Stevie Ray had been in numerous bands before joining blues rock combo Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble in the late 1970's.
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's debut album was released in 1983. The critically acclaimed Texas Flood (1983) featured the top-20 hit Pride and Joy and sold well in both blues and rock circles.
Stevie Ray Vaughan died August 27th, 1990 when his helicopter crashed into the Alpine Valley ski hill. He was on his way back from playing a guest appearance at an Eric Clapton concert at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin.
Adult life and career
Vaughan's first recording band was called Paul Ray and the Cobras. They played at clubs and bars in Austin during the mid-1970s, and released one single.[2] Vaughan later recorded two other singles under the band name The Cobras.[3] Stevie left the Cobras, leaving Denny Freeman still in his role of original lead guitarist, and formed Triple Threat in late 1975, which included bassist Jackie Newhouse, drummer Chris Layton, vocalist Lou Ann Barton, and sax player Johnny Reno. Barton left the band in 1978 to pursue a solo career, followed by Reno in 1979. The three remaining members started performing under the name Double Trouble, inspired by an Otis Rush song of the same name. Vaughan became the band's lead singer.
Tommy Shannon, the bass player on Johnny Winter's early albums, replaced Newhouse in 1981. A popular Austin act, Vaughan soon attracted the attention of musicians David Bowie and Jackson Browne. Both Browne and Bowie first caught Vaughan at the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival, where some members of the audience booed the band because they disliked Double Trouble's hard blues sound; the crowd response was quite different when they were subsequently invited to headline "Blues Night" at the festival in 1985.
In November, 1982, Vaughan recorded in Jackson Browne's studio in downtown Los Angeles. The recordings were brought to the attention of A&R man John Hammond and became Double Trouble's critically acclaimed first album, Texas Flood (1983), produced by Hammond; it featured the Top 20 hit "Pride and Joy" and sold 500,000 copies, earning the band a gold record. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award, and its song "Rude Mood" was nominated for "Best Rock Instrumental". Vaughan won three categories in Guitar Player's readers poll: "Best New Talent", "Best Blues Album", and "Best Electric Blues Guitarist". He became the second guitarist to win three Guitar Player awards in one year (the first is Jeff Beck). Vaughan won the "Best Electric Blues Guitarist" award every year until 1991.
Also in 1983 Bowie featured Vaughan on his 1983 album Let's Dance.[4] Vaughan was asked to go on tour with Bowie, but declined so he could continue to play with Double Trouble. Reportedly, Vaughan, who was still driving a delivery truck to support himself, was furious when he saw Bowie pantomiming over Vaughan's guitar solo in the video for "Let's Dance".
The band's next album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, was recorded in January 1984. During mid-1984 Vaughan and Double Trouble made numerous TV appearances, performing on Rockpalast, MuchMusic, and Solid Gold.
During the Grammy Awards of 1984, Vaughan and George Thorogood presented Chuck Berry with a lifetime achievement award. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" from Couldn't Stand The Weather was nominated for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance".
The band played Carnegie Hall in New York City on October 4, 1984. The show featured one Double Trouble set, and a second with guests Dr. John on keyboards, George Rains on drums, Jimmie Vaughan on guitar, Roomful of Blues Horns, and singer Angela Strehli. The group rehearsed in September 1984 at the Caravan of Dreams in Fort Worth, Texas.
In November, Vaughan won two W.C. Handy National Blues Awards: "Entertainer of the Year" and "Blues Instrumentalist of the Year". It was the first time a white person won either award. During this time, he also began recording with one of his earliest idols, blues-rock guitar pioneer Lonnie Mack, to produce the album Strike Like Lightning on the Alligator label.
In late January 1985, the band went on a six-night Japanese tour with various interviews and performances. In March, the band started to produce their third album Soul to Soul. Reese Wynans, a former keyboardist with Captain Beyond and Delbert McClinton's band, was added to the band not long after. The album's production lasted for two months. On April 10 Vaughan played "The Star Spangled Banner" for opening day of the National League baseball season at the Houston Astrodome (supposedly he didn't get a good audience response from that crowd; he did, at least, get to meet former New York Yankee great Mickey Mantle afterwards). Soul to Soul was released on September 30, 1985; Vaughan received his fifth Grammy nomination: "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for one of its songs, "Say What!".
In the following months of 1986, Vaughan and Double Trouble went on tour in New Zealand. It was around this time that he met Janna Lapidus, a touring model in New Zealand.
In mid-1986, the band was considering ideas of a new album, particularly a live album. Shows were set up at the Austin Opera House and at the Dallas Starfest. Audiences saw Vaughan struggle through these shows, as some of the original recordings were filled with technical difficulties.
