Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy (Lettsworth, July 30, 1936) is an American blues and rock guitarist and singer. Known for inspiring Jimi Hendrix and other legends of the 1960s, Guy is considered a major exponent of the so-called Chicago blues, made famous by Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. He was ranked the 23rd best guitarist of all time by the American magazine Rolling Stone.
He had five siblings and his parents were Sam and Isabel Guy. He grew up amidst the conflicts of racial segregation, where restrooms, restaurants, and bus seats were segregated for whites and blacks. At the age of seven, Buddy made his first "guitar," a piece of wood with two strings tied together with his mother's hairpins. He spent his time on the plantations with it, developing his musical "techniques." Later, he acquired his first "real" guitar, a Harmony acoustic guitar that is now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, USA. In 1955, at 19 years old, Buddy was working at Louisiana State University. He had never left the state when, in 1957, a friend who was a cook in Chicago visited him and told him he needed to go to Chicago to play his guitar at night and work during the day. Guy was interested in the financial offer, as he could earn around $70 a week and perhaps go out at night to see masters like Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Little Walter, and as a bonus, even learn something to play his guitar at home. On September 25, 1957, Buddy left Lettsworth and arrived in Chicago. The culture shock was great, leaving the rural environment and arriving in a completely urban metropolis. Buddy got a job and after a few months managed to get an audience at the 708 Club. That night, none other than Muddy Waters arrived at the club in a red Chevrolet. Buddy went to serve him a salami sandwich, and Muddy asked if he was hungry. Buddy replied that if he was Muddy Waters, he wasn't hungry anymore; meeting him had fed him. Guy started playing in Chicago bars, and his style was well-received. He began to attract attention. He liked to play like B.B. King and perform on stage like Magic Slim. He then decided to send a tape to Chess Records, a traditional blues label that featured artists such as Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Koko Taylor. In 1960, he began playing guitar on recordings by these great Chess masters. He was always the first guitarist the label would call.
CAREER
But Buddy wasn't satisfied, as he was only providing backing vocals. He wanted more; he wanted to write his own compositions. In 1967, he recorded "I Left My Blues" in San Francisco for Chess Records. In 1968, he went to Vanguard Records and recorded two classic albums: "A Man and His Blues" and "Hold That Plane." From this time on, his aggressive and wild playing style, along with his raspy vocals, began to attract the attention of rock musicians, especially the English. Eric Clapton said in 2005 that Buddy Guy was to him what Elvis Presley was to many others.
In 1970, Buddy began a partnership with harmonica player Junior Wells and released the album Buddy and the Juniors. In 1972, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Play the Blues was released, an album produced by Eric Clapton, Tom Dowd, and Ahmet Ertegum. This can be considered one of Buddy's best albums, featuring blues classics and his own compositions, in a clear, simple, and raw sound.
In 1974, Guy teamed up with Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, who produced and played on the live album called Drinkin' TNT 'n' Somkin' Dynamite.
Until almost the end of the 1980s, his career declined and only took off again from 1989 onwards when Buddy opened the "Buddy Guy Legends" club in Chicago, considered the preferred place for most blues artists to perform. In 1990-1991, Guy played with Eric Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall in London, in a show featuring only guitarists. This participation earned him a contract with Silvertone Records, where he recorded several albums, but the first was Damn Right, I've Got The Blues, from 1991, which featured special appearances by Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Mark Knopfler. The album achieved unusual success for the blues scene: it went gold, sold 500,000 copies, and also won a Grammy.
Two years later, in 1993, he recorded Feels Like Rain and in 1994 Slippin' In, winning Grammys for both albums. Success had returned with a vengeance. It was a work of persistence, as Buddy said: "I had put it in my head that I needed to keep playing because I felt I hadn't had the chance to express myself with my guitar and my voice. Few had heard me, but I kept playing until the chance came with 'Damn right, I've got the blues' and then I blew up! I think someone heard me up there!"
And so came the live album Live: The Real Deal in 1996, Heavy Love in 1998, Sweet Tea in 2001, where Buddy returned to his roots blues, Blues Singer in 2003, and finally, Bring 'Em In in 2005, where Guy featured Carlos Santana and John Mayer.
MUSIC
While Buddy Guy's music is often associated with Chicago blues, his style is unique and unmistakable. His music can range from the most traditional and profound blues to the most creative, unpredictable, and radical blend of blues, modern rock, and free jazz, which come together in a unique way at each live performance.
In 2004, Jon Pareles, pop music critic for the New York Times, wrote: "Mr. Guy, 68, mixes anarchy, virtuosity, dense blues and its offshoots in a unique way, captivating the audience's attention (...) Guy loves extremes: sudden changes between heavy and light sounds, or a sweet guitar solo followed by a burst of speed, or heaviness, improvising back and forth with his voice... Whether singing sweetly or angrily, whether bringing new intonations to a blues note, he is a master of tension and relaxation, and his concentration and dedication are mesmerizing."
Some blues fans and music critics believe that Guy's discography from 1960 to 1967 encompasses the best part of his work. Some of the innovations Buddy introduced during his early live performances were captured on the "American Folk Blues Festival" albums. Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page admired the more radical side of his music in the early 1960s.
His songs have been covered by Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayall, Jack Bruce, and many others. Some of his early songs were "stolen" by Willie Dixon and the first record labels Guy worked with. Furthermore, Guy is perhaps best known for his creative interpretations of other musicians' work. Fans of more traditional blues seem to appreciate the following albums: The Very Best of Buddy Guy, Blues Singer, Junior Wells' Hoodoo Man Blues, A Man & The Blues, and I Was Walking Through the Woods.
More contemporary fans seem to prefer Slippin' In, Sweet Tea, Stone Crazy, Buddy's Baddest: The Best of Buddy Guy, Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, and D.J. Play My Blues. A live performance can be seen in the video Live! The Real Deal, and he is also featured on the following DVDs: Lightning In a Bottle, Crossroads Guitar Festival, Eric Clapton: 24 Nights, Festival Express, and A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan.
BUDDY GUY - FUTPEDIAMUSIC SELECTION
Buddy Guy
Futpediamusic Selection
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