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Buddy Guy

The Blues' most electrifying guitarist, Guy has remained a vital and current musician, moving blues forward without losing sight of its roots. He’s renowned for his raw, blistering vocals and high-voltage guitar playing. Guy regards himself as a “caretaker of the blues.” Having learned from the likes of Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Guitar Slim and Magic Sam, he explains, “I just take what they taught me and keep adding to it.”

George “Buddy” Guy was born in 1936 in Lettsworth, Louisiana. His earliest influences included T-Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Slim and Lightnin’ Hopkins - blues musicians who were all uniquely expressive stylists and showmen. Guy’s high-energy showmanship also owed a debt to Guitar Slim, of “The Things That I Used to Do” fame. Along the way, he developed his own style, typified by a fierce, staccato attack and tense, single-note solos.

He spent a year and a half playing with John “Big Poppa” Tilley’s band in Baton Rouge. After sending a tape to Chess Records, Guy headed to Chicago in 1958 to seek his fortune. He drew attention on the club circuit for his fiery fretwork and showmanship. With assistance from his friend and fellow bluesman, Magic Sam, Guy got signed to Cobra Records (releasing a few singles on its Artistic subsidiary). A year later Cobra folded and Guy - along with label mates Willie Dixon and Otis Rush - moved to Chess, where he played recorded from 1960 to 1967.

Guy’s Chess sides never won the recognition that accrued to some of his labelmates, but he scored a hit with “Stone Crazy,” his fourth single for the label. Another highlight of his Chess tenure was “When My Left Eye Jumps,” a menacing slow blues penned by Willie Dixon. While at Chess, Guy also served as an in-house guitarist, playing on sessions for Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Koko Taylor and others. One landmark recording backing Muddy Waters, “Folk Singer,” was cut in 1963 and released in the spring of 1964. Notably, he performed on Koko Taylor’s “Wang Dang Doodle” and Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor.”

Taking notice of the evolving blues-rock scene in England, Guy left Chess in 1968 and moved to Vanguard Records, where he cut the classic albums “A Man and His Blues,” and “Hold That Plane.” In 1970 “Buddy and the Juniors,” a trio of Guy, harmonica player Junior Wells and pianist Junior Mance, was released on Blue Thumb. Guy’s partnership with Wells yielded the 1972 album “Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Play the Blues.” A spontaneous, tradition-minded blues set, released on Atco Records. There were no fewer than 20 releases under Guy's name during the 1970s and '80s, the best of them collaborations with Junior Wells. But by the time the Eighties became the Nineties, Guy amazingly didn't even have a domestic record deal.

Buddy signed with Silvertone records in 1990, and the labels goal was to bring him the stature he deserved as a recording artist.His first three albums for Silvertone the 1991 comeback smash “Damn Right, I've Got the Blues,” 1993's “Feels Like Rain,” and 1994's “Slippin' In,” all earned Grammy Awards.

Guy's legend has only grown throughout the Nineties and the early 21st century. Subsequent releases like the eminently satisfying “Live: The Real Deal,” (1996), the daring “Heavy Love,” (1998) and 2001's “Sweet Tea,” have demonstrated that Guy, while firmly ensconced in his blues roots, has always tried to keep his music looking forward, even at the risk of alienating lovers of traditional blues sounds. The story continues with “Blues Singer,” a 2004 acoustic set in which Guy covers favorites by such peers as Skip James, Son House and John Lee Hooker. “Bring ‘Em In.” was released in 2005.

In recognition of Buddy’s seventieth birthday, in 2006 he released a box set “Can’t Quit the Blues,” on Legacy. This is a compilation of his career, and includes a DVD with him narrating his life story. This set is superbly reviewed by Jim Santella here at ‘all about jazz.’

Any discussion of Buddy Guy invariably involves a recitation of his colossal musical resume and hard-earned accolades. He's a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a pioneer of Chicago's fabled West Side sound, and a living link to that city's halcyon days of electric blues.

Buddy has received five Grammy Awards, 23 W.C. Handy Blues Awards (the most any artist has received), the Billboard Magazine Century Award for distinguished artistic achievement, and the Presidential National Medal of Arts.

Yet despite this long list of achievements, Buddy Guy and his music remain as vital as ever. In 2008 Buddy appeared on the big screen nationwide with a show-stopping performance in Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert film, Shine A Light. At the age of 72, he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone for the first time, as part of the magazine's "100 Greatest Guitar Songs" package (his cataclysmic 1961 recording of "Stone Crazy" made the list).

Guy in 2008 released “Skin Deep,” an album of all original material, with guest appearances from fellow guitar wizards Eric Clapton, Robert Randolph, Susan Tedeschi, and Derek Trucks, adding yet another dimension to this master's legendary career.

