Never before seen images of Stevie Ray Vaughan revealed

I “reclaimed” these two photographs from my archive of negatives from the 1980s and 1990s, an ongoing archeological dig searching for worthy shots that I’d either never even printed or forgotten long ago. The first, from 03/25/1983, was printed and then published a few days later, but not since then. The second, from 06/20/1983, is from that latter category. 

Eventually, they’ll be part of my second book, a project that will include my past, present, and future photography from film Leicas to digital Sony Alpha cameras. 

MARCH 25, 1983:

This image was captured the first time that I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan. I’d met him at the soundcheck a few hours before the show. It appeared with a review a few days later in “Public News”, a very small independent New Wave/Punk paper in Houston, Texas, that existed mostly in the 1980s. All involved, including me, had aspirations and hopes for wider distribution and a more professionally printed publication, but it was not to be. 

But Stevie Ray Vaughan was bound for glory like an unstoppable train (thankfully.) At this point, his first album with his stellar band, Double Trouble (Chris “Whipper” Layton and Tommy Shannon), Texas Flood, was still three months away. “Public News” sent me to see Stevie with a couple of interviewers whose questions were heavily focused on his association with David Bowie via “Let’s Dance”. Make no mistake, I love Bowie, and I have since I first heard “Space Oddity”, but I believe that an interview with a performer shouldn’t be centered on some other performer. But he answered everything, and he was friendly and accommodating. Then he went to do his soundcheck…

And I was blown away by his talent and eager to photograph his performance. It was magnificent, as all of his shows were. Although I didn’t notice it at the time, there appears to be perhaps an eerie presence in the shadows (which are eerie presences enough as it is!) on the left side of the photo. Maybe Stevie’s sound could raise the dead and cross that veil, with the ambient light effect emulating spirit photography. 

There’s a recent discovery that perhaps humans really do produce some sort of aura, a notion long relegated to some spiritualist’s fantasy. Or perhaps, ghosts just really love it when you drag the shutter and photograph someone who can conjure up Jimi’s magic like no other. 

JUNE 20, 1983: 

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s first album was released on June 13, 1983, and on June 20, he was back at Fitzgerald’s for a celebratory show. 

I was using a beautiful Leica M3 with a 40mm Wetzlar Summicron, and augmenting the decent amount of stage lighting with a small Vivitar flash. Stevie told me he really didn’t mind the flash, that he liked knowing exactly when I took the picture. Of course, when he was so deeply into his flow state I’m sure that he barely noticed. 

And, in this particular image, that flash hit Number One’s gigantic strings like the sun bouncing off of train rails. Look at the neck and watch him bend them. 

But there’s no trick of the light here, those are indeed mighty large strings, likely the famous .013 set at this point in his life, and given his healthy looking fingertips. I’m sure that the high action also accounts for their light-struck look. Coupled with his big, strong hands, they made quite the sight and sound. 

I believe that he’s playing “Third Stone from the Sun”, but don’t quote me on that. I’m often asked if I’d go back in time if I could, and my answer is emphatically NO. If the time travel question were in this context, however, I’d agree to the trip: wouldn’t it be wonderful to hear the music coming out of Stevie and his guitars? To know exactly what song he was playing as I released the shutter? Yes, please. 

I’m not sure why I passed over this one, although I do have scores of scanned images from this show. But I’m very glad that I recently discovered it. This is the first time that it’s been published, and I’ve never printed it or even remembered it. Everyone has had the experience of meeting someone and having an initial negative reaction that somehow morphed into a deep, strong friendship- I certainly have. Well, sometimes negatives and captures are like that, and your second pass makes you wonder what you could have been thinking while you culled your images. Or, perhaps, not thinking.