On August 26, 1990, guitar prodigy Stevie Ray Vaughan opened for Eric Clapton at the Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, WI. The show ended with a powerful on-stage collaboration between Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, brother Jimmie Vaughan, Buddy Guy, and Robert Cray.

In the morning hours of August 27, Stevie Ray boarded a helicopter headed for Chicago with members of Clapton’s personnel: tour manager Colin Smythe, bodyguard Nigel Browne, and agent Bobby Brooks. Just outside of East Troy, the helicopter encountered very thick fog and crashed into a mountain, killing all four men and the pilot, Jeffrey Brown. Clapton continued on with the tour, deciding that those on board the helicopter would have wanted such action.

I was filling for Fredrocks doing Middays on KY-102 in Kansas City and we didn’t know who was on board or who was dead, everyone was speculating that Clapton or Robert Cray was dead. I went next door to the WDAF-AM news room and asked Charles Grey if anything came across the wire about the crash, I remember him saying to me ” all rock and rollers die like this, why is that?” I had no f*c#kin’ clue, but that always been stuck in my head to this day.

We found out about Noon the conformation of Stevie’s death, and the members of Eric Clapton staff. Hell we had Clapton in concert the next night at Standstone Amphitheater, we thought it would be cancelled. Clapton went on as promised, and played his heart out. the only reference to the crash, was a little riff of “Pride & Joy”. It was a tough night for the band and all of in the audience, especially during “Wonderful Tonight”. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house. Twenty years ago today, damn..