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The late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his band Double Trouble.
SRV suffered for many years with drug and alcohol dependency, and like most creatives, was deeply concerned that letting go of his addiction would result in the loss of his creative muse. After getting clean and sober, he proved that concern to be completely unfounded when he released his final album "In Step".
The cut "Wall of Denial" pays homage to his discovery of self and the blistering solos are a testament to the power of freedom from the chains of this dreadful disease. SRV died in a helicopter accident on August 27, 1990 but only after leaving me with a testimony that I never forget.
The song "Wall of Denial", along with another on the album, "Tightrope", that deals with the same subject matter, are two of my "Go-To's" when my spirit needs a lift.
RIP~SRV.
"Wall of Denial" ~ Stevie Ray Vaughan
A wall of denial Is fallin' down Wo it's fallin' so hard Down to the ground Never knew something so strong Could be washed away by tears But this wall of denial Was just built on fear
We've all had our demons From the garden of white lies Dressed them amused them Pullin' wool over our eyes Go so far as to love them To keep from letting them go All the while they we're killin' us But we couldn't let it show
No matter what the trouble We carry round inside We're never safe from the truth But in the truth we can survive When this wall of denial Comes tumblin' down Down to the ground
Simple things in life Bring the greatest pleasure A smile, a kiss A little baby's laughter It makes no difference If we run away in fear The little things in life hold us so near
No matter what the trouble We carry round inside Never safe from the truth But in the truth we can survive When this wall of denial Comes tumblin' down Yeah this wall of denial Must tumble down Down to the ground
-- Edited by almostThere on Monday 8th of June 2015 12:45:07 PM
-- Edited by almostThere on Monday 8th of June 2015 02:58:57 PM
Awesome post ... One of my very all time favorite artists! His song 'Life by the Drop' really hits me too. I don't recall if he wrote it himself, or if it was written for (About) SRV by a close friend who watched his disease progress, and then find recovery ... but either way, it's a moving song, ultimately about recovery.
He died just miles from where I live today, on my 22nd birthday. I had tickets to that show and chose not to go because I had to work early the next morning. Fortunately, I had seen him twice before that night.
As I drove to work that morning, the news focused just on the fact that there was a helicopter crash outside the venue he played that night 'Alpine Valley' ... all anyone was speculating about in the early morning hours was weather Eric Clapton was aboard or not. It was as if Eric Clapton was the only musician that was there that night that mattered (SRV, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy were among the artists playing that night ... I think there were others).
I worked painting an office all day and when I started driving home they were playing a SRV song on the radio station I was listening to ... a small classic Rock Station from Eau Claire, WI, which never played SRV as a part of its regular format. I had forgotten by this time that there had even been a helicopter crash, and was instead marveling at the fact that they were playing his music at all. When the song ended, the DJ absolutely ripped my heart open by announcing 'Remember the Great Stevie Ray Vaughn who died early this morning in a Helicopter Crash at Alpine Valley'.
Yeah, I was in college. Full party mode days. It was heart wrenching.
I only saw him twice and both times were before he "made it". It was summer of '84 or '85 I think and he was actually the opening act for Huey Lewis and the News! I saw him at Irvine in CA, then later that summer I was on East coast and I saw the same show in VA. Didn't stick around for Huey Lewis. Not my thing.
First time I saw him was before anyone knew of him either ... probably in that same 84 time frame you did. He was a playing on the Rock Stage at a big music Festival in Milwaukee Summerfest. He came out in a One piece purple jump suit, with one of his classic wide brims and opened with 'VooDoo Child' For about 30 seconds I was thinking ... ugh, another Jimmy Hendrix knock off ... and then ... WHOA! It was obvious about 30 seconds after that I was watching a virtuoso. And his vocals were so distinctive and powerful ... IMO one of the most underrated of his many talents.
Next time I saw him, also at Summerfest, was around 88 or so ... by now he had built enough of a following to headline the main stage. The Fabulous Thunderbirds, for whom SRV's brother Jimmie was a guitarist, opened for them. The encore was pretty much just him and Jimmy jamming for about a half hour. Amazing stuff.
So grateful for all the great music he gave us in such a short time ... but can't help but feel as though we were robbed of so much more by his early tragic death!
