I love Stevie Ray Vaughan’s music, and I was interested in learning more about his life and musical influences. But the way this book is put together didn’t work for me.

Vaughan’s life story is told in vignettes from the perspectives of a variety of people who’d known him. The reading experience is more like lots of magazine articles strung together than an actual biography. The constant jumping of perspectives and short quotes felt choppy, and I kept losing interest.

I tried returning to this book multiple times over the past couple of years. Each time I’ve wound up putting it aside, so I’m giving up.

DNF

I have always been a big fan of Stevie Ray Vaughn and was pumped when I saw this book about him. This was a awesome biography of this great guitar playing man. So much information and very well written. A must for any SRV fan. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on ths review.

Interesting story but neither the writing style nor the subject matter as it was presented really caught my attention. Also musician biographies other than unusually well written ones or titles by broadly popular superstars do well in our library system.

Stevie Ray Vaughan is apart of my childhood. I grew up with his music pulsing through our living room stereo, and I remember members of my parents rock band trying to emulate the incredibly talented blues guitarists during sunny Sunday afternoon jam sessions.

I still see August 27, 1990 vividly through nine year old eyes. I remember both my mom and dad beside themselves with grief, like a member of our family had passed away, and in a way they did. Stevie's music and talent had a way of touching lives far and wide and since he was a fellow Texan, I believe there was an unspoken kinship to the man, among other similarities. Us Texan's are proud of our own.

At the time, I didn't understand the tears, or why my parents left a photo of SRV on my moms keyboards in our living room for months after his death but, years later, I believe I have a better understanding, especially after reading Texas Flood.

Hearing about a life by those that lived that life with that person is unique, and that's exactly what Texas Flood is all about. Raw and real, you get a glimpse of who Stevie was at his core, his rise to stardom by those who were by his side, his long-time battle with drugs and alcohol, and the amazing story of him overcoming his demons, and finally going clean, only to be killed at the peak of his life on a plane that he wasn't supposed to be on. Oh those damn airplanes! So many of the greats lost by the same fate.

Stevie is buried in Dallas at the same graveyard as my cousin, who died before I was born. Visiting his grave reminds me just how close I feel to the rocker that I never got to meet, yet is apart of me. Reading Texas Flood brought me even closer to the legend, and for that I am grateful. He was an amazing talent that deserves to be remembered not only for his music but for the man that he was.

I cannot recommend this biography enough! I can honestly say that I've never read such a wonderfully unique tribute, and I am so happy to be reviewing this incredible work on my dad's 60th birthday!

As someone who grew up in Texas, Stevie Ray Vaughn's music was constantly in the background. But, up until reading this book, I had never learned much about his fascinating story. I enjoyed the writing style and felt like Stevie was alive again as I was reading.

This isn’t a typical book for me to read and certainly in a different format. Although informative about the life and times of Stevie Ray Vaughn, I’m not sure I would read another one. From my perspective, not an entertaining book. From the perspective of a music/blues/band scene, there is a market for this book and people would enjoy the detail, bank developing and falling apart, the lives that musicians have.

I received a free electronic copy of Texas Flood from Netgalley, Alan Paul and Andy Aledort, and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for the opportunity!

First of all I LOVE Stevie Ray Vaughn. So you can imagine my excitement at getting to read this prior to release. This book was written so well that most times it felt I was right beside Stevie himself. It is truly amazing how easy it is to forget these icons we love so much having families and lives outside of fame. By reading this book I was able to get a look on the inside. I commend all the people that had involvement in making this biography come alive. Thank you for the excellent read and personal look into music legend!

Always liked SRV's music, but didn't know much about him. This was a very good read, full of interviews with SRV, his brother and people who knew him from the start of his career to the end. The way this was written, it might appeal more to those who are more familiar with his story than I was. Recommended!

Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughn by Alan Paul is a 2019 St. Martin’s Press publication.

This book made me feel like I’d been invited to a memorial service for Stevie, with everyone who knew and loved him, either personally or professionally gathered around sharing intimate memories of Stevie’s life from their own unique perspective.

I remember when Stevie died, perhaps more vividly than I might have because of a death in my own family just days before. Despite my personal grief, I was still in utter shock and disbelief. Yet, it would be years down the road before I was able to truly absorb the magnitude of his loss and the incredible void he left in the world of music.