On August 27, 1986, the Vaughan brothers' father, Big Jim, passed away of heart failure. A funeral was arranged two days later. The boys rushed home to comfort their mother, yet had little time to mourn. After the funeral was finished, a jet rushed Vaughan to Montreal, Quebec, where he played the "Labatt Blues Fest" (in Quebec, so named for their flagship beer "Labatt Blue"), known elsewhere as the "Miller Beer Festival" in Jarry Park.
The recordings in both Dallas and Austin, as well as the Montreux Jazz Festival, were edited and later released on Live Alive in November 1986.
Studio Albums:
Texas Flood (1983)
Couldn't Stand the Weather (1984)
Soul to Soul (1985)
In Step (1989)
Family Style (with Brother Jimmie Vaughan as "The Vaughan Brothers", 1990)
The Sky Is Crying (posthumous release) (1991)
Official live audio releases:
In the Beginning (Live, recorded 1980)
In Session (Live, with Albert King, recorded 1983)
Live at Carnegie Hall (Live, recorded 1984)
Live Alive (Live, recorded 1986)
Live At Montreux 1982 & 1985' (Live, recorded 1982 & 1985)
Wolfgang's Vault releases: http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/stevie-ray-vaughan
Compilations:
Greatest Hits (1995)
The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (1995)
The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Volume 2 (1999)
Blues at Sunrise (2000)
SRV (box set, with early recordings, rarities, hits, and live material) (2000)
Close To You
Stevie Ray Vaughan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Close to you baby, as water is wet
Close to you baby, as the hair on your head
Close to you baby, you better believe what I said
I wanna be close to you baby
Yeah, let me be close to you
I wanna be close to you darlin'
I wanna be close to you baby, as white is to rice
Close you you baby, as cold is to ice
Close you you baby, as fire is to smoke
Close you you baby, as a pig is to pork
I wanna be close to you baby
Whoa, let me be close to you
I wanna be close to you darlin'
'Til you don't know what to say or do
I said closer and closer, baby
Closer and closer, baby - ha ha
Closer and closer, baby
Closer and closer, baby
I wanna be close to you, darlin'
'Til you don't know what to say or do
I wanna be close to you baby, as the whites of your eyes
Close to you baby, as cold is to ice
Close to you baby, as an egg is to a hen
Close you baby, as Siamese twins
I wanna be close to you baby
Yeah, let me be close to you
I wanna be close to you darlin'
'Til you don't know what to say or do
The song "Close to You" by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble is a blues rock ballad expressing the desire of the singer to be as intimately close to his lover as possible. The repeated use of different metaphors throughout the song highlights the intensity of his wish to be physically and emotionally close to her. He wants to be as close to her as one thing is typically associated with another, examples ranging from the obvious "as water is wet" to the less common "as Siamese twins."
The repeated chorus line "I wanna be close to you darlin', 'til you don't know what to say or do" illustrates the passion and love the singer has for his partner. The lyrics suggest that he wants to be so close to her that the lines between them blur, and their love becomes all-consuming. The song highlights the intense emotional desire often felt between lovers, and Stevie Ray Vaughan's soulful voice and impressive guitar playing contribute to the powerful effect of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I wanna be close to you baby, as I can get
I want to be as close to you as possible.
Close to you baby, as water is wet
I want to be as close to you as water is to being wet.
Close to you baby, as the hair on your head
I want to be as close to you as the hair on your head is to your scalp.
Close to you baby, you better believe what I said
I want to be as close to you as you can believe what I said.
I wanna be close to you baby
I want to be close to you.
Yeah, let me be close to you
Let me be close to you.
I wanna be close to you darlin'
I want to be close to you, my darling.
'Til you don't know what to say or do
Until you don't know what to say or do.
I wanna be close to you baby, as white is to rice
I want to be as close to you as white is to rice.
Close you you baby, as cold is to ice
I want to be as close to you as cold is to ice.
Close you you baby, as fire is to smoke
I want to be as close to you as fire is to smoke.
Close you you baby, as a pig is to pork
I want to be as close to you as a pig is to pork.
I said closer and closer, baby
I said closer and closer, my baby.
Closer and closer, baby - ha ha
Closer and closer, my baby - ha ha.
Closer and closer, baby
Closer and closer, my baby.
I wanna be close to you, darlin'
I want to be close to you, my darling.
'Til you don't know what to say or do
Until you don't know what to say or do.
I wanna be close to you baby, as the whites of your eyes
I want to be as close to you as the whites of your eyes.
Close to you baby, as cold is to ice
I want to be as close to you as cold is to ice.
Close to you baby, as an egg is to a hen
I want to be as close to you as an egg is to a hen.
Close you baby, as Siamese twins
I want to be as close to you as Siamese twins are to each other.
I wanna be close to you baby
I want to be close to you.
Yeah, let me be close to you
Let me be close to you.
I wanna be close to you darlin'
I want to be close to you, my darling.
'Til you don't know what to say or do
Until you don't know what to say or do.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILLIE DIXON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind