When Stevie Ray Vaughan died at 35 in a , moments after participating in a triumphant, concert-closing jam with , Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and his elder brother Jimmie Vaughan, it was a mark of the love and respect in which he was held by the blues community that Guy and dedicated their next albums to his memory. After catapulting to mainstream attention with his -inspired licks on and following up with his own major-label debut, , his searing post-Hendrix Stratocastering, huskily intense voice, extravagant onstage showmanship and distinctive Tex-Mex bandido clobber had rendered him the most prominent and convincing blues-rock ambassador to emerge since the late 60s. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and following in the guitar-playing footsteps of elder brother and future Fabulous Thunderbird Jimmie, he discovered both great British invasion post-bluesers Clapton, Beck and Page, and the original titans Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and the Three Kings, though the primary influences who eventually coloured his own music – especially after the brothers relocated to Austin – were and Albert King.
Yet there were downsides to his success. The first was a flock of wannabe post-Vaughanists who copied just about everything he played or wore; the second (and more serious) was a massive coke and booze habit which not only affected his performances but damn near killed him before he cleaned up and returned with , his best album yet. Out of traction and back in action, he was literally a new m.