This book is not written in the traditional biographical format. The presentation is unique, a compilation of interviews, reflections, and recollections.

I loved it!! Memories are so subjective. Sometimes people remembered events differently or had differences of opinion.

That gave the book a realistic quality and made me feel as though nothing was being glossed over or sugarcoated or left out, because at the end of the day we all experience events in different ways. Anything too pat, might be circumspect. This material came straight from the mouths of the participants. Their words were pure, unedited with no way to put a spin on it.

I think it is the unique layout of the book that gives it such a personal and emotional atmosphere. I admired the way the author assembled the information, letting those who were there, tell the story chronologically. Using this unconventional approach took some extreme organizational skills, and the author pulled it off quite nicely.

Over the years, the little details of Stevie’s life have slipped from my consciousness. This book brought back a few memories for me, not just musically, but geographically, since Stevie was a home- grown talent. There are so many talented blues artists, so many guitar heroes out there, but no one could touch Stevie Ray Vaughn. The guy was electrifying. It wasn’t just his skill- There was an aura around him, a presence, that spilled over his live performances casting a spell over his awed audience.

I miss Stevie a lot. I often wonder just how far he would have traveled musically and personally, as well. His life was clicking into place, coming together on all fronts. He was blazing hot with nowhere else to go but up. His death was a tragedy of epic proportions, only made worse by the knowledge that it was preventable. Hearing the various artists reflect on that fateful decision reiterates the senselessness of it, only compounding the loss even more.

In some ways, though, this book was cathartic for me. I never really got to grieve this loss has I have other artists who left an indelible mark on me. I enjoyed hearing these heartfelt, humorous, honest, harrowing, poignant, and inspirational stories about Stevie, learning a few details about his career I didn’t know, or had forgotten about over time. But mostly this book was a reminder of what a great talent Stevie was and how grateful I am for the influence he had on me and my great love affair with pure blues.

The sky is still crying….

I received a free electronic copy of this excellent biography from Netgalley, Alan Paul and Andy Aledort, and St. Martin's Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

August 27, 1990, was a sad day for the world of the blues and rock, and for Texans in particular. Stevie Ray Vaughan was ours, homegrown, and is still mourned today in the Hill Country and beyond. It was doubly heartfelt because in the early '80s we almost lost him to drugs and alcohol, but Stevie pulled himself out of that pit with heart and pure guts and was still the shy, sweet guy we knew before. His music grew to fill a whole genre of his own before his untimely death and is still popular with people of all ages, all genres.

Alan Paul, with help from Andy Aledort, members of Double Trouble and Jimmy Vaughan and his band The Fabulous Thunderbirds brings us a well researched, broad overview of the life and times of Stevie Ray. This book is essential reading for those who grew up in the Country/Rock and Blues/Rock growth in the 1970s and 1980s, and those younger listeners who have 'found' those Blues titans of that time - most lost much too soon, one way or another. All will be missed. SRV is still mourned.

ZZ Top, Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt and Buddy Guy were among the mourners at the 1990 funeral for Stevie Ray Vaughan – a fitting tribute for the man often called one of the greatest guitar players of all time. The newly released biography called TEXAS FLOOD is "The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan" written by Alan Paul and Andy Aledort. The authors were clearly inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan and express their appreciation to his many friends and fellow musicians and to his brother, Jimmie Vaughan, all of whom contributed (see the several page "cast of characters") to this book which "represents three decades of work."

This biography explores Vaughan's life from an early age and uses direct quotes ("I got my first guitar when I was seven") from his interviews. In addition, the authors feature impressions and quotes from a large number of his associates (think of a script from a Ken Burns documentary) in chapters that deal with the Austin music scene, Vaughan's addiction issues, his work with the Double Trouble band and much more. Kirkus called TEXAS FLOOD "a treasure trove for anyone interested in the blues and Vaughan's place within popular music" and gave it a starred review as did Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. If you have not heard Stevie Ray play the blues, give a listen to the video below; then read his story:
https://www.pbs.org/video/austin-city-limits-stevie-ray-vaughan-crossfire-1983/

