’s do this,’ and I went on tour with him for the Strange Pleasure album.”

Jimmie and Stevie had just done the Family Style record in 1990.

“It was such an impactful record on everybody. It won a couple of Grammys; it was incredible and it was commercial. It was ahead of its time, and very impactful. After Stevie died, it was devastating – if they’d been able to tour for that record…”

Did touring with your dad in support of Strange Pleasure give you the push you needed?

“It was a sick tour. I was about 19 or 20 when it went down. My dad showed me some Magic Sam licks and leads. We were going through some old cassettes, and he really got me going on the blues. Coming off that tour is when I really started to dig in and play guitar.”

Do you regret not getting the chance to play with Jimmie and Stevie together?

“Yeah – I always think about how that would be. I think if Stevie were alive right now, I’d probably be in his band. I wish I’d gotten to really play with him. He played in front of me a couple of times, but we didn’t trade licks.”

Is carrying the weight and expectations of the Vaughan name difficult?

“I think so. But it’s difficult for any artist to get out there, right? Everybody is trying to fill the hole. Just to be a real artist is tough enough. But with the Vaughan thing, man, I think I’ve gotten enough nods from enough people.

“I could have bowed out a long time ago, but I’m such a fan of music that I got addicted to playing guitar a long time ago. I love the electricity of the electric guitar. And I love to play Strats. I love that tone thing, you know?

“I’m representing Texas with my tone and how I’m playing out there. But the pressure… I don’t think you can think about it too much. It’s like Stevie – he just put his head down, and one day he woke up on top of the mountain.”

What’s your biggest takeaway from Stevie and Jimmie?

“My dad and Stevie were the best builders in the world. Stevie built the Taj Mahal and Jimmie built the Empire State Building. But I’m a builder, too. I’ve got a knack for it.”

What are you building next?

“I’ve got a new blues record – it’s like the Vaughan brothers’ next record. My friend Doyle Bramhall Jr. was like, ‘Man, it’s hard to write a good blues song; it’s all been done,’ but I think there’s more out there.

“I’ve stumbled on some really good songs lately. I’m getting to the point of finishing up my demo, and I’m going to be shopping it. Hopefully, it’ll put me on the map as a really good blues player.”

• Keep up with Tyrone Vaughan on Instagram.