Star
David Bowie w; Stevie Ray Vaughan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tony went to fight in Belfast
Rudi stayed at home to starve
I could make it all worthwhile
As a rock & roll star
Bevan tried to change the nation
Sonny wants to turn the world, well he can tell you that
He tried
I could make a transformation as a rock & roll star

[CHORUS (x2)]
So inviting - so enticing to play the part
I could play the wild mutation
As a rock & roll star
I could do with the money
I'm so wiped out with things as they are
I'd send my photograph to my honey - and I'd c'mon like
A regular superstar

I could fall asleep at night
As a rock & roll star

I could fall in love all right
As a rock & roll star

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song Star by David Bowie and Stevie Ray Vaughan talk about the desire of young people to escape their mundane lives and become famous rock and roll stars. The song introduces several characters, Tony, Rudi, Bevan, and Sonny, all with different goals and aspirations, but all dreaming of a life in the limelight. The lyrics suggest that being a rock and roll star is an escape from the hardships of life, a path to excitement, fame, and fortune.

The chorus of the song is particularly catchy, with its repetition of the refrain "I could make it all worthwhile, as a rock and roll star." This line encapsulates the dreams and aspirations of the characters in the song, and also the fantasy of many young people who dream of becoming famous musicians. The lyrics suggest that being a rock and roll star is a way to make a real impact, to change the world or at least to create a wild and exciting life.

Overall, the song Star is a reflection on the allure of fame and its potential to transform lives. It recognizes the difficulties and struggles of everyday life and the desire of young people to break free and become something bigger and more significant. The song's lyrics are delivered with a sense of longing and wistfulness, inviting the listener to imagine the possibilities of life as a rock and roll star.

Line by Line Meaning

Tony went to fight in Belfast
Tony left to participate in the war in Belfast

Rudi stayed at home to starve
Rudi chose to stay home and suffer from hunger

I could make it all worthwhile
I have the potential to make everything worth the effort

As a rock & roll star
If I become a rock & roll star, I can make everything worthwhile

Bevan tried to change the nation
Bevan attempted to make a significant difference in the country

Sonny wants to turn the world, well he can tell you that
Sonny desires to change the entire world, and he will tell you that himself

He tried
He made an effort to change the world

I could make a transformation as a rock & roll star
As a rock & roll star, I can make a positive transformation

So inviting - so enticing to play the part
Playing the part of a rock & roll star is incredibly attractive and compelling

I could play the wild mutation
I am capable of playing an unconventional and unpredictable character

I could do with the money
I would benefit from the money that comes with being a rock & roll star

I'm so wiped out with things as they are
I'm exhausted and dissatisfied with my current situation

I'd send my photograph to my honey - and I'd c'mon like A regular superstar
I would send a picture of myself to my significant other, acting like a typical celebrity

I could fall asleep at night
I would be able to sleep soundly at night as a rock & roll star

As a rock & roll star
Being a rock & roll star would allow me to fall in love with ease

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Written by: DAVID BOWIE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS

No Related Genres

More Genres

No Artists Found

More Artists Load All

No Albums Found

More Albums Load All

No Tracks Found

Genre not found

Artist not found

Album not found

Search results not found

Song not found

Comments from YouTube:

JAH 88

4y↑35

Interesting. Never knew they were connected.

The Guitar Historian

4y↑8

That is why I’m here! Thanks for watching!

George Doolittle

@The Guitar Historian "aping" SRV

Dixie Fallas

1y↑2

I concur! Bowie knew exactly what he was doing all the way through his career!🇬🇧

Jeff Brown-Hill

"Let's Dance" was the first Bowie song I really knew... Because SRV played on it. I had the Live at Montreux DVD which features interviews with the band about how they and Stevie met Bowie at that festival in '82.

cravinbob

1y↑2

You all have stop with the usage of "greatest guitar player". There are different styles that it appears you do not know of. Stevie was a great in blues/rock, Jimi was the greatest in electric guitar rock, not rock and roll which would have been Chuck Berry IMO and my opinion comes from my education. Andres Segovia i saw in 1968 and you all need to watch video of him. I wager none of you could replicate a measure of what he played. Nobody will top Jimi as he not only played it he invented the sound and others can not equal the sound let alone the style and it is all just copying him. I saw Jimi in 1969 and that night Noel quit as I watched. 6 weeks later Jimi had a new band at Woodstock Music and Art Fair. The world met Santana that weekend too. Too bad Carlos has not learned anything new since. Santana has had more members come and go than any band is Carlos' secret! And Peter Green wrote Black Magic Woman. The best band had one song "Voodoo Chile", Jimi, Jack Casady, Steve Winwood and Mitch Mitchell. Recorded at 5 AM, its on Electric Ladyland. Twist one up, light it then turn up the volume on REAL SPEAKERS not earbugs. Enjoy the few minutes of pure talent. They are dying off and nothing new on the horizon...
Life is a tragedy.

7 More Replies...

Fernando Gonzalez

2y↑35

Dude,that was pretty good. I had seen SRV in Austin before he made it big. It is tragic that both didn't get to make peace before they passed. But knowing now that SRV didn't want to leave his backing band (Double Trouble) outta the spotlight in favor of Bowie just speaks volumes of what"Stevie"was really like,a great band mate. And that you just don't find everyday. RIP to both of them. And thanks for your presentation.

Rick in Texas

1y↑25

SRV was a true master of his craft. He left us way too early.

Righty-O

1y↑1

I know many people will disagree with me, but I have no problem saying, confidently, that SRV was the best guitar player to ever live. Yes, better than Hendrix. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Hendrix too, and he is a very close 2nd, but I genuinely think SRV was THE best. 🤘

Biz Bizley

1y↑1

Nice player. Couldn’t write. Therefore sub many great guitarists. Just my opinion.

