“We were told they’d all gone down. You’ll never see a house full of people get so quiet, it was pin-drop silence – eventually we found out Buddy and Eric were okay”: Veteran bluesman Larry McCray recalls the night Stevie Ray Vaughan died

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Larry McCray’s remarkable list of mentors is chock-full of blues heavyweights, Albert King, Buddy Guy, and Albert Collins, to name a mere few.

In his new album, Heartbreak City, the elder statesman of the blues’ talents are on full display – boosted by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith in the production chair, and guest features by the likes of Kirk Fletcher and Double Trouble keyboardist Reese Wynans.

“I loved talking to Reese about his time with Stevie [Ray Vaughan], who I never got to hang with,” McCray tells Guitarist.

Indeed, the blues veteran was in Chicago, eagerly awaiting the famous Strat wielder’s rumored surprise appearance on the night the guitar and blues worlds were left reeling by Vaughan’s death.

“The night he died, I was at Buddy Guy’s Legends club [in Chicago] waiting for Buddy, Stevie, and Clapton because there was a rumor they were about to come and jam,” he recalls.

“All these musicians were waiting to see them. Then we were told they’d all gone down. You’ll never see a house full of people get so quiet, it was pin-drop silence, and eventually we found out Buddy and Eric were okay.

“It was a terrible thing,” he says solemnly. “I’ll never forget that day.”

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Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.