AUGUST 27 this year marks three decades since the world lost blues-rock legend Stevie Ray Vaughan in the prime of his career.
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The 35-year-old had just finished a gig in Wisconsin when his helicopter crashed, killing Vaughan and four others. While it was a tragic loss for music fans - as Vaughan had reinvigorated the blues with fresh verve in the '80s - it left an immeasurable void in his older brother and fellow bluesman Jimmie Vaughan.
At the time the two brothers from Dallas, Texas had just completed their first album as a duo. Their record Family Style would be released a month later.
Since his brother's passing, Jimmie's solo career has flourished and he's also carried the responsibility of keeping Stevie Ray's legacy alive. In March the city of Dallas will unveil a monument honouring their contribution to music.
"I just try to keep his records current and available," Jimmie said. "The important thing for me is to be myself. There's nothing I can do about Stevie, he's gone.
"I have to live my life and keep playing right."
Stevie Ray often attributed his own success to Jimmie, 68, who first emerged in the '70s as a lead guitarist with the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Long before Stevie Ray became Rolling Stone's 12th greatest guitarist of all time, it was Jimmie who inspired him.
"It was just big brother and little brother," Jimmie said. "You do one thing and you get something going and then you say to your brother, 'Don't fool with my stuff here or I'll have to take care of ya'.
"But you know he's watching you. We had the same room and we only had one guitar at first, so I'd put it down and he'd pick it up."
Life for the Vaughan brothers could have been remarkably different had Jimmie been good at gridiron.
"They had football try outs at school and my friend said, 'If you want to get a girlfriend you're gonna have to play football'," he said.
"When went up there to the football try outs and I caught this pass and all the guys piled on top of me and I broke my collar bone. It was the first day of practice, so that ended my football career very quickly.
"I was at home for three months recuperating and my dad gave me a guitar that was a friend of his and I started playing that and I've been playing ever since."
Last year Vaughan released the album Baby, Please Come Home, a collection of blues and rockabilly covers. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album and saw Vaughan share the stage with old friend Eric Clapton and Gary Clark Jr.
"I didn't have a big reason other than that's what I like and I think if you really do what you like it comes through that other people like it too," he said.
Jimmie Vaughan returns to Byron Bay's Bluesfest from April 9 to 13.
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