Monty Ray Za

@Biz Bizley He wrote hit blues records with his songs what are you talking about? They were not more main stream pop songs like what Hendrix wrote or Dylan wrote but they were iconic songs.

stevie Flax

1y↑8

What you've missed was how good Earl Slick covered Stevie's parts as well as the other guitarist that played on Bowie's previous hits, for Bowie's tour. Stevie was right he should have been asked to play his part on the let's dance video, but that is the music business. I saw Stevie a lot live and saw Bowie twice both had great shows. Bowie's Let's Dance Tour was a GREAT Concert, very classy and Earl Slick, was a fantastic guitar player with incredible stage presence. Everything worked out ok on both sides and both men got to do what they were meant to do.

Mark Stevens

2y↑6

I got to see SRV in a small university theatre in the mid-80’s, it was something special, even for someone not typically captivated by the blues. His playing transcended the genre. Saw both Bowie mid-80’s tours. both in 65,000 seat stadiums. Also incredible. For the audiences, it worked out.

Peter Martin

1y↑4

It’s amazing how talented each of these performers were. What I find extremely amusing is that each of them were my favorite artists of all time. It’s hilarious to me, that each of my favorites have a conflict in which they never spoke again lol

klmullins65

1y↑6

The first time I REALLY heard SRV, I was sitting in the backseat of a friend's car, in a "slightly altered state of mind", and "China Girl" came on, and the guitar solo just absolutely blew me away. I could detect some heavy Hendrix influence, though it sounded very little like Jimi... I had already heard "Let's Dance", but took little notice of the solo in it. But the solo in "China Girl" was cosmic and soulful. I finally looked on the back of the album cover at a record store, and saw the name "Stevie Ray Vaughn", and though I'd never heard of him, I was gonna remember that name. A few months later, an ad for a concert appeared in the paper, Stevie was scheduled to play, on my birthday, at the University of Tennessee Alumni Gym, a small, not-too-great-sounding venue on the UT campus....the ad said "a guitarist in the tradition of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton"... I decided that I was definitely going to see him, and talked my best friend into going with me, since he had a car and I didnt. Well, the day of the concert, my 19 birthday, it suddenly started snowing heavily...my friend drove an old mid-70s Buick that was "big as a whale", but wouldnt "set sail" worth a crap in the snow, being rear wheel drive! We were thinking about walking to campus, a pretty good ways away, when my big brother offered to pay for a taxi cab for us. Well, we called a cab, and waited...and waited....it never arrived!! So we missed SRV in the small, intimate gig before he hit the big time. I did get to see him a few years later, just before he got sober, but after the first song, I suddenly became ill and spent most of the show passed out, then puking my guts out in the hallway! I can remember laying on the concrete floor, feeling like I was relaxing on a feather bed, as I came too, hearing Reese Wynans solo to "Texas Flood" using a windstorm effect on his keyboards...that's one of the few things I can remember! I hoped I'd get another chance to see Stevie, but it wasn't meant to be....

Herbert DuBois

44w

That "let's dance " solo from SRV brought David bowe's career back to life. FAX!

skydo frog

1y↑7

This is the track that introduced Eric Clapton to Stevie. He was driving and pulled over. He said he had to find out who was playing guitar today, not tomorrow. He said that has only happened a few times to him, where he had to find out who was playing immediately.

SHADOWBEAR82763

1y↑9

I was fortunate enough to meet Stevie in late '82 in Dallas. When "Let's Dance" came out, I had heard that Stevie did the solo, so I checked it out. To see Bowie on MTV miming the solo... wearing f**king gloves...man, that was a slap in the face.

Mark Solomon

1y↑10

Two giants I give them both respect. SRV was great to see as a teen in NZ 1984 & I had the honor to meet Bowie in 1983 at our tribal Marae with a Maori welcome haka & feast & songs.
Who Jah Bless let no man curse.

Mars Halek

1y↑2

I do remember seeing the video again after learning that Stevie had played the solo. Bowie's miming of it struck me as a questionable move at that point. And maybe if they'd made up, history would have been changed enough that Stevie wouldn't have gotten on that helicopter and he'd still be with us.

resdog851

1y↑4

I remember an article where Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready talked about his guitar influences. He was from Seattle, so he obviously was influenced by Jimi Hendrix. He mentioned how it was SRV who made him start playing again. He had seen him a couple different times at The Gorge and realized he wanted to get back to playing guitar, which he had fallen out of love with at the time. Turns out he was pretty good.

LGX 007

1y↑13

Stars have egos...but Super Stars have massive egos! Yes, a tour with SRV opening would have been epic, and there was no way Double Trouble could have upstaged Bowie, who was already a legend in his own right. Besides Bowie would have received all the credit for discovering SRV and introducing him to a new audience. I saw SRV in Minneapolis the week before he died he was amazing! Nonetheless Let's Dance was an alchemy of rock blues pop that hasn't been attempted since. Let's Dance a pop/rock classic for the ages.

klmullins65

It reminds me of Duane Allman having to choose between touring with Clapton in Derek and the Dominos, or sticking with the Allman Brothers Band. According to Galadriel Allman's book, he nearly left the ABB for the Dominos, but decided that he'd never find another band like his...and besides...as he told one of his roadies, "Eric's got nothing on Dickey Betts"!

