I have just finished watching a performance by Jimmie Vaughan of Six Strings Down, a song written by Art Neville, Eric Kolb, Aaron Neville, Cyril Neville, Kelsey Smith, and Jimmie Vaughan as a eulogy to Jimmie's brother, Stevie Ray Vaughan.The song refers to the Alpine Valley Music Theater, Wisconsin where the helicopter carrying Stevie Ray and several others crashed following a concert in 1990.
It also references other blues guitarists including Jimi Hendrix, Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones, Freddie King, and Albert King.
Listening to the song and watching the performance on the DVD of the Eric Clapton 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival got me thinking and I was also reminded of an article I was reading on a web site I 'stumbled' upon (and now can't recall or find again) about Sean Costello and I thought I would compose a series of posts for this blog about other blues artists whose lives were also tragically cut short.
This is the first in the series of these posts and please check back in with this blog regularly as I will be composing a further posts on this subject.
Sean Costellob. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 16 April, 1979
d. 15 April, 2008
Described by some as "the most gifted young Blues guitarist on the scene...", Sean Costello mastered traditional blues guitar at an early age and became increasingly eclectic as his career progressed.
Obsessive about the guitar, he got hooked on the blues after buying Howlin’ Wolf's 'Rockin' Chair album.
At sixteen, Sean Costello recorded his first album, Call The Cops, and in the words of music historian Tony Russell he was already ‘displaying a flawless command of 1950s blues guitar’.
His second album, Cuttin’ In (2000),was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award for Best New Artist Debut.
His playing on the Nappy Brown comeback album, Long Time Coming (2007) was crtically aclaimed and in 2008 Sean Costello released what was to be his last album, We Can Get Together, and was described by many as his best work.
He has been nominated for two Blues Music Awards in the categories of Best Contemporary Blues Male Artist and Best Contemporary Blues Album for We Can Get Together.
Winners will be announced on May 7, 2009.
(Please check back in with this blog regularly as I will be composing a further post on this subject).
Sean Costello was found dead in his Atlanta hotel room on April 15, 2008.
A medical report later determined that he died of an accidental drug overdose.
To see Sean Costello in action please see this month’s YouTube of The Month post.
