PERFORMING ARTS

Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan

St. Martin’s. Aug. 2019. 368p. photos. index. ISBN 9781250142832. $29.99; ebk. ISBN 9781250142849. MUSIC
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An incendiary performance, a late-night air crash, an artist silenced, and an enduring legacy. The stuff of rock star myth and legend, but then Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954–90) was a legendary guitarist, writer, and performer, and as Paul (One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band) and journalist and performer Aledort ably describe, many so-called rock star myths were the stuff of everyday life to Vaughan. This riveting biography draws on firsthand accounts from Vaughan’s band Double Trouble, knowledgeable insiders, and close friends and family. The anecdotes are nonstop, and the conversational narrative has the feel of one long Vaughan solo. Dig out those recordings. You’ll want to hear them all again as you read the stories behind the songs and performances. The epilog was written by Vaughan’s older brother Jimmie (an incredible guitarist himself), and the appendix details the gear Vaughan used. Vaughan deserved this book, and, as it should, the content will stay with readers long after the last note has sounded.
VERDICT It’s been 29 years since Vaughan’s passing; this is the book fans have been waiting for.
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