EAST TROY, Wis. — We all have that concert we’ve been to that will be with us forever, right? Mine was the Doobie Brothers and Steve Miller Band in 2013.
For Lisa Schultz of Milwaukee, it was Stevie Ray Vaughan at Alpine Valley on August 26th, 1990.
“It was mesmerizing. Stevie Ray Vaughan did a version of Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Child that would melt your face," Schultz said.
Some consider Stevie Ray Vaughan one of the best blues guitarists ever. That’s why Lisa still has her ticket stub and poster promoting the concert.
“We walked out of that show so on cloud 9 like that was the greatest thing we ever saw and he blew everyone off stage," Schultz said.
That concert featured music heavyweights like Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, and Buddy Guy, but fans at the show said Stevie Ray was the standout guitarist.
“Basically, my mouth just dropped. I was Gobsmacked to say the least," Tammy Stock, a Stevie Ray Vaughan fan, said.
“It left everyone breathless, and it was just an amazing show and a memory I will never forget," Dan Truttschel, a Stevie Ray Vaughan fan, said.
While that concert will go down as a legendary performance by Stevie Ray, it will also be remembered for its tragic end.
He played two shows on the 25th and 26th at Alpine Valley. His second show would be his last ever. Shortly after midnight on the 27th, the helicopter he was in crashed into the side of a hill when it was leaving Alpine Valley. News reports stated that weekend was extremely foggy and hard to see. He was 35 years old.
“When we walked out of that show it was so foggy it was ridiculous," Schultz said.
All five people aboard the helicopter died. Those people included Bobby Brooks, Colin Smythe-Park, Nigel Brown, and Jeff Brown.
“It was so senseless that it was hard for people to wrap their heads around," said Alan Paul.
Paul is a Stevie Ray Vaughan biographer and wrote the New York Times best-seller, Texas Flood the Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan.
“He changed the trajectory of blues guitar. He brought a lot of people back to that music. I do think Stevie Ray is one of the all-time great guitarists.”
Synth-based pop songs were all the age in the 1980s. When Stevie Ray entered the music scene, he brought back the blues. In fact, Rolling Stone magazine called him the 7th best guitarist ever. Stevie Ray Vaughan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 with his band Double Trouble.
“He played with a technical proficiency that any musician could recognize and with a soul and intensity and flow that anyone can recognize," said Paul.
And that’s why it was so hard for many to hear the news. Those feelings of loss still resonate with Lisa Schultz.
"You play the music, and it makes you really happy, and joyous. And then for a split second, you’re like oh yea, you know? And that's the same with - I'm a big Jeff Beck fan. It's been very hard to listen to his music," Schultz said.
We lost a rock and roll legend 33 years ago, but his legacy lives on through the magical music he made.
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