Book Review: The Fabulous Vaughan Brothers — Jimmie & Stevie Ray

6StringMercenary
Aug 25, 2017 · 4 min read

Review 1 — August 25, 2017

“The Fabulous Vaughan Brothers — Jimmie & Stevie Ray”
by James L. Dickerson

Summary of the Subject/Material

This book tracks the personal lives of Jimmie Vaughan and his younger brother, Stevie Ray Vaughan, through their professional careers as Musicians. A very American story and history in how songs that inspired Jimmie and Stevie Ray often came from Black Music. In service to this important aspect, a healthy portion of the book chronicles the ups-and-downs of the Memphis, Tennessee music recording studios in shaping a style or tone. For fans of “Behind the Music” type material, this book will satisfy those who already know a lot about Stevie Ray Vaughan, and also craft an appreciation for the grit and dedicated artistry of Jimmie Vaughan over an impressive career.

The Best Part About Reading This Book

I get goosebumps thinking about that one night at the Montreux Jazz Festival, when Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble got booed for blasting Texas blues at an acoustic-minded sit down crowd…

“I don’t think we were that bad…” — SRV

I have a DVD of that performance and they were excellent, and in spite of the Boos, there were some genuine yelps of appreciation. The book does a great job illustrating how one hard-earned night can really make dreams come true. From that epic fail came long-term love from Jackson Browne, David Bowie, and some of the greatest in the scene at the time.

Balancing the Stevie Ray Vaughan success with his thrashing, Grammy-winning blues, the book does a diligent job of chronicling and describing what Jimmie Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbirds were doing throughout the years. While both Jimmie and Stevie Ray were very flawed, alcoholic, and emotionally volatile for much of their lives, they exhibited a passion and commitment that few ever can. It was either music, or nothing, and damn it, they each made it in their own way.

Along that spirit of success is the change in Stevie Ray Vaughan after he sought help to put down the cocaine and whisky diet that burned a hole in his stomach and cost him a lot of relationships. There is a genuine positive tone, one that leads into finding out Jimmie also found some peace by way of confronting how the booze affected his life. Definitely a “second chance” type of theme, and one worth mentioning as well done and worth the time.

The Least Enjoyable Part About Reading This Book

Getting a view inside a person’s life growing up can be enlightening but not comfortable. Rarely is everything in order and cheery like a sitcom; things are complicated. As much as Parents might love their children, how they express it can be in a multitude of ways. Jimmie and Stevie Ray were encouraged in their music habit, until they weren’t. Because it led to a bad lifestyle.

In a lot of ways, their parents were right. Jimmie and Stevie Ray battled alcohol and drug use for most of their lives. Volatile relationships with loved ones and earning reputations for being short tempered are not fun characteristics to have in idols. The book mentions how cranky Albert King tended to be in publicity roles — yet got along great with Stevie Ray — and then later goes on to admit that even Stevie Ray had been labelled a problem due to throwing rage fits or other cocaine fueled drama.

It’s this element that gives the “second chance” recovery section a lot of weight though. Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan carried around many complicated emotions about Music, each other, and everything in between. Seeing that much burden is tough to work through, but the book presents it well and effectively.

Level of Difficulty

This is a middle-level effort to read — the Music Success and Memphis sections go by quickly, but the emotional sections take some thinking. Throughout the book, there are notes regarding tracks by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, which align with the chronology of the book. Being unfamiliar with their music beyond “Tuff Enuff” being in a Chevrolet Trucks commercial or something years ago, it can take effort to stay interested.

Who is the Ideal Audience?

Parents of Musicians, Musicians, and those interested in Substance Abuse and Recovery will get the most out of this book. The Texas History elements are good, but the Memphis Recording Industry exploration is one of the unexpected highlights. There is a certain vibe like “The Wrecking Crew” when learning about the volume and variety of artists who came through during some of the peak business.

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