AUSTIN, Texas — Oct. 3 is the birthday of one of the true legends of blues music and a man who has had a special place in the hearts of Austinites for decades.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was born on Oct. 3, 1954. He had a pretty normal life growing up in Dallas, practicing the guitar with his brother, Jimmie. Little did he or his family know, all that practicing would pay off with a lasting legacy.
Vaughan became a master of the electric blues guitar, adored by fans everywhere. But there was a special bond between Vaughan and the city of Austin. He loved the city – and Austin loved him back.
On an August night in 1990, that love – and heartbreak – was demonstrated in a field of candles in Zilker Park. It was a vigil on the day Vaughan died in a helicopter crash as he was being shuttled away from a concert in Wisconsin.
"Stevie never – you never heard a bad word ever said about him, you know? Never, you know? He was just a nice, kind person that everyone loved," Clifford Antone said in 1990. "And, you know, I never seen anybody have a more burning desire to be a musician than him. It was just born in him."
Vaughan would have turned 69 this year. Austin's Trail Conservancy hosted an event to celebrate his birthday, at his statue at Auditorium Shores. The event began at 4 p.m. Tuesday and featured music by Bill Carter and Van Wilks.