MusicRadar

Blues Week rolls on at MusicRadar. In addition to all of our amazing content which you can find right here, we now bring you an in-depth discussion with two of the people who knew the late Stevie Ray Vaughan better than anybody, his blues brothers Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon, the rhythm section that was Double Trouble.

When Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble entered New York City's Power Station studios in January 1984 to record their second album, Couldn't Stand The Weather, they knew the pressure was on.

"We were being looked at very closely," remembers bassist Shannon. "Texas Flood went Gold, which shocked everybody. Here this little blues trio out of Austin comes along and makes good - nobody could believe it. So we had to outdo that album and prove that we weren't some fluke. We had no idea that we'd make what people nowadays are calling a classic."

It was a heady time for the band. Signed just a year earlier by the legendary A&R executive and producer John Hammond, whose discoveries included the likes of Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen ("a brilliant man," says drummer Layton, "and we were honored to be his last signing"), the group lived it up in the Big Apple, thrilled to be working with an actual budget and in a world-class studio.

"Those were during our wild and crazy days of drinkin' and druggin'," says Shannon. "We took the music very seriously, but we also took the partying seriously. The two sort of went hand in hand back then."

Armed with strong originals (Scuttle Buttin', Honey Bee, Stang's Swang and the title track), along with an inspired selection of covers, including their blistering take on Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child (Slight Return), the band served up was a staggering set of white-hot blues mixed with imaginative touches of jazz, soul and rock.

The recently released deluxe reissue features a remastered version of the original album along with previously unreleased bonus tracks, alternate takes and a second CD which documents a live concert recorded at the Spectrum in Montreal, Canada on 17 August 1984.

"When I listen to the record now, I hear a band that's hungry," says Layton. "We were being given the keys to the car, and we were ready to go out and tear it up and make our mark on the world. All in all, I think we did just that."

Recently, MusicRadar sat down with Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton to discuss the making of Couldn't Stand The Weather, their personal and professional relationship with Stevie Ray Vaughan and to share their heartfelt, moving reflections on the iconic bluesman they called a friend.

It's been 20 years since Stevie died. Is it still hard to believe? Do you ever get over such a tragic event?

Chris Layton: "Twenty years doesn't mean anything to me. I think about Stevie every day. We spent a musical lifetime of 16 years together - that's incredible to me. I feel so honored and blessed to have been a part of that. But do you ever get over it? No, I don't think so. You accept it, but you don't get over it."

Tommy Shannon: "There's still a hole in my heart, and it'll always be there. I miss him so much. He was taken away so fast - I don't know if you can ever get over something like that. Even though I've learned to get on with life…[pauses] He was my best friend. I had the best gig in the world. In a second, everything changed forever."

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