The four guitarists Stevie Ray Vaughan called “the pioneers”
It’s impossible to understand the impact of blues music. Without the genre, there would be no rock and roll. The craft of playing the guitar would be nowhere near as vast and exciting as it is today if it wasn’t for the blues pioneers who pushed the boundaries of what six strings could do. Stevie Ray Vaughan knows that well. While being considered one of the most influential players of all time, he still always considered himself a student of the legends.
It’s one of the true tragedies of music, just how early Stevie Ray Vaughan was taken from the world. At only age 35, Vaughan died in a helicopter crash after performing in Wisconsin as the opening act for Eric Clapton’s tour. Already, he’d established himself as a legend, being dubbed “the second coming of the blues” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But as he died so young, the world will forever be left wondering what else he might have done and achieved and where his playing might have gone as his talent only got tighter and tighter.
It’s easy to predict that Vaughan would have only improved. Not only is that heard across the recordings he did leave behind, but it’s shown in his attitude, as all the greatest artists know that in order to be the best, you have to never stop learning from the best. It’s important that no matter how dizzying the heights of your success reach, you never stop practising, seeking out new challenges and taking note of those that came before you to continuously better your skills.
For Vaughan, there was a clear cast of players that should always be looked towards for instruction and education. As so many other blues and rock and roll players do, he honours the icons of blues music and the pioneers who helped shape the sound he was in love with.
“They’re the pioneers and the innovators, and they deserve respect for that,” he said, bowing to the legends that he saw as sitting in a league of their own. The ranks were made up of four key players, as he discussed the importance of “listening to all the great records by Albert King and Albert Collins, Otis Rush, B.B. King.”
For some of these names, Vaughan had the honour of meeting and playing alongside them. King once invited Vaughan along for a jam session, passing down key lessons to the younger player, such as the need to focus on the soul of the performance over the speed or technicality. No doubt that day will have gone down as one of the peak moments of Vaughan’s life as a longtime fan of the musician.
But mostly, Vaughan took from his superiors the need to keep listening and learning. “There’s millions of records we could talk about, and each one of them is unbelievable in its own right,” he said of his favourite releases and the importance of listening to music in order to make it, imploring new players to pay attention to the people that came before them.
The pioneers of blues music, according to Stevie Ray Vaughan:
- Albert King
- Albert Collins
- Otis Rush
- B.B. King
