What's Spinning: Season 2, Vol. 12

Best guitarist ever?

This may or may not be an unpopular opinion but in my mind Stevie Ray Vaughn is the greatest guitarist in the history of music.

His album, Texas Flood, is nothing short of brilliant. His guitar playing is the stuff of legends. The blues riffs are simply incredible in my mind.

Vaughn and his band Double Trouble got their big chance after Jackson Browne saw them perform at the 1982 Momtreux Jazz festival. After seeing them perform, he offered the band a three day use of his recording studio in Los Angeles. This gave the band enough time to cut a demo tape which was heard by the famous producer, John H. Hammond.

Things happened quickly after that. The band was given $65,000 to remaster their demo tapes. This work was finished in 1983 and this album was the finished product.

The album was a smash hit and the band was nominated for two Grammy awards. It ended up selling over 2 million copies in the US and Canada.

Due to the overwhelming success, the band went on tour in late 1983. They even opened for the Moody Blues at 17 shows. Quite an accomplishment for a band who was a virtual unknown a little less than a year before.

This set the stage for Vaughn and the band to be a household name. It would also cement Vaughn's status as the greatest guitarist in music history.

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Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble - Texas Flood

Epic, 1983

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