711honved

1y↑2

Bowie was reluctant to give credits, he was the star! Mick Ronson received little or no credit for the huge volume of work done for Bowie. Alomar had his own beefs with Bowie too!

greg scavuzzo

2y↑40

Bowie had Stevie do guitar work on Let's Dance, he promised Stevie that Double Trouble could open the shows, Stevie was just starting to get some national coverage, as the tour got ready to start Bowie changed his mind and Stevie decided to keep the band together, and left the tour before it started, he then went on to record his first record and the rest is history

Gustavo Al

1y↑1

Thanks for the summary.

1 More Replies...

Amy Hayutin

1y↑8

Wow, what a great piece of trivia! I had no idea! I saw SRV open for GEORGE Thorogood in the mid 80’s, maybe 83 or 84? He definitely upstaged George. We were in high school, front row of the Ritz balcony in Corpus Christi, blew our minds!

Planet Waft

Great stuff I didn't know any of this despite being a big fan of both musicians.
I can well believe that Bowie was slightly envious of Stevie's talent and perhaps a little scared of the competition.
Also it rings true that Bowie wanted to keep Stevie in his own band, and fu*k Double Trouble.

Chester Wilberforce

1y↑14

A musician friend of mine grew up with the Vaughans in Oak Cliff. He said Jimmy was the big deal and that Stevie was the little tag along. Man how things changed.

C.L. Freeman

1y↑4

Stevie always said the same thing

derek walker

1y↑1

Jimmie even changed up his style to separate himself from Stevie when Stevie took off leaving many to think Jimmie was a lesser than player, but he was the real beast that inspired Stevie

Ickys Trash Can .... anothers mans treasure

1y↑1

SRV changed his band and sound from a larger group on the mid 70s as well
.perhaps to steer away from Thunderbirds comparisons...
( not sure w-at year be honest mid to late 70s???) to the more typical Poser Trio we all associate with SRVgoing from a female vocal led Triple Threat ,( with horns ksys and multiple inst. to the stripped down Hendrix three piece of Double Trouble there's a great youtube of great Texas rockabilly /psychobilly guitarist Reverend Horton Heat (Jim Heath) discussing his early days playong inbthe same Austin scene as SRV and his more established and accepted older brother Jimmie and his band the Thunderbirds not to mention Eric Johnson and others including psychedlic punk rockers like Butthole Surfers and punk rockers the Big Boys.
Texas /Austin certainly is one of the premier AMERICAN music cities ...lots of great music made there...to this day

3 More Replies...

Mike Rain

2y↑13

When I went to the Let’s Dance concert tour at the Tacoma Dome I already knew about Stevie Ray Vaughan‘s work with David Bowie. The rumors were circulating then but it is too bad he didn’t feel it right to play with David although it would’ve been fantastic! Stevie had a drug problem back then that he eventually overcame. When he died he had two years clean and sober!
Long live their music… both of them!

Eve's perspective

2y↑2

I just discovered SRV yesterday and want to thank you for sharing this information with the world. I didn't realize how much Clapton envied his talent also. WOW! Sad his life was cut short oddly with Clapton's crew in the crash.

Xealzy

1y↑4

Listen to life without you live at Capitol Theatre 1985. It’s in my opinion his greatest solo

Eve's perspective

1y↑2

@Xealzy Thank you for message. Yes! I found it months ago and it amazed me how he switched guitars in the middle of his performance without missing a beat. Also read the comments of how many people play that song at the funerals of loved ones. Wishing you the very best.

flamencoprof

3y↑4

IIRC, it was Carlos Alomar who impressed me in 1978 with his playing at a show in Auckland's Western Springs Stadium on the NZ leg of Bowie's tour that year.
I had no idea that SRV, also starting that year, would go on to be involved with Bowie.
Thanks for an informative and interesting item.

Frank D.

He has at least one solo record I know because I have it and it was pretty good though I haven't taken it off the shelf in a while, that may change this weekend.

(((Only_ZuuL)))

1y↑1

carlos doesn't get enough mention..

Scott Mactavish

1y↑3

Two completely different genres, two absolute legends, one wierd tale! I knew Niles Rodgers was the funk behind "Let's Dance", but I didn't know SRV providede the nasty guitar work.

andybaldman

1y↑1

What rock have you been living under

Fakename70

1y↑1

Depends what you mean by “nasty guitar work”. I think a lot of people assume the tasty rhythms are Vaughn, when, it’s likely Rodgers, in place of Alomar. Vaughn, in place of, say, Earl Slick, provided the memorable solos.

Paul

The alternate version of Cat People on Let's Dance is the song where SRV really stands out.

everosfp

3y↑311

With all respect David Bowie was never a "fading glam rock artist'. Low and Heroes are masterpieces... He simply always evolving.

The Guitar Historian

3y↑20

At the time he was. The Berlin era was not well received by the record buying public. Plus he was fighting with his record company, and when he went in work on Let’s Dance, it was partially to stick it to them. That’s why he hired Nile Rodgers. He wanted a hit record.

Ryan Maxwelll

3y↑98

@The Guitar Historian
No. He wasn't. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), which came after Lodger, was, at the time, a very successful album in the UK, France and elsewhere. Granted, it didn't fare as well in the US, but the album went platinum in the UK and Canada, and gold in France. Ashes to Ashes went to no 1 in Australia, New Zealand, France and the UK, and even no 12 in the US, a commercial success by any standard.
He hired Nile Rogers because he wanted a hit record, especially in the USA, but the record that preceded Let's Dance was a hit record. It's just that by comparison it's nowhere near as successful as Let's Dance, which is his most successful record by far.
To call him a "fading glam rock artist" just has no real basis in fact.

Frank D.

