Known as the first professional-grade guitar that Texas blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan played in not only his first studio recording but also earlier performances, a 1951 Fender Broadcaster guitar recently sold at auction in Dallas, Vaughan’s hometown. The instrument went for $250,000.
A spokesman for Heritage Auction, Eric Bradley, stated that the winning bidder for the auction, held on Sunday, April 15, chose to remain anonymous at this time. Craig Hopkins, Vaughan’s biographer, had noted last week that this particular electric guitar had “…considerable historical significance,” explaining that it was the one Vaughan “…pretty much learned his craft on.”
A gift from Jimmie Vaughan, the bluesman’s brother, in the late 1960s, the guitar had the name “Jimbo” carved on its back. Hopkins explained that in 1971, Stevie Ray Vaughan had traded the guitar away, and noted in an interview how much he had wanted to have it back. Despite his short-lived mainstream media career (lasting seven years), Vaughan is credited with being the most influential guitarists in the revival of the blues genre in the 1980s. His style and influence continue to be felt long after his death. Vaughn is noted as an icon for many a young protégé well into this decade. Inspired by his brother Jimmie, he began playing guitar at the age of seven, and in 1971 he dropped out of high school and moved to Austin to pursue his dreams in music. By late 1977, he had formed the group Double Trouble, and in ’83 his debut album was released, entitled “Texas Flood.” Vaughan died in a helicopter crash in 1990. He was only 35 years old.
