Roadhouse Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Texas R&B - Softcover

Texans have always considered themselves apart from the rest of the United States, and Texan musicians have felt this more than most. The music of Texas is different. The location is certainly a factor, making it easy for musicians to absorb the influences of Mexico to the south, New Mexico and Southern California to the west, Oklahoma to the north, and Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. The music of Texas - blues, country or jazz - has a strutting machismo, and it's all unified and informed by that distinctive characteristic. Roadhouse Blues profiles the context and traditions of Texas R&B that made Stevie Ray Vaughan one of the best guitarists of the rock era and his brother Jimmie Vaughan's Fabulous Thunderbirds a definitive R&B band of the time. It examines the roots that the Vaughan brothers drew upon, illuminates the key events from their musical careers, and concludes by evaluating the legacy of Stevie Ray Vaughan following his tragic early death in 1990. Along the way hybrids such as Tex-Mex and western swing have evolved. But in Texas it's the individual who shines out. Labelling music is for others. This explains why some of the most influential and individual performers have come from Texas: bluesmen Lightnin' Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb; guitarists T-Bone Walker and Johnny Guitar Watson; western swing exponent Bob Wills; rock'n'rollers Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper; country singers Willie Nelson, George Jones, and Waylon Jennings; accordionist Flaco Jimenez; songwriters Lyle Lovett, Guy Clark, and Townes van Zandt; and vocalist Janis Joplin.

Hugh Gregory is a music writer, journalist and critic. He is the author of The Real Rhythm And Blues, 1000 Great Guitarists, Soul Music A-Z, and Who's Who In Country Music. He is a regular contributor to music magazines such as Country Music International and Folk Roots, and has worked as contributing editor to important reference titles such as Brewer's Dictionary of 20th Century Music. Gregory lives in Italy.