First, let me say that I am a fan of his music and I still listen to his music and his brothers who just came out with a new CD. I liked this book in that I felt everyone associated with were honest in their stories about Stevie Ray Vaughn. The people around him management wise and the members of his band. They were honest about the drug and alcohol abuse and how he almost died before he got help. Hearing these stories were just sad. I really enjoyed this book even though I knew that at the end he was going to parish in that helicopter crash. To think that he was finally sober and his last album was probably some of his best work. It is a wonder to think what or where he could have gone. It is hard for me to put into words what I felt reading this book since I am a huge blues fan still listening to the blues. I still hear Reese Wynans since he plays keyboards for Joe Bonamassa and he also came out with his own album a month ago. The parts I really liked were the ones by his brother Jimmy and from the band members. For me, this was an outstanding book from beginning to end and there are a few interviews with Stevie taken from various interviews he did which add to the story. Overall a very good book.

With "Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan," author Andy Aledort stated that his goal was to write "the kind of book Stevie deserved, one that would honor his memory appropriately and also tell the story of a life filled with triumph and with no lack of adversity and personal difficulties to overcome." He and co-author Alan Paul have succeeded in their endeavor; music lovers and fans of Stevie Ray Vaughan will appreciate this book, which offers first-hand insight into Stevie's life and what shaped his music, and often reads like a conversation between family and friends about a beloved member who was taken too soon.

Of note is the fact that the book's foreword and afterword were written by Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble bandmates Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon, respectively, with the epilogue written by Vaughan's brother, famed musician Jimmie Vaughan. That the people who knew and loved Stevie Ray Vaughan best entrusted authors Aledort and Paul to tell his story is also noteworthy: the authors themselves are musicians and fans of Vaughan, with author Aledort having interviewed Vaughan multiple times for Guitar World magazine, and author Paul having interviewed and worked closely with Jimmie Vaughan. These interviews, interwoven with those from Stevie Ray Vaughan's family, friends, and fellow musicians, help to tell Vaughan's story in his absence.

I have nominated this title as a 2020 selection for the Texas Library Association's Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List (https://txla.org/tools-resources/reading-lists/texas-topaz/current-list/).

I received an advanced copy of this book. If you are looking for a book about Stevie Ray Vaughan, then this is the book for you! This book goes very deep into his life and gives you a whole lot of details about him and his life. This book will tell you about him, the music scene, and the bands that he has been in. This book also talks about his family life. Basically if you want to know anything about Stevie, this is the book to pick up. It is well written and is a great story!

My husband has been a big fan of Stevie Ray Vaughn since back in the early days of his career, so when I noticed this book was due out the same week as his birthday, I decided to ask for the advance read and see if it would make a great birthday gift.

I will definitely be buying it when it hits the stores. One advantage of having the book instead of the ebook is the pictures. I always think the pictures look better in a print book and there are quite a few pictures throughout the book.

I really didn’t know too much about Stevie, other than some of his top hits, so I found the story of his early life so interesting. He had such a wonderful relationship with his older brother Jimmie and it was nice that they both shared the same talent for music.

There were many names mentioned throughout the book and it was a bit difficult to keep track of who everyone was, even with the index. The story is mostly told through interviews of people involved in Stevie’s life in some way—from band members to family and friends.

Midway through the book, as Stevie became more famous, he slipped into heavy drug and alcohol abuse. I found this portion of the book really sad, especially because his band members were living the same dangerous lifestyle.

Evidently Stevie had a purpose in life other than just being a famous guitar player. Stevie got clean by doing the 12 step program and became very dedicated to staying sober. He poured everything into his life of sobriety in the same way he poured everything into his guitar playing.

Because of his dedication, he was a role model to others in the music business. He encouraged many friends on the path to getting sober and during the time he had left on earth, he lived his life to the fullest.

It’s so fitting that his last album was the one he recorded with his brother Jimmie. That album was very special to both of them and they had plans to do more work together in the future, which unfortunately was not to be.

I read the last few chapters of the book while listening to Stevie’s music, which reinforced all the comments from musicians as to how talented a guitar player Stevie Ray Vaughn had become. Be sure to have some tissues handy near the end of the book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to review an advance copy and give an honest review.

