Lenora Darlene Bailey, also known as Lenny Vaughan was not so famous on her own, but she was able to make a name for herself as the former celebrity wife of Stevie Ray Vaughan – an American music act and frontman of “Double Trouble” band.
Although her marriage to one of the most iconic blues cum rock stars, Stevie did not last forever, it would keep her in the line of fame even after their 1988 divorce after about 8 years of marriage and many years after Stevie’s death as well as her death in 2018 at the age of 65.
Her Early Life Before Stevie
Lenora Darlene “Lenny” Bailey was born on December 1, 1953, in Bakersfield, Kern County, California, the United States.
Her parents were Don Richard Bailey (1930 to 2004) and Lenora Belle Wilson Bailey (1933 to 1998).
She also had younger sisters, Zana and Katrina.
The former celebrity wife lived her earliest life away from the lens but then, she was dragged by love and marriage into it. Before then, however, she had already fallen in love with music.
How She Met Stevie and Why Their Marriage Failed
There is no actual tale of how Lenora met Stevie, but the latter was said to propose to her at the early stage of their relationship with a reported twisted gum wrapper as a ring.
In 1979, they became married and spent about 8 years in the marriage before they split.
The real reason for their divorce has remained sketchy as different sites have conflicting tales to tell. For some, the marriage ended due to the influence of another woman Vaughan had met and started dating, Janna Lapidus. Others however link the divorce to the alcohol and drug addiction of the talented singer.
Whatever the cause, the former couple would do well in shielding the processes. Her ex also reportedly started dating Janna the same year.
She Remmaried and Had a Daughter After Her Failed Marriage to Stevie
Apart from her marriage did not work out with the musician, Stevie, she was also married to a therapeutic massager. From the marriage, she had a daughter.
On the other hand, her ex had dated Lindi Bethel from 1973 to 1979 and then married Lenora afterward.
He was with Janna Lapidus from 1986 to 1990 after he divorced his wife.
Lenora Darlene Bailey was a Reiki Master and an Ordained Minister
At the time the ex-wife of Stevie Ray Vaughan had her daughter and the little girl was 2 years old, she headed to China to earn a degree in acupuncture.
She became a healer and also studied topics from gardening to astrology as well as the healing power of crystals.
Before she passed, the woman had become a Reiki Master and also an Ordained Minister.
Other Fascinating Facts About the Life of Lenora Darlene Bailey
Her Ex Had Named His Guitar After Her
Stevie was a man of many musical talents and was great at playing the guitar. He was said to have a guitar that he named Lenny. In addition, Lenora was said to have gifted him another guitar which he reportedly also named after her.
She Believed in Reincarnation and Would Love to Have Her Next Life as a Watermelon
The former wife of a sensational “Double Trouble” frontman believed in reincarnation. According to a tribute written by her daughter after she passed, Lenny had the thought to reincarnate as a watermelon or some parsley if she would have another life.
See Also: Tytyana Miller: Bio, Cause Of Death Of Master P’s Daughter
Net Worth of Lenora Darlene Bailey
The earnings of the acupuncture graduate are not known but may have gathered a net worth that is above $100,000 before she passed.
Her musician ex-husband was worth $8 million as estimated at the time of his death.
He made his income mainly from music. He was dubbed as one of the most iconic musicians in the blues genre. Stevie was also listed as the 7th greatest guitarist of all time by David Fricke of Rolling Stone.
His music career is traced to the influence of his brother, Jimmy Ray Vaughan when they were kids. In the 1960s, the time the 1954 Dallas-born joined “Chantones” but later left to join another, “Southern Distributor” in 1969. He joined other bands such as Krackerjack, Liberation, Cast of Thousands, Blackbird, Nightcrawlers, Paul Ray and the Cobras, and Triple Threat Revue from the late 1960s to the last 1970s.
In 1978, he changed his founded Triple Threat Revue to Double Trouble where he performed alongside Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon.
Lenny’s ex-husband’s musical success is related to Double Trouble where he sold about 15 million units. With the band, he is mostly remembered for songs and albums such as:
- Texas Food (1983)
- Couldn’t Stand the Weather (1984)
- Soul to Soul (1985)
- In Step (1989)
- In the Beginning (1992)
What to Know About Her Death
On July 27, 2018, Lenora Darlene Vaughan passed away in her home in Mexico.
The cause of her death may be related to an ailment as her daughter had given insight.
She died at 65, 28 years after the death of Stevie who was 35.
Her former singer ex had died alongside 4 others in a helicopter crash in 1990. The others include Jeff Brown (pilot), Bobby Brooks (agent), Nigel Browne (bodyguard), and Colin Smythe (tour manager).
After her ex’s death, a posthumous release of his work, Crossfire, was a huge success. His album Family Style, which was also released after his death, won a Grammy Award and became a best-selling.
In 2000, Stevie was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Before that, Austin, a city in Texas erected the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial.
On the other hand, her death never stopped her cause of charity. Her daughter had encouraged people to donate to either the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, or both.
