Though Texan blues/rock guitarist Jimmie Vaughan has done a great deal in recent years to preserve the legacy of his late brother, guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, his own musical projects over the last three decades have earned Jimmie his own place in Texas music history.

Jimmie Vaughan, born in Dallas, 48 years ago today, began playing guitar as a child. He was influenced by blues and rock guitarists such as Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Chuck Berry. As a teen, Vaughan played in the Dallas garage-rock band the Chessmen before moving to Austin. He then joined blues bar bands, prior to forming his own group, the Storm.

During this period, Vaughan developed his signature style: lean-but-rugged lead guitar work. In 1974, Vaughan met singer/harmonica player Kim Wilson; the duo formed the Fabulous Thunderbirds with Keith Ferguson (bass) and Mike Buck (drums). The band developed a loyal following on the Texas club scene and signed with Chrysalis Records after releasing its eponymous independent LP in 1979.

After a few flop albums, the once-promising T-Birds were dropped by Chrysalis, just as Vaughan's younger brother Stevie Ray was achieving national prominence as an innovative, exhilarating guitar phenomenon. Jimmie retained a lower profile until the Fabulous Thunderbirds were saved from extinction by Columbia Records. In 1986, the band issued Tuff Enuff, which became a platinum smash thanks to the top-10, Dave Edmunds-produced title cut (RealAudio excerpt).

The T-Birds' follow-up, 1987's Hot Number, also sold well, but by that point only Jimmie Vaughan and Wilson remained from the band's early lineup. Frustrated with the group's growing slickness, Vaughan left after Powerful Stuff (1989). After several replacement players came and went, the group disbanded.

In 1990, Jimmie recorded an album with Stevie Ray (Family Style, which was billed to the Vaughan Brothers and included the song "Tick Tock") and planned to tour with him. But shortly before the LP's release, Stevie Ray died in a helicopter crash following a show in which he had played with Jimmie. After the tragedy, Jimmie took a hiatus from working in order to recover.

He finally began a solo career with the 1994 release of the Grammy-nominated Strange Pleasure and a big supporting tour. Last year, Vaughan issued the follow-up, Out There, featuring "The Ironic Twist," which was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Both LPs featured production by Nile Rodgers, formerly of '70s disco band Chic.

He also has spent the years since Stevie Ray's death overseeing his brother's catalog, including the posthumous 1991 LP The Sky Is Crying and the 1997 Live at Carnegie Hall CD, which documented a 1984 show by Stevie Ray with his band, Double Trouble.

In "Stevie Ray Vaughan: Caught in the Crossfire," the biography by Joe Nick Patoski and Bill Crawford, Stevie Ray was quoted as saying about his brother: "He's given me so much to grow with, that he doesn't need to flaunt. And I sit here and wave it all around. If he wouldn't have been there to start with I wouldn't have had anything to reap. He is responsible for me having the chance to play. I really believe that. My brother is really the reason I play and I'll always respect him for that. He's the biggest big brother I could ever have."

Both Vaughan brothers played major roles in putting Texan blues/rock on the national musical map.

Other birthdays: Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), 52; Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats), 38; and Tracy Chapman, 35.