Stevie Ray Vaughan

Latest Updates

Pat Hare performs live in 1980

“He’s real tough, and when he’s liquored up, he can really play!” Pat Hare influenced Stevie Ray Vaughan, beat Cream and Led Zeppelin to the blues-rock punch, and recorded an eerily prescient guitar knockout called I’m Gonna Murder My Baby

By Jackson Maxwell published

A remarkably gifted, but equally volcanic, guitarist who played with Howlin’ Wolf, James Cotton, Muddy Waters, and Bobby Bland, Hare made a seismic (and largely forgotten) impact on the development of blues-rock, before receiving a life sentence in prison

Pedal Pawn BluesPrint

“The ultimate feat”: Pedal Pawn has reverse engineered one of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Tube Screamer pedals to produce the “juiciest mid-hump overdrive tone ever”

By Matt Owen published

The dual-channel overdrive features a faithful recreation of what is believed to be the Screamer SRV used for his legendary El Mocambo performance

Stevie Ray Vaughan and bassist Tommy Shannon perform at the Greek Theater in Berkeley on October 11, 1985.

“That final show was one of our best gigs. I can still hear that first note Stevie played… that one note will remain with me forever”: Tommy Shannon on his wild ride with Stevie Ray Vaughan – and the “total chaos” that followed his tragic death

By Andrew Daly published

He played with Johnny Winter, battled addiction, then joined a band with his childhood friend, Stevie Ray Vaughan. In this candid interview, the Double Trouble bassist recalls the highs and lows of life with one of the all-time guitar greats, playing Woodstock on acid, and why he still thinks he'd be the best bass player for the Rolling Stones

American musician Stevie Ray Vaughan plays guitar as he performs onstage at the Fireside Bowl, Chicago, Illinois, February 17, 1984.

“He completely floored me. I hadn’t been so gung-ho about a guitar player since Jeff Beck”: How David Bowie helped launch Stevie Ray Vaughan’s career – and why their joint tour was canceled at the last minute

By Damian Fanelli published

Bowie’s Let’s Dance album introduced the future blues icon to the world. The pair were slated to perform together in support of the record, but SRV never got on the tour bus…

Stevie Ray Vaughan's 1980s Ibanez Tube Screamer with a letter from the previous owner

An iconic pairing: Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Tube Screamer resurfaces for sale – and sells immediately

By Matt Parker published

The heavily worn overdrive pedal has changed hands once more after coming up for sale via Chicago Music Exchange

Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Stevie Ray Vaughan defined the sound of contemporary blues guitar – here are 20 techniques you can learn from the Stratocaster master

By Jon Bishop published

Get inside the Texas blues icon’s style with this in-depth lesson on his incendiary playing

Stevie Ray Vaughan

“Without tone, there really isn’t anything”: How to nail Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar sound on a budget

By Total Guitar editors published

Short of cash but seeking Texas-sized blues tone? These affordable guitar rigs will get you started

Stevie Ray Vaughan

“I’ve put my life back together, but it’s all a growing process. If you stop growing, what good is it musically?” Stevie Ray Vaughan's In Step, and the new beginning that should have been

By Tom Nolan published

In this 1988 conversation, SRV discusses his affinity for the Fender Strat, how he approached learning Clapton and Hendrix, and the healing powers of the guitar

Stevie Ray Vaughan (left) and Jeff Beck perform live onstage in 1989

Jeff Beck said Stevie Ray Vaughan “was the closest thing to Hendrix when it came to playing the blues”: watch the two guitar heroes duke it out on Goin' Down

By Jackson Maxwell published

Filmed for MTV, this electrifying 1989 performance showcases the Strat titans' uniquely forceful playing

Stevie Ray Vaughan

“There were just ideas pouring out of him… then he got on that helicopter and took off”: The legacy of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and what could have been

By Amit Sharma published

How SRV followed Texas Flood, wrestled blues guitar from the club to MTV and became the guitar hero everyone wanted to copy – all before passing too soon

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

“With those thicker strings he used, it was like he was in a battle, fighting them with his fingers”: How Stevie Ray Vaughan made Texas Flood

By Amit Sharma published

Texas Flood is a touchstone of blues guitar and Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton witnessed the magic first hand. He looks back on how SRV's Popeye strength and god-like tone made for a classic

Stevie Ray (left) and Jimmie Vaughan pose backstage at the Royal Oak Music Theater in Royal Oak, Michigan on February 14, 1986

New documentary on Jimmie & Stevie Ray Vaughan now available on streaming

By Jackson Maxwell published

Brothers In Blues includes interviews with Eric Clapton, Jackson Browne, Billy Gibbons and Nile Rodgers

Stevie Ray Vaughan

His playing took Eric Clapton’s breath away and David Bowie called him the most exciting guitarist since Jeff Beck: how Stevie Ray Vaughan became a blues guitar hero

By Amit Sharma published

Inside the rise of the Jimi Hendrix-worshipping Stratocaster master, who delivered some of the greatest solos and tones in guitar history

Eric Gales and Stevie Ray Vaughan

Eric Gales on his jam with Stevie Ray Vaughan: “Right at the end I asked him to sign an autograph for me – and he said, ‘Only if you sign one for me first!’”

By Amit Sharma published

Eric Gales looks back on the time when he was just 15 years old, a young blues-rocker with talent to burn, and had the chance to jam with his hero

Stevie Ray Vaughan MTV Unplugged Guild 12-string auction

Stevie Ray Vaughan swapped his Strat for this Guild 12-string acoustic in his virtuosic MTV Unplugged performance – now it’s up for auction

By Matt Parker published

The Texan blues dynamo used the model to perform the likes of Rude Mood and Pride and Joy in the 1990 performance

Chris Hayes

Huey Lewis and the News’ Chris Hayes: “Am I an unappreciated guitar hero? Probably. But that’s OK”

By Joe Bosso published

The guitarist whose stellar solos and riffs graced Huey Lewis and the News’ era-defining songs – including I Want a New Drug and The Power of Love – reflects on his storied career and drinking sessions with Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan (left) and Albert King perform on television in 1983

Watch Albert King reunite, jam with Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1983: “There's a lot of guitar players that just play fast, they don't concentrate on soul – but you got ’em both”

By Damian Fanelli published

See King wrap his head around the (then up-and-coming) talent of SRV – a player he first knew as ‘Little Stevie’ – in a blues jam for the ages

The 100 greatest guitarists of all time

The 100 greatest guitarists of all time

By Jonathan Horsley last updated

A comprehensive rundown of the best guitarists of all time, featuring the trailblazers, the early innovators, the best jazz, rock, indie, blues, metal and acoustic players – and the top guitarists around today...

B.B. King

Learn the vibrato styles of 5 giants of the blues

By Richard Barrett published

Welcome to vibrato bootcamp, where we'll be looking at how B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Moore, Peter Green and Paul Kossoff shook those strings

Dimebag, SRV and St. Vincent

The 32 greatest Texas guitarists of all time

By Joe Bosso last updated

Featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan, Dimebag Darrell, St. Vincent and 29 more Lone Star superstars