Stevie Ray Vaughan: Caught in the Crossfire

Stevie Ray Vaugahn: Caught in the Crossfire is a very insightful, informative look into the life and career of Stevie Ray Vaughan. This book concerns itself with details while remaining flattering to the fans of Stevie Ray without boring the casual reader. A great book that I have purchased on two different occasions and read more times than I can remember. A highly recommended purchase for anyone with any interest in Stevie Ray Vaughan.

I'm a guitar player and a huge fan of music and the blues specifically. Although I never had a lot of SRV's records, his playing blew me away, as it did most folks. Many years after his death I thought I'd read this and I absolutely couldn't put it down. Patoski transports you back to SRV's beginnings - his family, his famous brother, the bars and dives he played while paying his dues. I've never had a better overview of the Texas music scene spanning over 20 years. But most of all, this book made me love the man. Stevie overcame great obstacles. He conquered his addictions and became a living example of a survivor, only to die tragically in a helicopter crash. It truly broke my heart after reading this book and learning the details of his life. Not only for music fans, but also for anyone wanting to read about recovery and redemption. This story would make a great movie.....but it would be a tear-jerker.

Very detailed. The author conducted what must have been hundreds of interviews with friends, acquaintances and family. He consulted as many newspaper and magazine articles and no doubt walked the streets of Austin and Oak Cliff. The result is a detailed description of his subject and the environment. Yet it's not a forest for the trees situation. The details do not drown out the overall story. Sometimes excessive details can make a book boring or hard to follow. Not in this case. The author begins the story with the Vaughan's migration to Texas from Kentucky. He also describes the evolution of Dallas as a music town starting as early as Blind Lemon Jefferson. Stevie's years as a school boy in Dallas, his years playing small clubs in Austin, and his nonpublic life are described in as much detail perhaps more indepthly than his life as a famous blues superstar. SRV lived his entire life the same way he played guitar: pedal to the metal. Drugs, girls, partying, jamming were all done fast and hard until he passed out from exhaustion. After 18 hours or more of sleep, it would start all over again. After decades of life pedal to the metal it is amazing that he survivied. But he didn't just survive. He cleaned himself up and became a better person. It seems like he was a nice person. He spent a lot of effort helping other musicians especially underappreciated blues musicians. He insisted that his Double Trouble bandmates received the same salary as he even though clearly SRV was the only reason people came to see Double Trouble. The book also explores the mystery of the 1982 Montreaux Jazz Festival performance where the band was booed. Besides a couple of freaked out hippies dancing in front, the rest of the crowd (probably arthouse goons) sat and watched the performance in contempt and booed enthusiastically in between songs. The book offers an explanation, but perhaps in some minds the crowd's behavior at that event will remain an enigma. Summary: good book, well written. If you like SRV, then you won't regret having gotten this book.

After much hype about this book, Caught in the Crossfire, I had to see for myself. I received this book as a gift and immediately picked it up to read it. I read 7 chapters in the first night. Being an avid fan and well-read on Stevie and the blues, I was expecting to find something wrong or at least something to contradict what I had read before. Not in this book. One can see the research that Patoski put into this book and how much he cared about his work. Patoski documented Stevie's life from the time he was born until the time of death. He included everything; the good, the bad, and the ugly. After all, isn't that what life is all about? And isn't Stevie and his music about life? Patoski showed the reader that although Stevie was in a battle against himself, he also gave the optimistic feeling that Stevie would one day realize his problems and fix them. This gives the reader a feeling of hope, as in real life. Caught in the Crossfire documents Stevie's childhood, his pain of being made fun of at school by the other kids, his constant living in brother, Jimmie's, shadow until later, his alcohol/drug abuse, and his triumph over his personal demons. Although Stevie went through so many harsh things in life, this book shows Stevie's sweet nature and how it stayed through all his troubles. Although the book was great and the information was very accurate and precise, there were times when I thought I was reading pieces of poetry. Just one word here or a couple of words there that seemed a little too cliche or too expected. Possibly even overused. However, this didn't affect the way the book afflicted my soul. Near the end, the author just tends to use the right way of wording and touch the reader's heart, almost as if one was feeling Stevie Ray right there reading along with them, giving them a Blues Oasis which will quench their soul.

This is a better than average biography. It's well written and the story flows nicely. It depicts the life of Stevie the child (lonely, insecure, shy; and extremely talented though highly intoxicated), straight through to Stevie the man (loving, outgoing, helpful; extremely talented still, though very sober). All too often people pass away at a time in life when all of the demons inside of them have been put to rest. God must see that as a successful ending and a good time to be brought home. SRV's blues guitar style and spirited persona will live on with us forever. This book was an excellent read.