I will start off by saying I’m a huge SRV fan so I really liked this book. I have lived in Austin since 1981 so this book was full of nostalgia for me. It brought back a lot of memories of forgotten clubs and good times with friends when we would go to see either of the Vaughn brothers play, and that was a lot. Back when Austin was still Austin. This book is a great tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn but also to Jimmy, too. I liked hearing all the people talking about the brothers and their relationships. Back in the day Austin was a close knit community especially with musicians and the club going crowd so like I said this book made me very nostalgic and reminded me of the good old days in Austin. The only thing that was lacking was more narrative from the authors. I liked reading all the interviews but it was a little bit impersonal and anecdotal. I would have liked a little more detail and in true biographical style, a little more personalization to get a feel for SRV the person. I think this book illustrates SRV the musician but doesn’t let us get to know the person and that was a little disappointing. I still love this book but wish it had a little more warmth. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

TEXAS FLOOD by Alan Paul and Andy Aledort is a phenomenal biography of Stevie Ray Vaughan that hits on every level, including interviews with those closest to him, and especially his brother Jimmie, Stevie’s biggest inspiration and original guitar hero.

Alan Paul is the author of the well respected biography of the Allman Brothers, “One Way Out”, & Andy Aledort is a fine guitarist with a wealth of historical knowledge of all of the famous blues and rock guitarists of the 60’s and 70’s, and is also valuable source of information on Stevie Ray Vaughan, of course.

Interviews with an extensive list of those with inside knowledge into the life of both Jimmie and Stevie, as well as a wealth of information provided by Double Trouble (Shannon, Layton, & Wynans), and of course brother Jimmie (and others) makes this the best book that I’ve seen to date on the life of the late great guitarist.

Andy Aledort has always been one of my favorite guitar instructors in both video and tablature, and his articles in guitar magazines have always been among my favorites with his knowledge of the instrument, playing styles, and focus on the important players that have shaped blues & rock guitar throughout history. His knowledge makes this book a special treat for guitarists interested in all aspects of Stevie’s techniques, influences, equipment, and everything that went into making him the legend that he is.

Highly recommended for all Stevie Ray Vaughan fans, but especially for guitarists.

5 stars.

Texas Flood covers information that Stevie Ray Vaughan fans are likely to already know, but the style in which they’re delivered in this book are a bit unique, because they’re told by people who were close to him.

I would suggest this book those who want a compiled account of Vaughan’s life.

Stevie Ray Vaughan is arguably one of the greatest guitar players in recent history, and this is his story. Told in narration and dialogue (interviews) with some of his family, friends, fellow musicians, and admirers, this is a typical biography of a celebrated musician, We get glimpses into his early life, his first gigs, his relationships with family & others, and his life on the road.

I generally enjoy celebrity biographies, even when they are not of high literary quality. This one has some merit, but it is definitely for the true SRV fan, not someone like me who is familiar with his work, but not fanatic about it. There are notes on his equipment and playing style that will definitely interest those who want to emulate his style, and there are tidbits about LOTS of other celebrities that piqued my interest, but I didn't find it compelling reading on the whole. Certainly others will enjoy this tribute, but it was just "so-so" for me.

When one hears the name Stevie Ray Vaughn one immediately thinks "guitar". In this in-depth book chronicling the ups, downs, highlights and lowlights in a career that was cut much too short, Alan Paul and Andy Aledort compile interviews with Stevie's family, friends, bandmates, producers and other celebrity musicians along with snippets of factual information about Stevie's life.

This reader will admit to being a novice when it came to SRV's life and body of work. Not being a musician either, some of the more "guitar technical" information was a bit beyond me, but it did not take away the meaning or intention of the biographical aspect of the story. I was drawn into this musical genius' life and became so much more involved with the story of his need to be forever improving his style, technique and sound without denigrating the musicianship styles of those talents he loved and looked up to all of his life.

Being a perfectionist as well as a prodigy is not without its trials and stresses. I believe that this is what contributed to his addictions along with the conflicts with his father as a youngster. The most tragic thing is that he had overcome those addictions and was living his best life ever when the fated helicopter crash took that wonderful life away from him and all of his family, friends and fans.

Texas Flood is a must read for anyone who loves Stevie Ray Vaughn, jazz music, guitars or a plain-spoken look at the life of a legend.

I received this book as a galley proof in exchange for an honest review.