3y↑7

I see Let's Dance as just another change from the Chameleon ,he was always changing his persona trying to stay fresh and relevant, I'm a fan of both so I don't have a horse in the race but I also heard Bowie was a little tight with the purse strings and was paying SRV only 6 bills a night, not sure if that's true but if so that's not much for someone of that caliber, side note Clapton was supposed to be the first one out of Alpine Valley that night .

Jeigh Neither

3y↑15

@Frank D. Uh, NO. SRV was an unknown, that became known because of "Let's Dance". He got paid in ways he could have never imagined at the time. And $600 in the early 80's would be over 2 grand today when you add in inflation, which was far above the the daily pay-rate for even a the most sought after session musicians.

Frank D.

3y↑13

@Jeigh Neither Let's Dance and Texas Flood came out the same year, Was SRV a household name probably not but certainly not an unknown especially amongst guitar players and blues fans .

64 More Replies...

sylvain demers

2y↑10

there's a bootleg of SRV going through the bowie catalogue of songs they were going to play on tour,with the whole band ,it's really amazing to hear SRV play all those Bowie songs so well

Xealzy

1y↑1

Can you link the video please

sylvain demers

1y↑2

@Xealzy check out: David Bowie Dallas rehearsals with SRV on YouTube,there's only audio.

Dragonette

yeah I had a torrent of them that was lost in a computer crash. Interesting to hear SRVs arrangements of classic bowie tunes

Cyndi Smith

1y↑2

I never knew of this. I liked David Bowie but I was in complete awe of Stevie Ray Vaughn. He was and will always be a true artist. He is a legend when it comes to the guitar and again always will be. David although very good could never come close to SRV.

Tobulas

1y↑3

Bowie is one of the greatest artists of all time. Vaughn was a good guitar player.

Trash Gordon

1y↑1

Lol SRV only played unremarkable generic blues, most of his music is indistinguishable from other contemporary blues players and appeals only to over the hill barflies, cops, and people who have never had an original thought of their own.

Bowie was the definition of a musical artist.

Cboy Blue

2y↑4

I was on stage at the Paramount Theater in Austin for the T Birds album coming out party, SRV opened that gig. Stevie blew the crowd away, the TBirds were the top band back then, girls went wild. But Stevie and Double Trouble were hot that night, TBirds were great as always, but to me the night was SRV

Infectious Groove Music

1y↑1

This is one of those stories I'd always heard about but never looked into deeply. Thanks for all the info!

factenter

1y↑2

Around the time SRV broke away from DB during the Let's Dance tour of 1983, SRV was in Montreal at a small venue called Le Spectrum. The cover was $5 CDN and the turnout was modest as he was relatively unknown there at the time. My classmate happened to be at that show and he raved about him as his style reminded him of Jimi Hendrix. My classmate was crazy mad over Hendrix. He said "Yah gotta hear this guy!" A short time later my then girlfriend and I were walking through Old Montreal when I heard a track from Texas Flood coming out of a souvenir shop on 1 of the side streets. So I blurted out "I think that's Stevie Ray Vaughan! Robert told me about him! He saw him at Le Spectrum of all places!" I worked retail in an indoor mall in those days and there was a record shop round the corner from us. The manager was a regular client and though she thought SRV was a traitor for bailing on DB (her words, not mine), she nonetheless gave me a discount on his record.

daniel combs

1y↑1

My wife and I saw him in St. Petersburg Fl. 1983 at Mr T’s a 750 seat club on US 19 . I had my Texas Flood album cover with me. After the show I went around the club and got Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton’s autographs. Stevie was in a dressing room so I got in a line with other fans hoping for a autograph . I got a handshake but I guess he was tired so no autograph. My wife and I were walking back to our car when she asked if I got the autographs I wanted. I said unfortunately no, she said “ let me have the album cover I’ll get his autograph “. Stevie and his band were already on their bus. I said okay but if you’re not back in 10mins I’m going on the bus for you. I watched her board it and not long afterward she came back opened the door and told me he was really nice and acted like a gentleman and gladly signed the album. She was so happy when she handed it to me and when I excitedly turned the dome light on to treasure the signature it read in bold magic marker”Best wishes to Donna, Stevie Ray Vaughan. I looked at it and said why is your name on it I only wanted his name She said you didn’t mention that to me. I had to laugh because she was right and so sweet to get it for me. We still co- own the record almost 40 years later and I’m sure we’ll pass it down to our children. By the way he and the band was incredible they did a couple of Hendrix covers in their set list. They were about 3 hours late so we walked out of the club past 1am and my ears rang for about two days. What a wonderful memory we both loved that band so much and had the opportunity to see them 4 times before his untimely death.

Aaron Knight

1y↑2

Bowie knew greatness, and how to lift it for his own purpose.
SRV had unique style with a foundation of Albert then characterizing it. He wouldn’t be a good support for the previous Bowie material.
There was strain after only being paid scale on the US Festival gig, where DB was paid $1M.

Colin Murphy

1y↑13

SRV didn't invent the Texas blues rstyle. Such accurate history.

Rasputin's Liver

1y↑7

Yeah, pretty loose with the whole story. The two most hilarious items of "fact" are the assertions the Bowie was a "fading glam rock icon" as the '80s dawned and that SRV and Double Trouble invented any kind of blues let alone any kind of blues out of Tejas. Bowie had merely worked out the artistic needs his muse generated during the so-called "Berlin Years". And SRV, great guitarist as he was, was just playing electric blues as had been heard for years before him. He just happened to be the shiny new bauble at the time in the genre. The guy in the video looks like he was merely a distant gleam in his daddy's eye when all of that was going on back then. Just another tuber lookin' for likes/subs.

