Jimmie Vaughan

Jimmie Lawrence Vaughan Jr. (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. A founding member of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, he is the older brother of the deceased Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant influence on Vaughan's playing style, including the "Three Kings" (Albert, Freddie, and B.B. King) and Johnny "Guitar" Watson.

Jimmie Vaughan was born on March 20, 1951, in Dallas County, Texas, United States, to parents Jimmie Lee Vaughan and Martha Jean Cook. His only sibling, younger brother Stevie Ray, was born in 1954. Raised in Dallas, Texas, Vaughan attended L V. Stockard Junior High where on February 3, 1965, he first played before an audience in a group named The Pendulums, or the JSP's, along with Phil Campbell and Ronny Sterling. Vaughan moved to Austin in the late 1960s and began playing with such musicians as Paul Ray and WC Clark.

In 1966, Vaughan joined The Chessmen after the death of original band leader, guitarist, and vocalist, Robert Patton. In 1969, The Chessmen opened for The Jimi Hendrix Experience in Fort Worth, Texas. It was at this show that Vaughan lent Jimi Hendrix his Vox Wah-wah pedal as Hendrix had broken his.

Jimmie Vaughan developed his own easily recognized personal style. He formed the band The Fabulous Thunderbirds with lead singer and harpist Kim Wilson, bassist Keith Ferguson, and drummers Mike Buck and Fran Christina. (The original Fabulous Thunderbirds were all protégés of Austin, Texas blues club owner Clifford Antone). The band's first four albums, released between 1979 and 1983, are ranked among the most important 'white blues' recordings. These early albums did not sell well, so the band was left without a recording contract for a couple of years (during the time when Vaughan's younger brother achieved commercial success). During this time, Vaughan played lead guitar on fellow Texas blues musician Bill Carter's 1985 album, Stompin' Grounds, also playing Carter's most well-known song, "Willie The Wimp", which would be introduced a year later to Stevie Ray Vaughan and played on live albums.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.