Greg Johnson Interview with Stevie Ray Vaughan, January 18, 1987. #4 of 4, Soundcheck

After the interview at Hit Video USA HQ, just a few blocks from the venue, it was time for soundcheck. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, ... Tommy Shannon (bass), Chris Layton (drums), Reese Wynans (Hammond B3 organ) ... warming up the super reverbs for an evening of straight ahead blues rock at Sam Houston Coliseum. From the Live Alive LP (1986), "Willie the Wimp" was composed by Austin, Texas songwriters Bill Carter and Ruth Ellsworth and was a perfect fit for Stevie's ever expanding music catalog. They were inspired to write the song after reading journalist Bob Greene's syndicated column about the funeral of Willie "Wimp" Stokes, Jr., who was buried in a casket that had been custom-designed to look like a Cadillac Seville. Even in soundcheck, Stevie's all or nothing style comes through. A few hours later, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble put on a helluva show! (That guitar might be the 1951 Fender Telecaster his brother Jimmy gave him?)