An iconic rock musician, a tragic death, and a surprising musical — and financial — legacy.
Just how is the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan making more money now than when he was alive?
Stevie Ray Vaughan's impact on the world of rock music is immeasurable. Countless rock musicians
have paid tribute or cited him as an inspiration, from John Mayer to Gary Clark, Jr. and more.
"The way I look at it is if the next show we do is the last one I ever get to do,
it sure would be a shame if I didn't really try to give it all my best."
Unfortunately, though, rock legends don't live forever. Vaughan tragically died on August 27th,
1990, in a helicopter crash, sending ripples throughout the music industry for years to
come. And when a celebrity passes, the matter of who inherits what and who gets
the estate quickly comes to mind. But who inherited Vaughan's money after his passing?
Vaughan was born on October 3rd, 1954, in Dallas,
Texas, and became interested in music at a very early age. He was evidently a talented child,
having played guitar from the young age of 7. Vaughan played in various garage
bands through his rambunctious youth, until he made the decision to drop out of school
and pursue music full time. Vaughan went from band to band, finding gigs at various venues.
He didn't form his own band until years later, in 1978, when Jack Newhouse, Tommy Shannon,
Chris Layton, and Vaughan himself assembled the band known as Double Trouble. Both Vaughan
and his band had made a name for themselves in Texas, as they played in various clubs
across the state. Vaughan eventually got to perform on David Bowie's album Let's
Dance and soon after landed a record deal with producer John Hammond. The rest was history.
So, what happened after his death in 1990? Well, when someone dies, a person or group of people
are generally designated as their heirs, which means they inherit property, wealth,
and sometimes gain control over an estate. One important thing to note with succession laws,
however, is that they can and often do vary from state to state. Specifically,
state laws usually determine where an estate will go if a will does not exist.
In general, spouses and children are the highest priority, followed by next of kin.
Stevie Ray Vaughan died with neither a will nor any surviving spouse and children. In accordance
with state law, this meant that his next of kin — his brother Jimmie Vaughan — received control
of his estate and assets. The surviving Vaughan brother is in charge of his estate to this day.
Surprisingly, Vaughan didn't die with as much money as many people might've thought. As detailed
in the Stevie Ray Vaughan Archive, the assets collected only totaled a little over $672,000.
Given Vaughan's legendary status in rock music, along with his very successful music career,
this sum might seem rather paltry. Some of his assets included stocks and bonds,
physical goods like a Chevrolet Caprice, 34 guitars, various speakers and amps, along with
royalties from songs. Vaughan had also accrued $68,850 in debt, further adding to the small sum
of his overall estate after his death. Along with these assets, the helicopter company that owned
the helicopter Vaughan died in also paid out a settlement of $300,000 to the Vaughan family.
Jimmie Vaughan now runs his late brother's estate, a position that comes with many
privileges — including being able to receive money from all sales of his brother's music.
One peculiar aspect of this, however, is that the Vaughan estate is actually making
significantly more money with posthumous releases than it did when Vaughan was alive.
The Vaughan estate, under Jimmie's guidance, released multiple posthumous albums in just
a few years following Stevie's death. The collaboration album Family Style became a
chart topper a mere month after Vaughan's death, for example. There's also The Sky Is Crying,
a compilation album, as well as Live at the El Mocambo. In particular, The Sky Is Crying became
Vaughan's best-selling album. Despite this success, the rapid release of these albums
led some to wonder if Jimmie Vaughan was taking advantage of his brother's fame for monetary
gain. Either way, it's clear that Vaughan will continue to be a popular musician among fans.