Edward Hopper v. Artie Shaw

EDWARD HOPPER-AMERICAN ARTIST

Last Month I posted the superb montage of Edward Hopper paintings backed by The Blue Nile's Saturday Night. There seems to be plenty folk out there who like to put some musical backing to Hopper's work. This one is accompanied by Artie Shaw. Enjoy.

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Blues Masters – Stevie Ray Vaughan

I mentioned in a previous post that I had auditioned to sing and play moothie in a band in the early 90's and got the gig. It went like this "Do you know any Stevie Ray Vaughan?" "Yes" "Pride and Joy?" "Yes" "Lets go 1-2-3-4!"

Stevie Ray in my humble opinion was the finest blues guitarist of his generation. In fact that may be damming him with faint praise because he was a fine guitarist full stop. He was also a brilliant vocalist with a distinctive gravelly style.

He probably first came to the attention of a British audience by playing on Bowie's 1983 album Lets Dance.

It is his solo work however which provides his legacy. This diminutive hard living Texas rocker tragically had his life cut short at the height of his powers in 1989 aged 35 shortly after a perormance.

"HE PERFORMED AS HE ALWAYS HAD, as if the song of the moment would be his last. During the blistering, 20-minute rendition of "Sweet Home Chicago" that closed the show at the Alpine Valley Music Theater near East Troy, Wisconsin, guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was onstage with fellow bluesmen Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Vaughan's older brother, Jimmie. Said Guy later: "It was one of the most incredible sets I ever heard Stevie play. I had goose bumps."

Shortly afterward, at 12:15 A.M. on Aug. 27, the exhilarated musicians left the stage through a rear exit. Vaughan, 35, had planned to make the two-hour drive back to his Chicago hotel with his brother and sister-in-law, Connie, but at the last minute he chose to board a Bell 206B Jet Ranger, one of four helicopters waiting nearby. According to his New York City publicist, Charles Comer, Vaughan had learned from Clapton's manager that there were seats enough to accommodate all three in his party. When he found only one place was actually available, Vaughan said to Connie and Jimmie, "Do you mind if I take the seat? I really need to get back."

The helicopter took off in fog around 12:40 A.M. with Vaughan and four others aboard. Sweet Chicago would never be reached. Moments later the chopper's remains lay spread across more than 200 feet of a man-made ski slope in a field dotted with bittersweet and Queen Anne's lace. All on board were killed instantly in what National Transportation Safety Board investigator William Bruce later described as "a high-energy, high-velocity impact at a shallow angle."

 

Stevie Ray Vaughan – Pride & Joy

 

 

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