Rasputin's Liver

@Frankie 5 Angels
😂🤣😂🤣

1 More Replies...

wmlau69

42w

Wow! Bowie had feuds with other artists as well. Queen comes to mind. I never knew about this feud with SRV.

patchfile

I have now heard this story 3 different ways. I wonder which one is actually true? This late in the game, I tend to think this one is probably the most accurate. Good video.

Bill Moran

1y↑2

SRV and Bowie were from two different worlds with the only constant being they made music.
I’m glad Stevie went his own way and only took from Bowie lesson learned. I seem to remember Bowie did Iggy Pop no favors either.

blues in g music

3y↑3

Saw Bowie in San Diego 1976. He did NOT do an encore, despite we fans screaming for 1. The only other band I ever Saw who didn't encore was Hawkwind. After we regained our senses, & started applauding, they came back out, explained they had done all their material, & just talked with us. (Rush opened for them in 1973, they weren't very good. But they were just starting.)

The Guitar Historian

Hawkwind wow Lemmy’s first band?

blues in g music

@The Guitar Historian that I do not know. I know Lemmy was a member. I don't much else. They had a set of projectors at the portion where the Mezzanine was divided from the Orchestra seats. We wondered why. As the show started there was the hum of synthesizers, on the entire back wall of the Civic Center (our Sym0hony Orchestra played there. Saw several great bands there as well. Small only about 3K seating) you coukd see a cartoon of the sun rising. They played non stop!!! After they built up with their oh so familiar riff, the sun was blazing, then the corona turned into flames, then Pegasus was flying. Wow what a concert. They were basically doing the sound track for the cartoon playing behind them. Honestly when the show ended the small crowd (Hawkwind waived everybody down to the expensive seats!!!) Myself included sat stunned for a couple of minutes, when we realised it was over, then we started applauding. They were a band people either loved or hated. Their sound was dubbed "The Wall of Noise". Excellent concert, IMO. I can't remember the group members, there was a guy with a lizard head on, playing sax, they a pretty large group. My buddy hipped me to them, the black album that the cover opened up, & formed a bird!!! Very psychedelic stuff.

photoslum

@The Guitar Historian nope. his seconds band. He was in Sam Gopel first

The Screwfly Solution

@The Guitar Historian Not by a long chalk. Lemmy first played in local band The Motown Sect before joining The Rockin' Vicars in 1965 (as lead guitarist). Between 1967 and 69 he played with Sam Gopal then Opal Butterfly, before joining Hawkwind. He was their 4th bassist and it was very much Dave Brock's band (although maybe you didn't mean it was his). Sorry for the info overload, I'm a bit of an amateur discographer.

Lee Offender

1y↑2

I became aware of srv around 1982, i think it was, from a guitar player mag article featuring him jamming with lonnie mack. So I listened to some tracks when I had a chance and sorta dismissed him as not really unique or innovative enough for my taste in those days. I wouldn't come to appreciate how innovative and uniquely rock he truly was until by sheer happenstance, I caught him on a 1990's episode of austin city limits. It was a positively captivating performance.

Mini one r50

1y↑3

Bowie is a legend…..but SRV is a guitar legend

Rick White

1y↑3

Stevie happened to tell me what happened with Bowie and what Bowie did that caused him to leave Bowie's band. According to Stevie Bowie was trying to tell Stevie what and how to play and Stevie wasn't having it

Repent Now

1y↑1

Don't forget - David Bowie's band members were each paid the tidy sum of $100 per gig without being paid ANY money on the off / travel days; this made the R&R news back in 83 and that was the major deciding factor - $$$. Additionally, Scary Monsters (the previous record by Bowie) had several hits on it. LD was a chosen, radical change just like Young Americans was a dramatic change from the previous 5 albums. Big fan of both SRV and Bowie - saw him on that tour too (and I still have the ticket stub!)

termsofusepolice

1y↑1

After about 1973 and the departure of Ronson, literally no one was going to Bowie concerts to see his sideman guitarist. Bowie was doing SRV an immense favor by offering him the tour, especially given what a horrible fit Stevie was stylistically in terms of covering Bowie's back catalog. Stevie was an incredibly one dimensional player. He was NOT "one of the greatest" pop or rock or progressive guitarists in history. Not even close. But he WAS one of the greatest blues guitarists in history. Maybe the best. A MASSIVE distinction.

Igavehimadollar !

1y↑1

i heard the story or stevie playing on lets dance but didnt know they fell out, to me stevie is still the greatest guitar player ever that tone he got was totaly unique rip srv

whoarethebrainpigs

1y↑7

SRV and double trouble opening for Bowie would've been a strange mix ,,I wouldn't expect many Bowie fans would've been into loud guitar bands ,,even being as good as they were.

danashane

It might have provided a smack in the head to Bowie fans, a spiritual awakening maybe, to witness a trio with so much to say and the talent and power to say it loud & clear - compared to Bowie's flash and fashion, and cult-of-personality. To me, Bowie was a product of the system whereas SRV was an immense raw talent, a force of nature. Clearly I'm very biased - I never "got" Bowie or any of the music.

whoarethebrainpigs

@danashane you just confirmed my thoughts on why SRV' was a rather incongruous support gig for a Bowie concert..

z1522

1y↑1

I'd been curious about this arc I never realized at the time; I'm glad it was apparently Bowie, and not Nile Rodgers, at the center of the rift. I can accommodate DB's star man credentials, and it's too bad they could not have had time to work out the grudges, before SRV's truly tragic early demise, especially poignant after his successful passage through the addictions that took so many other greats before their time. I play Bowie's Hits often, but the shivers only come in Stevie's break on "Dance," as if the entire song is building to that passage. "China Girl" as well, the reverberations of SRV's perfectly restrained mastery electrifies the song.

