Anyone who’s been in my basement — a.k.a. the studio, a.k.a. the man cave — has seen my Stevie Ray Vaughan poster hanging on the wall. Although Stevie isn’t responsible for my initial desire to play guitar, he certainly is responsible for making the guitar a permanent part of my being. Take a listen, read on and find out why.

Before I discovered Stevie, playing guitar was just an exercise of learning songs note-for-note — which for many is completely gratifying. But when I heard Stevie Ray Vaughan play guitar for the first time, I realized how expressive the act of playing the guitar could be. This notion changed everything for me. From that moment forward, I’ve gotten most of my enjoyment out of improvisation — soloing — because of the emotional expression that it affords me. I owe all of that to Stevie.

In this track, you can hear Stevie at his best. This slow blues tune in the key of A is a song about a jealous man threatened by a would-be challenger for his true love. Or something like that. Blues lyrics generally don’t tell the whole story, but Stevie’s solo sure fills in the blanks. This man is angry — no, he’s furious. With violent bursts of fuzz-laden notes, Stevie shows that this man is seething with ferocious aggression. The energy in this solo is absolutely incredible.

Energy is the name of the game with Stevie, and he brings it. Every cut on every album. But this one is special. This one is classic SRV.

This track can be found on the DVD “Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: Live from Austin, TX” as well as on the album “The Real Deal: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.”

For more information about me and the guitar lessons that I give, visit www.ewguitar.com.