A legend never dies

At the Real. Texas. Festival., we pride ourselves in celebrating and featuring Texas music ... all Texas music all of the time.

So, it probably goes without saying that we should honor the life of perhaps the most influential Texas musician of all time -- Stevie Ray Vaughan.

There are five seminal moments in popular music history where artists were taken from us just as they had broken through and had successfully introduced their unique style to the masses, or who were extreme innovators who helped launch a musical genre -- subsequently altering the direction of popular music in their particular eras.

Stevie Ray will be commemorated on Thursday (Aug. 27) -- the 19th anniversary of the helicopter crash that killed the Texas music legend.

I, like many other Dallas area guitar players and musicians, will more than likely make the trek to Laureland Cemetery in South Dallas to visit the grave site of SRV. We'll go to remember his greatness and how he was poised to perhaps be one of the most influential musicians of any genre.

He had made that cross-over ... getting exposure from mainstream, album-oriented radio stations of the day, as well as from the recording industry itself.

One can only imagine what Stevie's legacy would be today. By my count, Stevie would have been 55 years old this Oct. Considering that many artists are just getting started in their 50s, Stevie would have been right there amongst the current day greats.

We have tremendous expectations for the Real. Texas. Festival. We believe it will be the premier Texas music event in the state, if not the nation. However, it is sad that the festival will never host what might be the most influential Texas musician ever. We will, perhaps, be able to welcome the Arc Angels to the Real. Texas. Music. Stage. We hope that can happen.

The Arc Angels feature two players, originally featuring three players, who were very close to Stevie Ray. Arc Angles are comprised of Chris "Whipper" Layton on drums, the drummer for Double Trouble; as well as Doyle Bramhall II, the son of Doyle Bramhall Sr., who one of Stevie Ray's song-writing collaborators.

The latest version of the Arc Angels doesn't have Tommy Shannon, Double Trouble's bass player, in the line up. Oh yeah, the final member of Arc Angels is Texas guitarslinger Charlie Sexton.

It goes without saying SRV was great. Much will be written and said over the next few days concerning that. Personally, the death of SRV was one of those moments in time where I will always remember exactly where I was and exactly what I was doing.

I was working a newspaper gig in Sterling, Kan., and had just returned from a school board meeting. I was working on writing up the story for that week's paper when I tuned in to my favorite radio station -- T-95 in Wichita, Kan. Jeff Shaw was on the air playing nothing but SRV tunes in tribute. Until that time, I had gone on about my business ... gathering the news and so forth for the paper.

I wondered why SRV song after SRV song was being played then it occurred to me -- the last time I'd heard something like that on radio was when John Lennon had been shot and killed outside his New York City apartment. I put two and two together and after a while, Shaw confirmed it for me and read the news story.

I, like many other musicians and music lovers, immediately felt a sense of loss.

The good news is the musical legacy of SRV will never die ... and in fact continues to grow through the local SRV benefit concert that occurs in October, as well as through the many tribute bands continuing to celebrate the life and music of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.

I must say; however, I must agree with Robert Cray when it comes to covering Stevie's music. Robert Cray said, "There are going to be a lot of frustrated guitar players out there trying to do Stevie's stuff."

R.I.P. SRV.

By the way, I mentioned the five tragic moments in the popular music history where trendsetting artists were taken away from us too soon. I place Stevie Ray's untimely death at the top of the list. Here are the other four as far as I'm concerned.

1. Dec. 8, 1980 -- The aforementioned death of John Lennon as he was shot and killed in New York by Mark David Chapman. Not a situation where he was taken too soon, but certainly Lennon was one of the most influential and most prolific songwriters of all time.

2. April 8, 1994 -- The suicide of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain -- credited with almost single-handedly introducing grunge to the world.

3. Aug. 16, 1977 -- Elvis Presley ... dead at age 42. Certainly not taken too soon ... although 42 is too young to die ... his death still impacts millions.

4. Feb. 3, 1959 -- The plane crash that claimed the lives of JP "Big Bopper" Richardson, Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. All three artists were innovators and altered the sound of popular music.

And, as an honorable mention, I throw in Sept. 20, 1973 -- the day folk rock singer Jim Croce died in a plane crash. Another innovator who propelled the careers of contemporaries such as Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne.