The eighties were a very dull time for the blues, and it took the enormous talent of Stevie Ray Vaughan to bring it back in style. His fierce guitar style and enormous sound got him noticed by David Bowie who hired him to play on his 1983 album Let’s Dance, and Stevie declined to tour with him in order to concentrate on his solo career. That turned out to be a nice move for him since the four albums he released before his death are still revered as blues classics.