George Doolittle

3y↑5

kills it on the downbeat. Anyone can hear the screaming vibe of The Texas Canonball from a mile away here!

greg scavuzzo

1y↑1

Freddie King was the Texas Cannonball, Stevie was great but King was known as The Texas Cannonball and had been called that for decades, Freddie King was known for Hideaway, King was one of Clapton's heroes

Cid L

1y↑1

After growing up in the 80s and watching Sixteen Candles repeatedly, it wasn’t until recent years I learned SRV plays on that soundtrack.

Focused Like A Laser

1y↑1

Only 3 musicians dying have ever really bothered me, and these are two of them (Tom Petty is the other). I knew most of this story. Great album, btw.

hippomancy

1y↑2

Bowie is Bowie. he had career doldrums, and artistically adapted to get out of them. SRV was key to this phase, and yet to further his own career he could not tie himself to Bowie as another perennial sideman. I get both sides perspective. it is unfortunate that SRV was so taken aback by the Bowie miming of guitar, but at least he didn't have another guitarist miming it. personally I didn't like Let's Dance as much as Scary Monsters or his later late 90's early 2000's work. it felt like a place holder. a chart topper. I rank the title track with Sledgehammer as pop-sludge that rescued careers, so am appreciative of them for that reason. Bowie was an artistic genius, SRV was a guitar genius, and lightning in a bottle will break the bottle or dim over time. gotta let it go...

Marco 64

2y↑7

He forgot to mention Bowies album 'Scary Monsters' which was a big hit; with Ashes to Ashes reaching number one...

Richierich77

1y↑1

Yes it was a big hit, also Fashion at least in the UK was a hit single with mass appeal.

luxyAAA

3y↑34

I always viewed the white gloves as Bowie acknowledging the solo wasn't really his.

JLipnicki

1y↑1

Maybe, it seemed odd in that video that he is shown playing lead guitar, he is not a lead guitarist and is rarely shown playing anything in his videos.

Lupin Brabablebix

1y↑9

James Sonatore not true, how do you think he kept people with him for years and years , Mike Garson , Gail Ann Dorsey, Carlos Aloma Earl Slick even Denny Davis for a while these were all too flight musicians, do you think they got ripped off ? tracks emerged in the studio and Bowie was renowned for his generosity in acknowledging peoples contributions and his generosity in divvying up the share. Maybe in the ziggy days the management was mean but they were all getting screwed then . I heard that srv was still driving a ups truck when let’s dance came on his radio, but it wasn’t until let’s dance that Bowie had a better control over his finances and started to make some real money. SRV got paid, this piece is a bunch of click bait taking quotes out of context and creating a ‘feud’ where there wasn’t one , SRV didn’t want to be Bowies guitarist as he wanted to push his own album, that’s just a personal choice.

Wolfgang de Vries

1y↑2

He could not dance either lol

termsofusepolice

1y↑4

Exactly. The gloves were Bowie's way of taking the piss to the whole idea of musicians miming with instruments in music videos. But Stevie was never the sharpest tool in the shed and missed the point entirely.

11 More Replies...

Steve Murrell

1y↑1

Both geniuses.....but I'd actually heard of Bowie and have some of his albums. I guess SRV was only big in the insular US.😉

barely bear

You mention Nile Rogers 'bringing David Bowie more modern recording techniques', I suspect that the Queen/Bowie recording was analogue. Everything up to 'Scary Monsters' was analogue. Tony Visconti was an excellent analogue producer. But with Nile Rodgers Bowie opted for digital recording which is a totally different process. Which is why there is much less of the Bowie trickiness about 'Let's Dance'-it could not be edited in. It would take a few albums for Bowie to truly learn how he wanted to edit with digital methods of recording.

Aubin de MONTFALCON

2y↑3

I don't know the Let's Dance team personally and I was just a kid in 1983, but it seems that Bowie was putting a lot of people out to pasture at the time of the Let's Dance project : he hired Nile Rodgers without talking about it to Visconti, same thing for his longtime guitarist Alomar...hiring SRV and haiving a beef with him short time afterwards... Bowie was probably in a mid-life crisis ? lol

Aubin de MONTFALCON

2y↑1

Stevie Ray Vaughan was not the only one with drugs issues on that tour : the "Borneo Horns" member Robert Aaron was in the same case !

Peter Quinn

After recording Let's Dance, SRV would release his best album, Couldn't Stand the Weather (1984). That same year, Bowie released his most critically derided album, Tonight. Hmmm...🤔
If you buy the vinyl re-release of Couldn't Stand the Weather, you get an extra LP with extra-added Stevie. Win-win!

guitarfrody

2y↑2

Stevie Ray and David did meet each other several times after this, the last time in 1990 - not long before SRV's tragic death. They laughted and had a great time.

Rob OI

2y↑7

Scary Monsters & Super Creeps album came out in 1980 after the 'low selling' ones mentioned here and basically kick-started the 1980s both musically and fashion wise.

brokl26

1y↑1

If Earl Slick is your second choice, you must be living right. SRV was maybe the best ever at what he did.

tootz1950

1y↑1

Not many in the comment section talked about Bowie pretending to play the SRV's guitar in Let's Dance. I think that was a pretty sh55y thing to do.

Blue Bee

1y↑3

Slick was a member of the band anyway. Bowie had a big hit with Scary Monsters album and that still draws new fans even NOW. Let's Dance did make his hold on America watertight - as a single. No-one can say if the two got over it - away from the industry. Bowie is highly regarded for kindness. So was SRV. Both lived for music, and probably made peace. Those two were/are both Cosmic types and no mistake.

fatdogtavern

1y↑1

This is funny because I have a bootleg of a sound check from this tour that is listed, and sure sounds like, Stevie playing with Bowie.

