“TEXAS IS A STATE OF MIND. TEXAS IS AN OBSESSION. ABOVE ALL, TEXAS IS A NATION IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD”
—JOHN STEINBECK
IN TERMS OFactual geographical size, Texas is pretty much a pipsqueak compared to, say, Alaska. (For those keeping score, Alaska accounts for 665,384 square miles versus Texas’ total area of 268,596 square miles.) But if we’re measuring Texas’ mark on American culture, specifically through music, it’s hard to make an argument that any other territory comes close to the Lone Star State’s impact. From cowboy prairie songs to Tejano and conjunto music, from Western swing to the blues, from early rock ’n’ roll to hip-hop, and dozens of genres and sub-genres along the way, the sounds of Texas have enthralled and inspired listeners in ways that are almost incalculable.
The state also boasts bragging rights when it comes to the number of influential guitarists who have called it their home. Which begs the question: Just what is it about Texas, and why has it been such a fertile breeding ground for guitarists?
The oft-used phrase “There must be something in the water,” comes to mind, though no doubt Billy Gibbons would make a strong case for tequila. But perhaps there’s something about the state’s sheer magnitude, its rich history and renegade spirit that inspires guitarists to dream big and channel those ideas into their music unbound by restrictions. Or maybe it’s simply what choreographer (and Texas native) Tommy Tune once said: “I think Texans have more fun than the rest of the world.”
When we crafted the following list of Texas guitarists, we had to consider what actually constituted a “Texas guitarist,” and our criteria was based on anyone born there, raised there or who made their greatest impact there. There were, however, certain qualifiers that could be seen as subjective. For example, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio was born in Fort Worth, but since he moved to New Jersey when he was three and then relocated to Vermont — where he’s famously lived ever since — it would be a gigantic stretch of the imagination to call him a “Texas guitarist.” (Should we ever publish an issue celebrating guitarists from the Northeast, Anastasio will be there.)
Be advised: After reading about the 30 guitarists we’ve highlighted here (which are not presented in any sort of numerical “order”), you might find yourself playing guitar with a new sense of swagger. In which case, don’t thank us — thank them.
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN
“I’m really just another Texas blues guitarist, but I think I’ve got something special to say with my music,” Stevie Ray Vaughan told us back in 1988. Then, prophetically, he added, “But I have to keep these things in perspective, because they’re gifts. It’s all a gift, and I have to give it back all the time or it goes away.”
More than any other guitarist, Vaughan embodied and celebrated Texas. Its grandeur ran through his spectacularly untamed sound that erupted with the force of an oil gusher. Its sense of danger inhabited a vibrato that could hiss like a rattlesnake. With his colorful scarves, silver rings and his trademark Plateau hat, he looked like a badass outlaw. And yet, he comported himself like a modest country gentleman.