2010 saw the release of "Living Proof," which further solidifies his status as a living legend of the Blues ! Source: James Nadal
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Buddy Guy Damn Right Farewell Tour 2023

by Walter Atkins
September 25, 2023

A collection of photos from the Buddy Guy Damn Right Farewell Tour concert at Stern Grove in San Francisco on August 6, 2023 featuring Eric Gales. In front of one of the largest San Francisco Bay Area crowds (estimated 10,000) seen in recent memory, the eternal Buddy Guy brought his Damn Right Farewell Tour to a heavily sun-soaked Stern Grove on this Sunday afternoon. The highest elevation of the Grove's hillside was covered by legions of dedicated blues ...

In Pictures

Buddy Guy and the Damn Right Blues Band Heats Up a Summer Night at the Sandler Center

by Mark Robbins
September 9, 2017

When 81 years old Buddy Guy walked from stage left to the the center stage microphone of the Sandler Center the audience was already on it's feet. That's how it's been for the past 50 plus years, whether sharing the stage with Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix and others or, like Tuesday night (August 22), just him backed by the Damn Right Blues Band. Guy came to have a good time and wanted to make sure everybody else did ...

Extended Analysis

Buddy Guy: Can't Quit The Blues

by Doug Collette
September 3, 2016

The absolutely splendid Buddy Guy box set Can't Quit the Blues is worth (re)visiting on a number of fronts, the most immediate of which is that this icon of the blues has once again elevated his contemporary profile opening for Jeff Beck on tour during the summer of 2016 . But El Becko is only one of Guy's most devout admirers: Keith Richards and Gary Clark Jr. span generations to offer props to him for fashioning the course of their ...

Live Review

Buddy Guy with Matt Andersen at The Space at Westbury

by Mike Perciaccante
November 29, 2014

Buddy Guy with Matt Andersen The Space at Westbury Westbury, NY November 18, 2014Buddy Guy is a national treasure. The blues titan is one of the last remaining links to the Chess Brothers, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Guitar Slim, Little Walter and Willie Dixon. Whether it is the Chicago blues (of his adopted hometown) or the down home blues of the Delta (where he grew up in Louisiana), Guy ...

Live Review

Buddy Guy At the Paramount

by Mike Perciaccante
June 28, 2014

Buddy Guy The Paramount Huntington, NY June 11, 2014 On a pleasant Wednesday evening in early June, following a bluesy and soulful acoustic set by opening act Matt Anderson, six time Grammy Award winner and Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame member Buddy Guy brought his unique brand of Chicago Blues to Huntington, NY's Paramount announcing his presence with a flourish. Appearing on stage at precisely 9:08 p.m., resplendent in white pants, his trademark white ...

Live Review

Buddy Guy at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury

by Mike Perciaccante
October 12, 2013

Buddy Guy with Special Guest Quinn Sullivan NYCB Theatre at Westbury Westbury, NY October 3, 2013 Legendary Chicago guitarist Buddy Guy has seen and done it all. He is one of the greatest guitarists of his generation. The Louisiana-born, Guy was exposed to the blues at a young age, soaking up the guitar styles and influences of Lightnin' Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Lightnin' Slim and John Lee Hooker. After relocating to ...

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Extended Analysis

Buddy Guy: Can't Quit The Blues

by Jim Santella
October 22, 2006

Buddy Guy Can't Quit The Blues Legacy Recordings 2006

The Silvertone/Legacy release of this three-CD box set, with DVD documentary, follows blues legend Buddy Guy's career from his arrival in Chicago in 1957 up to the present day.

The soulful singer/guitarist pours emotion into his performances--track after track, night after night, year after year. His sound changes gradually over time, as the freedom handed to him by label owners and producers comes to him ...

Award / Grant

George Harrison, Buddy Guy, 5 More Honored With Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards

Source: HypeBot
December 20, 2014

The Recording Academy has named its Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners for 2015. George Harrison, The Bee Gees, Buddy Guy, the Louvin Brothers, Wayne Shorter, Flaco Jiménez and Pierre Boulez will all be honored at next year's ceremony during Grammy week. Grammy Trustee & Technical Winners Also Named Producer Richard Perry, the husband and wife songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and jazz promoter George Wein will all receive Grammy Trustee Awards. Ray Kurzweil will receive the Technical Grammy Award. ...
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Interview

Belated Cheers to Buddy Guy

Source: RJ on Jazz by R.J. DeLuke
September 29, 2012

Buddy Guy is Best of the Blues A bit late on the draw, but one of the great blues man of all time has been named a recipient in the next round of Kennedy Center Honors, a prestigious national award in the field of the arts. Sonny Rollins is a recent recipient. Buddy Guy is one of the finest — Mount Rushmore finest — of any who ever played the blues, the root music for jazz and rock. He's been ...
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Book / Magazine