Marshall

1y↑2

Can you do a story about the guitarist that plays for the band Van Halen? I don’t know his name but surely you can find out who he is.

The Guitar Historian

1y↑1

I’m trying to figure out if this is a serious question or not…

WanderingJack Wolf

3y↑32

David Bowie said that they DID meet again, bury the hatchet, and hang out after Stevie got clean.

Peter Karel Kraus

2y↑1

Did you drop out of elementary school?

jamesha175

2y↑1

@Peter Karel Kraus maybe he left you there

Cyphermunk

2y↑3

Bowie is a known Liar. He would say that.

Buzzed Alldrink

1y↑2

F David Bowie

4 More Replies...

chrisradano

1y↑1

Humans can be fussy. Imagine if Bowie made a phone call to Vaughan..."Hey Stevie, I'm going to play air guitar on the end of my video. Thanks for your contribution". I don't know. But many times a few short words can straighten things out between people.

Jessica Johnson

Meet SRV twice merrillville Indiana shows he played at The star plaza theater. Dude was so down to earth. SRV coulda took the easy pay for going on tour with Bowie. But he had a band and wouldn’t forsake them.

Dangnabbit

1y↑1

Stories of Bowie mistreating the musicians around him gave emerged over the years to the point that I have been put off Bowie as a person for good. He effectively sacked his band on stage with no warning at the end of the Ziggy tour and there are numerous other instances. It seems clear that Bowie used people and discarded them as soon as they were no longer required so it doesn't surprise me that a tour with SRV didn't happen. It would not have served Bowie to have a future star taking the limelight.

Stephen Taylor

Actually, he didn't sack them. Most if not all were on his next album. He just killed off the Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars characters on the last night of the tour. No doubt tho, the band was very confused at the time.

MK-Apache

1y↑1

Oh man there could have been a SRV-Bowie tour?!!!!

Craig M

1y↑2

For gods sake, Nile Rogers played far more guitar and more interesting guitar on this record and he produced it. People are giving SRV way more credit than he deserves here.

whoarethebrainpigs

1y↑2

Bowie ,,a fledgling superstar in the early 80's ???he had 11 top ten albums (about 4 of those No1's) in the U.K...before 'Lets dance " was released..and had 3 or 4 top ten U.S albums!!!,

Platine Coiffure

1y↑3

You need to watch the interview with Nile Rogers and get your story straight. Bowie was never a fading star, look at his repertoire! He did surround himself with extremely talented artists and made some of them big names and careers .

Joe 4

1y↑3

Yes, this creator doesn’t do his homework

Matt Owens

1y↑1

According to Earl Slick, he said SRV couldn’t play Bowies older material which was why he was fired and Earl had to come back.

Pedr Siôn

2y↑17

Bowie had history for this type of behaviour. Look how he treated Mick Ronson.

JLipnicki

1y↑2

Earl Slick who played on ' Station to Station ' was also dropped for the tour. He did play with Bowie again much later however.

Captain Sunday

1y↑1

We have no idea what really went in to such feuds. Subtle slights that a person never forgets. Hearsay, heard back incorrectly. Etc. In my view they're both to blame. If I were SRV I'd have been a lot more humble in my demands. Anyway, Bowie wrote an article in Rolling Stone sort of apologizing and giving his side of the story.

TBlanktim

1y↑1

It goes beyond that. Bowie got Double Trouble a record contract and when it was recorded, Bowie refused to release it. All on the promise to get SRV to play on his stuff.

Sven Labots

With other words, it could have worked out better if there had been a (live) collaboration during Bowie's Tin Machine rock side project i guess...

Bob Smudde

Great job! More please

frank gomez

47w

As a kid in the eighties I could tell by the way Bowie was holding the guitar like it was a unwelcome appendage that Bowie wasn't a guitar player.

The Guitar Historian

47w

Well he IS actually, he played 12 string all over the Ziggy album and he plays the the lead riff to “Rebel Rebel” because Ronson had left at that point. But he’s certainly no SRV.

Peter Karel Kraus

2y↑7

So? Eddie Van Halen did solos on Thriller, he didn't tour with Michael Jackson either.

JayLandon64

I believe SRV is the bet guitarist I have ever heard, and I have heard a lot of guitarists in 58 years. Stevie doesn't get the credit a lot of guitarists do because he didn't play what was then passing as rock and roll. Stevie was a bluesman, but I believe had he wanted to be a historically great metal guitarist, he would have been. He had the talent to be anything he wanted to be as a guitarist. But he had blues in his soul, and it had to come out.

Eric Clapton said Stevie didn't play the blues as much as he was a conduit that blues just flowed through as naturally as water through a stream.

Adam Smith

2y↑5

Bowie helped discover SRV, but he wanted a guitarist not a co-star

RedVinyl

Stevie was right and did the right thing. Bowie did lots of sketchy shit to other musicians who played on his albums such as not paying them. But Bowie and SRV patched things up a few years later when SRV was in the program. There's a picture of them together prob in 1989, 6 years later.

Sylvester Bester Tester

1y↑5

I always like Bowie, he's the ultimate rock entertainer.
But SRV was one of a kind.
He took Jimi',s songs and played them like nobody ever did.
He took those songs to be the next stage, or few stages, which Hendrix would have wanted.
Stevie's playing was like no one else.
It's why every living blues legend of that time wanted to play with him.
And all would say he was the best they've ever heard.

