Family Style

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Here's just one reason why I like his music.


I'd heard his music, and I liked it, but I didn't really know much about him. CoolGuy liked the blues and played them a lot in the rotation at the house. Vaughan was one of those Texas guys. We'd been to see another Texas guy in concert that I'd vaguely heard of: Doug Sahm of the Sir Douglas Quintet (a relic from junior high top forty). He was now in a group called The Texas Tornados that we listened to one night at one of the most awesome concerts I'd ever been to.

So Vaughan, being another of those Texas guys, was someone I took to right away because he had the great sound. He could do things to a Fender Stratocaster that was really attention getting. One reason he was such a big deal to me is the inspiration he had on Number One Son. Son likes to play blues guitar too, and he listened to a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughan. NOS does a pretty good job with Vaughan songs, too.

Vaughan had a rough and tumble life, and ended up in rehab (which is better than the morgue with so many of his fellow musicians.) He'd gotten his life and career back and he and older brother Jimmie finally made an album together. Jimmie's guys, The Fabulous Thunderbirds are completely outrageous too. I don't know what Mother and Father Vaughan fed the boys, but it worked!

Anyway, the album "Family Style" was released under the name of the The Vaughan Brothers in September 1990. It was right after Stevie Ray was killed in helicopter wreck. He was leaving a summer concert. It was a huge loss for music because he really was just fantastic at his craft.

CoolGuy was in Saudi Arabia working with the Marines at that point. I bought the album and sent him a copy. It remains one of my favorites today because of one silly song: The Telephone Song. This trip to the Big Sandbox came up suddenly and CoolGuy was gone with only a few days notice. It was disorienting and lonely for me, and although he was very busy, he did find time to miss me, too. So, when I first heard this song, I wrote the words out for him and mailed him the tape. It was "our song" for the duration:

Woke up this morning, I was all alone,
Saw your picture by the telephone.
I was missing you, oh, so bad.
Wish I had you here to hold,
all I've got is this touch-tone phone.
So I guess I'll give you a call,
Operator help me please
get thru to my baby way overseas.
Time's a wastin' oh so fast
Hello, baby tell me is that you?
I don't know what we're gonna do,
But for now I'm glad I got you on the line.
Well, it feels so fine knowing you're all right
But you're miles away, lord it's not the same.
Well, I woke up this morning
I was all alone, saw your picture by the telephone
I've been missing you baby, oh, so bad.
I love you baby with all my might.
Come on home and squeeze me tight.
Long distance lovin's gonna drive me out of my mind.

It's not great art, but it hit the spot, and was amazingly dead-on for our particular circumstances right then. So, whenever I hear Stevie Ray Vaughan playing, I'm transported back in time and feel again the pangs of loneliness and appreciate him all over again for putting my angst to music. It's too bad he left the earth so abruptly with the world hungry for more. We all miss him.