In 1990, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan – two brothers who had both made an indelible mark on the wider world of blues guitar – joined together for the first time in their respective careers under the ‘Vaughan Brothers’ umbrella to release Family Style.
Released mere weeks after SRV died, Family Style was the only record the pair worked on together, and was the last album that Stevie himself worked on in his life.
Family Style marked a full circle moment, though, and as Jimmie Vaughan notes in a new interview with Guitar Player, it harkened back to the pair’s earliest memories when they were both budding guitar players finding their feet on the fretboard.
While discussing the guitar highlights from his career, Vaughan reflects on the making of Family Style, and recalls how the prospect of him and Stevie recording an album together had been mooted long before their solo careers took off.
“Ever since we were little kids our dad would say, ‘Okay, boys, go get your guitars and play something in the living room for our guests,’” Jimmie remembers. “And someone would always say, ‘That’s really great boys, maybe someday you can make a record together.’ It was a long time coming.”
Reflecting further on Family Style – and specifically of the track Tick Tock – Jimmie says, “Recording the Vaughan Brothers’ Family Style with Stevie was one of the highlights for me. I wrote the music and the chorus, with the words ‘Tick Tock.’
“Nile Rogers, who was producing, wrote the lyrics. When I turned up, I had a recording of what I had, played it to Nile and he took about 10 minutes to write the words. [laughs]
"I couldn’t pick a particular favorite from this album – it was all real serious and heavy to me as we were working on it. And then Stevie got killed. We were together for three months making that record and had a real great time doing it.”
The album was released September 25 1990, weeks after Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash on August 27. Last year, a documentary that centered on the relationship between Jimmie and SRV was released.
Head over to Guitar Player to read the full interview with Jimmie Vaughan.
