The City of Cockrell Hill has added a new feature to Stevie Ray Vaughan Park. The park now features a public stage named after Stevie Ray's older brother, Jimmie Vaughan.
Both of the Vaughan Brothers grew up in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas in the 1950's and 1960's, and also spent time living in Cockrell Hill. The city opened the park last year on the site of Stevie Ray's first-ever public performance. Mayor Luis Carrera says they got the idea after seeing a photograph of Stevie Ray in a documentary.
"On the back of that picture, he signed it. It says 'first band, first gig'. We're looking at it, it says 'Cockrell Hill'. So, we did a little bit of background...there was a theater there. In a week or two, the property was for sale," Mayor Carrera said. "It's like the stars just lined up."
The park opened in 2023. This weekend, Cockrell Hill celebrated the addition of the Jimmie Vaughan Stage with an appearance from Jimmie himself. He says as a child growing up in north Texas, he did not expect to one day be honored by the community.
"You’ve got to realize that I didn't think I was going to do well in this world, or Stevie. We were just having fun and doing whatever we could," he said.
Jimmie Vaughan has earned four Grammy Awards during his musical career. Stevie Ray won six Grammy Awards. The brothers had success separately but also joined forces on the 1990 album "Family Style". Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash in August of that year at the age of 35.
Jimmie says the music they heard growing up in Cockrell Hill and Dallas influenced both of them as musicians.
"We were around hillbilly music and blues, it was on the radio," he said. Both of their parents were music fans as well.
"They would go dancing, we heard a lot of music," he said. "Our uncles all played guitar, they played in bands."
Mayor Carrera hopes the new Jimmie Vaughan Stage at Stevie Ray Vaughan Park will help keep the musical tradition alive in the community.
"We tried to play into the children. That stage we created was so that local artists can come, and they can play," he said.
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