Date of Death: August 27, 1990
Age: 35
Cause of Death: Helicopter Crash
Another posthumous reaction from me, as I certainly wasn’t listening to him when I was ten years old. I was introduced by a friend, and Vaughan (in addition to John Fogerty) was responsible for my love of guitar music. The Sky is Crying and Texas Flood are two of my favorite songs. Pride and Joy is pretty awesome, too.
I had a speech teacher in college whose office was a shrine dedicated to Jimi Hendrix. If you even hinted that Vaughan was a better guitar player you might risk getting a lower grade. I don’t really see the point in debating it, as they’re both obviously incredible. Their styles are also different. I prefer Vaughan’s, and I still have never seen anyone handle a guitar with such speed and grace. I really wish I could have been collecting his music for decades.
Death By Troggles 
Vaughan covered Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) and it’s one of those rare instances where original and cover are somewhat different, but both completely awesome. I couldn’t tell you which I prefer – only that I adore both. Like you, I became a big fan just a few years after he’d died. I had a similar thing with The Who…the more I came to love them, the more affected I was by Keith Moon’s death, which really wasn’t all that long after my birth.