Sun Apr 18, 2010 (Music) Comments

This is the best video I've ever seen on YouTube. I have it on DVD. But the fact that it's available for all the world to see on YouTube somehow makes the whole Internet- warts and all- worthwhile.

Stevie Ray Vaughan may have been the most naturally gifted blues guitarist the world has ever seen. He may not have been as inventive as Jimi Hendrix but there's no denying the raw emotion with which he plays. In his hands the guitar seems an extension of the human heart.

I will never forget the day he died. I was in Drafting class in high school. It was late August so I had only been in class a few days. I was just getting to know the teacher and fellow students. Most of us were freshman or sophomores but there was one senior in the class. He always wore a black gaucho hat and kept mostly to himself.

The day after Stevie Ray Vaughan died the senior walks into the Drafting classroom. It was obvious to anyone remotely observant that he was upset about something. He heads to his desk and starts working on his assignment in silence.

The kid across from me, as was his wont, starts singing while working on his drawing. Some stupid pop tune- important in the moment to those who follow the fads but utterly disposable in the long run. A Vanilla Ice rap or similar hip-hop nonsense.

"Will you shut the hell up?!" the senior bellows to the wannabe rapper. Normally the teacher would intervene to keep order in the classroom but I think he had an inkling of what was to come. He let the scene play out. The senior proceeded to lecture all of us underclassmen about how we had no taste in music- that we were all slaves to the trends and ignorant of anything beyond the Top 40 garbage played on pop radio. That we would do better to educate ourselves about the man we lost yesterday.

It was because of his lecture that I made an effort to learn about Stevie Ray Vaughan's music. I went to the local record store that week and bought one of his albums. Remember when every neighborhood had a cool record store filled with vinyl albums, import CDs, and bootleg Zeppelin concert tapes? Ah, good memories!

Anyhow, I've been a fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan's music to this day.

Read this video's comments. Have you ever seen so many positive comments on YouTube?