T if for… Texas blues

The state of Texas has produced an incredible number of great blues musicians. Blind Lemon Jefferson, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, T-Bone Walker, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter and more all hailed from the Lone Star State.

Arguably the greatest Texan blues guitarist of them all was Stevie Ray Vaughan. Not only was he an awesome guitarist, the tone he coaxed from his vintage Strats was incredible. Stevie’s main Strat was a '59 model fitted with a '61 neck that he named Number One.

Sadly, Stevie died in a helicopter crash in 1990. Here he is blasting through This House Is Rockin’. SRV RIP.

T is also for… Twelve-string guitar

While most country blues guitarists of the '20s and '30s were content with six-string guitars, others like Leadbelly and Blind Willie McTell preferred the sound of a 12-string. Those most popular 12-string acoustics available at that time were made by the Oscar Schmidt company under the Stella brand.