"When I Left Home: My Story" by Buddy Guy

Source: Chris M. Slawecki
May 25, 2012

When I Left Home: My Story tells, for the first time, Buddy's picaresque story in his own unique voice, told as only he can tell it — with deep personal insight and unforgettable, candid portraits of all the key players of the first generation of electric blues artists, whose music changed the world forever. Buddy's on tour to support When I Left Home: My Story, too:

06/08/12 Red Bank, NJ: Count Basie Theatre 06/09/12 Montclair, NJ: Wellmont Theatre ...
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Performance / Tour

Experience Hendrix Tour: Buddy Guy, Dweezil, Billy Cox, R. Krieger

Source: JamBase
December 16, 2011

STACKED LINEUP FOR THE 2012 EXPERIENCE HENDRIX TOUR The 2012 edition of the critically acclaimed Experience Hendrix concert tour, will launch with a three week run of dates starting March 6 featuring an all-star lineup of musical greats paying homage to the abiding genius of Jimi Hendrix. Presented by Fender Musical Instruments, this year's tour will include performances by Buddy Guy, Dweezil Zappa, Billy Cox, Robby Krieger [The Doors], Robert Randolph and more listed below, as well as other special ...
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Recording

Buddy Guy - Buddy's Blues (MCA Chess, 1997)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland
September 24, 2011

Blues guitarist and singer Buddy Guy followed the great migration route that many African-American musicians followed from the deep south to Chicago, Illinois; at that time the heart of the blues music in America. Guy scuffled for a while as most musicians do before being picked up by the legendary Chess Records as a session musician and eventual leader from 1960-1968. This one disc collection pulls together some notable singles from the period that feature the wide range of music ...
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Recording

Junior Wells, with Buddy Guy - Hoodoo Man Blues (1965, Reissue)

Source: Something Else!
September 1, 2011

For Junior Wells, there was just something about working with Buddy Guy. On Hoodoo Man Blues, a spark-filled mid-1960s Chicago blues album, Wells stops on more than one occasion, while letting loose these flying shards of harmonica blasts, to issue a pleased grunt. So very in the moment, his vocals start with an unguarded joy, a sexual power, then move all the way into open-hearted distortion. At the same time, Buddy Guy—called “Friendly Chap" (get it?) on the original back ...
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Recording

Historic "Buddy & The Juniors" Available at Hip-O Select, Retails June 28

Source: Chris M. Slawecki
June 15, 2011

In 1969, guitarist Buddy Guy got together with his old Chicago blues buddy Junior Wells, added in jazz pianist Junior Mance, and cut a loose, “unplugged" session for Blue Thumb Records that became the now-legendary album Buddy And The Juniors. Now, on the occasion of Buddy Guy's 75th birthday, the album makes its first-ever domestic CD release on the Verve label via Hip-oSelect.com, digitally remastered from the original analog master tape reels. Michael Cuscuna, the album's original producer, supervised the ...
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Recording

Top 10 Keepers for 2010: From the Black Keys to Brian Eno to Buddy Guy

Source: Something Else!
December 20, 2010

By Nick DeRiso For me, the traditional year-ending Top 10 list has a more utilitarian standard: Which albums did I add to my permanent rotation? See, it's the rarest of rare items that actually becomes a member of the collection. That's the kind of standout recording we'll be talking about today for my calendar-turning retrospective. I don't know if they are, in fact, the best. But they're coming with me. If there's a theme, looking over my list, it might ...
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Recording

Buddy Guy - The Definitive Buddy Guy (Shout Factory, 2009)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland
December 18, 2010

Blues guitarist and vocalist Buddy Guy has become an iconic figure on the modern blues scene, after many years in the trenches, he has received a level of success few blues musicians have achieved. While it is impossible for a one disc compilation to encapsulate a career that has lasted for over fifty years, this collection does a fine job of demonstrating the facets that make up Guy the musician. There are selections from his lengthy partnership with the harmonica ...
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Recording

Buddy Guy - Living Proof (2010)

Source: Something Else!
December 4, 2010

By Nick DeRiso News this week that Buddy Guy had been Grammy nominated for best contemporary blues album had me revisiting the scalding blisses of Living Proof. I loved it from the first solo, this sharp outburst of gnarled sexuality on “74 Years Young": “There ain't nothing I haven't done," Guy yowls, giving the finger to old age. “I've been a dog; I've been a tom cat. I chased some tails and I left some tracks." That's typical of Guy's ...
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