In 1989, Sahm formed the supergroup the Texas Tornados with fellow Tex-Mex musicians Augie Meyers, Freddy Fender and Flaco Jiménez.

During the Great Depression, Sahm's parents moved to San Antonio, where Victor worked at Kelly Field Air Force base.

The music of Lefty Frizzell, Howlin' Wolf, Lonesome Sundown, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, T-Bone Walker, Floyd Tillman, and San Antonio musicians Johnny Owen and Ricky Aguirre influenced him during his teenage years.

[14][15][8] Sahm enjoyed success performing in San Antonio nightclubs,[16] as he played a blend of music that consisted of rhythm and blues with the addition of the West Side tenor saxophone player Eracleo "Rocky" Morales.

[17] The "West Side Sound", characteristic of San Antonio, consisted of a blend of genres: country music, conjunto, rhythm and blues, polka and rock and roll.

Meaux, the owner of SugarHill Recording Studios, was enjoying success with Dale and Grace and Barbara Lynn, and turned Sahm down.

Determined to find the reason for the commercial success of The Beatles sound, Meaux said he purchased several of their records and rented three rooms at the Wayfarer Hotel in San Antonio.

[24] Sahm and Meyers appeared with The Dave Clark Five in San Antonio, where they were featured on the program, with their respective bands, as the opening acts.

[27] Sahm put together a band with Meyers (keyboard), Frank Morin (saxophone), Harvey Kagan (bass) and Johnny Perez (drums).

[25] The song was released on Tribe Records in 1965 and credited to the Sir Douglas Quintet—an "English-sounding" name created by Meaux to capitalize on the success of the British Invasion.

[32] After meeting Sahm in New York City in 1965, Bob Dylan said in an interview he felt the Sir Douglas Quintet would be a commercial success on radio.

[39] Sahm became acquainted with the music acts playing in the Haight-Ashbury district, and performed at venues including The Fillmore and the Avalon Ballroom.

The Sir Douglas Quintet opened for the Grateful Dead in Oakland, California,[40] and in October 1966 performed with Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin.

[41] Helped by lawyer Brian Rohan, who represented the Grateful Dead, Sahm was signed to Mercury Records and its subsidiary labels.

His arrival in San Francisco with the other Texan musicians was covered in the feature "Tribute to the Lone Star State: Dispossessed Men and Mothers of Texas".

[52] As he continued to enjoy success in Austin's venues, Sahm used material left over from his October 1972 sessions with Atlantic Records for his 1973 release Texas Tornado.

[53] The following year Warner Records released his next album,[54] Groover's Paradise, featuring Doug Clifford and Stu Cook, former musicians in Creedence Clearwater Revival.

[4] Sahm reformed the band after it had gained momentum from the success of new wave music, and the use of organs featured by Elvis Costello and The Attractions.

[55] By 1985, Sahm had moved to Canada after he visited friends in Vancouver, but he returned to Austin every year to take part in the South by Southwest festival.

[64] He formed the band The Texas Mavericks in Austin in 1987 with Alvin Crow (fiddle), Speedy Sparks (bass), John Reed (guitar), and Ernie Durawa (drums).

Sahm booked the Cherry Ridge Studios in Floresville, Texas, and he assisted with the recording of Burleson's debut album My Perfect World.

[85] In 1973, during a visit to the Mexican restaurant La Rosa in San Antonio, Sahm was apprehended by police officers who searched him, his car, and his companions for drugs.

[99] Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen,[98] then-Texas governor George W. Bush, and Willie Nelson reached out to the family to express their condolences.

[101][2] In July 2000, the songs recorded at the Cherry Ridge Studios sessions the previous year were released on the posthumous album The Return of Wayne Douglas.

[81] His long hair and sideburns, his use of sunglasses and his preference for western attire including cowboy hats and boots characterized Sahm's look.

[9][103][104][105] Sahm's presence was described as "impulsive, restless and energetic" by Texas Monthly,[70] while his way of talking was characterized by a "rapid-fire" style and the use of hippie jargon.

The plaque features a caricature of Sahm by Kerry Awn and a short biography written by Austin Chronicle's music columnist Margaret Moser.

[121] The same year, music writer Joe Nick Patoski premiered his documentary on Sahm Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove at the South by Southwest festival.

[130] The film was re-released in 2022, and a special screening in San Antonio featured a Q&A section that included original Sir Douglas Quintet members Meyers and Jack Barber.

It features 12 songs that span Sahm’s career as a solo artist as well as his work with Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.