Albert King called him “the greatest white blues guitarist I’ve ever seen.” Rightfully so, his own unique style in a genre that innovation is hard to come by is recognized by thousands of adoring fans 20 years after his death in Alpine Valley. After a show where he played with his brother Jimmie, Eric Clapton, and Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughan walked off stage the final time and onto a heaven bound plane in the middle of the night.

He was barred from local guitar competitions in his native Texas because he was deemed “too good” by the competition holders. He was the lead guitarist of one of the 90’s most influential heavy metal bands in Pantera. He too had a style all his own topped off with his trademark harmonic squeals and shredding style. Cowboys from Hell, Cemetery Gates, Mouth for War, and Walk showcase his work to perfection. His career and life ended with a bang in Ohio when a deranged fan shot and killed him on stage. Pardon the dark pun please, I’m just trying to lighten the mood. Darrell Lance Abbott known to the music world as “Dimebag” has been and still is unreplacable.

His incredible bass solos and riffs fooled two members from Metallica into believing what they heard was a guitar solo. Rather, it was the shredding of Cliff Burton. Renowned as one of the greatest bass guitarists metal has ever seen, he was with Metallica from 1983-86, their period of complete greatness and utter world domination. He provided the gut churning riffs and rhythm that has been the basis of “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Master of Puppets,” “Seek and Destroy,” and his famous bass solo “Anesthesia.” In the middle of the night, on their Master of Puppets European tour, he was thrown out the window of the tour bus as the bus hit a patch of black ice. He was crushed under the weight somewhere on the road by Ljunby, Sweden.

The reason why I post this blog this evening is not for tribute, it is because these men have all displayed what our life missions are. Not to die tragically in your prime, but rather to life our lives to the fullest and do what we love for a living. In death, we knew that we died with satisfaction. Whether the powers that be decided it was time, or whether fate or circumstance reared their ugly heads, that these men were shot by the arrows of outrageous misfortune. They did what we all try to do, and that is to live our dreams and to die with them fulfilled. Sure I might not know what their inner most ideas were of their dreams and wishes, but they all dreamt a common dream of rock n roll fame, and for a guy like me, knowing they achieved it means something. That’s what truly makes these men reverential, that’s what makes me look to them as more then musical role models.