Jimmie Vaughan

Jimmie Vaughan is far more than just one of the greatest and most respected guitarists in the world of popular music. As Guitar Player Magazine notes, "He is a virtual deity--a living legend." After all, Vaughan provides a vital link between contemporary music and its proud heritage, as well as being a longtime avatar of retro cool.

Since releasing his first solo album in 1994, he has set the standard for quality modern roots music. Throughout his career, Vaughan has earned the esteem of his legendary guitar-playing heroes and superstar peers along with successive generations of young players. His musical ethos and personal style have had an impact on contemporary culture, from spearheading the current blues revival with The Fabulous Thunderbirds to his longtime, innate fashion sense of slicked-back hair and sharp vintage threads (now seen throughout the pages of contemporary fashion journals) to becoming a premier designer of classic custom cars. But for Jimmie Vaughan, none of it is part of a crusade or a career plan. It's just his natural way of living his life and pursuing the interests that have captivated Vaughan since his youth.

Now, with his third solo release and Artemis Records debut, Do You Get The Blues?, Vaughan has fashioned his most compelling and appealing musical statement yet, creating a rich and variegated masterpiece of 21st Century rhythm and blues. From the first notes of the opening instrumental, "Dirty Girl," it's clear that Vaughan has created a contemporary classic. Driven by Vaughan's lyrical guitar work, the skin-tight drumming of George Rains and the verdant Hammond B-3 work of the song's writer, Bill Willis (whose long career includes work on the seminal R&B and blues sides issued by King Records as well as stints with Freddie King and Lavern Baker), the song speaks volumes without a single word, and sets a tone of distinctive and emotion-laden musical articulation that continues throughout the disc.

Jimmie Vaughan's style as a player, songwriter and bandleader can be thought of as an amalgamation of so many influences. Known for his deceptively simple yet complex attack, his clean, uncluttered style capitalizes on conveying the emotion and message within the music, He utilizes raw emotion, simplicity, and an elegance that is powerful and accessible, yet communicates exactly what he feels inside. It's an approach that has earned him the respect of many of the greats of contemporary music, and guest appearances on such albums as B.B. King and Eric Clapton's Riding With The King, Bob Dylan's Under The Red Sky, Willie Nelson's Milk Cow Blues, Carlos Santana's Havana Moon and Don Henley's Inside Job.

Yet for all his accomplishments and the admiration he has earned, Jimmie Vaughan remains modest when it comes to his life and work. "I'm just trying to have fun like everyone else," he concludes. "I've been playing since I was 13. I play every day. I've never stopped. I can't imagine that I could exist without it."