Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stephen Ray Vaughan (1954 –1990) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Despite a short-lived mainstream career spanning seven years, he was one of the most influential guitarists in the revival of blues in the 1980s. AllMusic describes him as "a rocking powerhouse of a guitarist who gave blues a burst of momentum in the '80s, with influence still felt long after his tragic death."

Vaughan was inspired musically by American and British blues rock. He favored clean amplifiers with high volume and contributed to the popularity of vintage musical equipment. He often combined several different amplifiers together and used minimal effects pedals. Chris Gill of Guitar World commented: "Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar tone was as dry as a San Antonio summer and as sparkling clean as a Dallas debutante.”

On Monday, August 27, 1990, at 12:50 a.m. (CDT), Vaughan and members of Eric Clapton's touring entourage boarded a helicopter at Alpine Valley Resort in East Troy, Wisconsin, to travel to Chicago, after he concluded an all-star encore jam session at Alpine Valley Music Theatre. Vaughan took the last remaining seat and the helicopter crashed into a nearby ski hill shortly after takeoff.

Vaughan suffered from "massive internal and skull injuries", in addition to severe trauma and rib fractures.

Coincidentally, I worked at an organic farm about 1 mile from the place of incident, one year after in 1991.