His fourth and final studio album In Step reached number 33 in the United States in 1989; it was one of Vaughan's most critically and commercially successful releases and included his only number-one hit, "Crossfire".

Vaughan was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, along with Double Trouble bandmates Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon, and Reese Wynans.

[15] Their first show was at a talent contest held in Dallas' Hill Theatre, but after realizing that they could not perform a Jimmy Reed song in its entirety, Vaughan left the band and joined the Brooklyn Underground, playing professionally at local bars and clubs.

"[25] Attending Justin F. Kimball High School during the early 1970s, Vaughan's late-night shows contributed to his neglect of his studies, including music theory; he would often sleep during class.

[37][nb 7] In 1975, Vaughan joined a six-piece band called Paul Ray and the Cobras which included guitarist Denny Freeman and saxophonist Joe Sublett.

[38] For the next two-and-a-half years, he earned a living performing weekly at a popular venue in town, the Soap Creek Saloon, and ultimately the newly opened Antone's, widely known as Austin's "home of the blues".

[42] In addition to playing with the Cobras, Vaughan jammed with many of his influences at Antone's, including Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Albert King.

[43] Vaughan toured with the Cobras during much of 1977, but near the end of September, when they decided to strive for a mainstream musical direction, he left the band and formed Triple Threat Revue, which included singer Lou Ann Barton, bassist W. C. Clark, and drummer Fredde "Pharaoh" Walden.

[46] Following the recruitment of bassist Jackie Newhouse, Walden quit in July, and was briefly replaced by Jack Moore, who had moved to Texas from Boston; he performed with the band for about two months.

He insisted the festival's blues night would be great with Vaughan, whom he called "a jewel, one of those rarities who comes along once in a lifetime", and Nobs agreed to book Double Trouble on July 17, 1982.

[66] People's James McBride wrote: He seemed to come out of nowhere, a Zorro-type figure in a riverboat gambler's hat, roaring into the '82 Montreux festival with a '59 Stratocaster at his hip and two flame-throwing sidekicks he called Double Trouble.

[82] On May 9, the band performed at The Bottom Line in New York City, where they opened for Bryan Adams, with Hammond, Mick Jagger, John McEnroe, Rick Nielsen, Billy Gibbons, and Johnny Winter in attendance.

All the radio station personalities, DJs, program directors, all the retail record store owners and the important managers, press, all the executives from New York came down—about seven hundred people.

[nb 11] Hodges stated that many people disliked the idea of Double Trouble opening for The Moody Blues, but asserted that a common thread that both bands shared was "album-oriented rock".

'"[96] In January 1984, Double Trouble began recording their second studio album, Couldn't Stand the Weather, at the Power Station, with John Hammond as executive producer and engineer Richard Mullen.

"[98] During recording sessions, Vaughan began experimenting with other combinations of musicians, including Fran Christina and Stan Harrison, who played drums and saxophone respectively on the jazz instrumental, "Stang's Swang".

[103] According to AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Couldn't Stand the Weather "confirmed that the acclaimed debut was no fluke, while matching, if not bettering, the sales of its predecessor, thereby cementing Vaughan's status as a giant of modern blues.

[105] For the second half of the concert, he added Jimmie as rhythm guitarist, drummer George Rains, keyboardist Dr. John, Roomful of Blues horn section, and featured vocalist Angela Strehli.

[114] The audience of 2,200 people, which included Vaughan's wife, family and friends, transformed the venue into what Stephen Holden of The New York Times described as "a whistling, stomping roadhouse".

[116][nb 15] Double Trouble went on to perform renditions of the Isley Brothers' "Testify", The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", "Tin Pan Alley", Elmore James' "The Sky Is Crying", and W. C. Clark's "Cold Shot", along with four original compositions including "Love Struck Baby", "Honey Bee", "Couldn't Stand the Weather", and "Rude Mood".

[133] Astrodome publicist Molly Glentzer wrote in the Houston Press: "As Vaughan shuffled back behind home plate, he was only lucid enough to know that he wanted Mickey Mantle's autograph.

"[148] According to the authors Joe Nick Patoski and Bill Crawford: "In the ensuing twenty-five years, he had worked his way through the Physicians' Desk Reference before finding his poisons of preference—alcohol and cocaine.

[149] According to Hopkins, by the time of Double Trouble's European tour in September 1986, "his lifestyle of substance abuse had reached a peak, probably better characterized as the bottom of a deep chasm.

[162][nb 19] As the tour progressed, Vaughan was longing to work on material for his next LP, but in January 1987, he filed for divorce from Lenny, which restricted him from any projects until the proceedings were finalized.

[170] After the In Step recording sessions moved to Los Angeles, Vaughan added horn players Joe Sublett and Darrell Leonard, who played saxophone and trumpet respectively on both "Crossfire" and "Love Me Darlin'".

Although they met several times, and often played sessions with the same musicians or even performed the same material, as in the case of "Boot Hill," Vaughan always refrained from acknowledging Winter in any form.

[202] On June 24, 2004, one of Vaughan's Stratocasters, the aforementioned "Lenny" strat, was sold at an auction to benefit Eric Clapton's Crossroads Centre in Antigua; the instrument was bought by Guitar Center for $623,500.

Vaughan's work continues to influence numerous blues, rock, and alternative artists, including John Mayer,[210] Kenny Wayne Shepherd,[211] Mike McCready,[212] Albert Cummings,[213] Los Lonely Boys and Chris Duarte among others.

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Vaughan as "the leading light in American blues" who developed "a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre".

[223][224] The recipients include Eric Clapton, David Crosby, Steven Tyler, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Pete Townshend, Chris Cornell, Jerry Cantrell, and Mike McCready among others.