Akimbo 1

Another mind reader of the dead... You really think you know what Hendrix I would have thought about SRV's versions of his songs?

rone dee

1y↑1

SRV & Bowie = Oil & Water.... I never understood that pairing? Now I know why! Thanks

glen kepic

3y↑2

man, I remember driving to work and parking my car and KRQR tuned in.
Story was David's guitar player had just quit the band. No, i didn't buy "Let's Dance" but heard the hits on the radio.
Sorta angry for a minute or three. This was Stevie wanting to get back to HIS band.
Knee jerk, ungrateful,,,i mean, David was a Montreaux when Double Trouble got boo'd.
Wish there was a happy ending.

Paul Bacon

1y↑1

Had SRV and Double Trouble opened for Bowie on tour it would've been a disaster for Bowie, like when ZZ Top opened for Mick and the Rolling Stones in Hawaii in 1973. I was there and the crowd was amped up only to be let down

Chris Lawton

1y↑2

"fading glam rock artist" 😂😂😂

David David

Damn what a loss. Dude could play.

Michael Contreras

1y↑1

Their music was so different, I don’t think Double Trouble would of been a good opener for Bowie

Poppie & The Stable

2y↑3

I respect dave bowie

rainblaze

3y↑6

I heard that SRV was kicked off the tour because of his escalating substance abuse, which Bowie was, at the time, still trying keep a handle on his own "temperance" problem

Ben

3y↑3

No, stevie quit after finding that bowie wasnt giving him and especially his band enough respect.

cmc2234

3y↑8

NO, ultimately Stevie quit because he wasn't going to leave his "family" (Double Trouble) behind.

dezmo d

1y↑1

When I saw the video of Bowie wearing gloves I thought, so he didn't play the solo. Back in the day.

John Jones

1y↑1

SRV wouldn't have "upstaged" Bowie, as good as he was he was still an unknown playing for a legend and would have lost his way sinking into the mythos of Bowie's many musical persona. I think It was better he did his own thing rather than get locked into the "house band" trap. I guess David was just looking for the next Mick Ronson.

Mike Henson

1y↑1

Bowie was indeed worried that SRV would upstage him, and that's why he felt he couldn't allow SRV to be seen playing the lead in that video. He simply thought he couldn't afford the possibility of sharing the spot light with him.

maestro.drs.T

Never heard of this channel. But you have a new subscriber sir!

Paulus Caesar

1y↑2

As much as I like SVR, I wouldn't say he was inventing anything... he played the blues, virtually the same that was played twenty years before, with a lot of Hendrix and rock influences. Great musician yes, innovator, well not so much. And SVR owed a lot to Bowie, regarding his success. I would argue that his solo on LD was indeed great, but any other great guitar player of time (Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler...) might have played an equally great solo. Oh, and Bowie was far from a fading star, he was already regarded as one of the greats, even though a little less succesful sales-wise. Just like 99% of early '70s acts, still above most of them though.

Steve Carte

Thank you for your channel. I'm a huge fan.

Terrance Harrington

it could be mentioned further that Bowie paid SRV very little for his contribution

Mr Mistoffelees

1y↑3

Hmm. Interesting transatlantic rift in the comments, here. Yes, Bowie's pop comeback in the UK came with the previous album but all the Berlin-period albums had also been top 5 chart successes and shipped gold in his home country. "Fading" is perhaps pushing it a bit.

Perhaps more interestingly, SRV never really became a name (apart from among guitar aficionados) at all over here. The only times you're ever likely to have heard him on British radio are backing Bowie and Brown and I'm fairly certain that 90+% of people who know those songs couldn't tell you who spanked the plank on them.

Mark Hoffman

1y↑2

This is partly nonsense, but there's no way you would know that. The real reason Stevie Ray didn't go on tour with Bowie is because his manager, Chesley Millikin, a beginner at managing musicians, asked for far too much money for Stevie Ray to go on the tour. I heard this from the staffer in Bowie's organization who, among other tasks, handed out the checks to the band at the start of the tour. After she handed checks to everyone but Stevie Ray, she told him that he wasn't going on the tour because of Millikin's ridiculous money demand. She hated doing that. She liked Stevie Ray, thought he was a fantastic musician, but thought Millikin was a moron. Millikin later claimed that Stevie Ray wouldn't go on tour with Bowie because he wanted to play with Double Trouble. That just wasn't true.

Ralph Millais

This comment should be pinned because it seems to me a much more plausible explanation. Plus, regardless of whether one is a Bowie fan or not ( Iam ), the description of Bowie as a "fading glam artist" is frankly absurd. Albums like Heroes were revered and Bowie was never anything less than a major name. On the other hand, SRV, even today, only has appeal to guitar enthusiasts in the main and was never a household name. Not that this diminishes his undeniable talent, I also love SRV, he was mega, but lets be honest, blues guitarists are a niche thing here in the UK.

P Money

Almost seems like David Bowie and his people wanted Stevie Ray Vaughan to be their hired hand.

Billy Bob

1y↑2

"Blue Jean" is another great collaboration.

JMMcC69

I've always been aware that Bowie is playing air guitar to those SRV licks at the end of the" Let's Dance" video, but it's particularly galling to me at the moment because I'm propping up a similar buffoon during live performances who can't play a bar chord, can't find the "one," and doesn't know a backbeat from a backhoe. Bowie's posing in this video was a type of sacrilege, a normalization of posing that led us down the slippery slope to a present in which rock stars "perform" onstage in "live " performances" pantomiming backing tracks to a public who is utterly aware of, yet indifferent to that fact. F*cking sad.

Load More Comments...

More Comments

just now