Early life

Guy was born and raised in Lettsworth, Louisiana. He began learning to play the guitar using a two-string diddley bow he made. Later he was given a Harmony acoustic guitar, which, decades later in Guy's lengthy career, was donated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Career

In the early 1950s Guy began performing with bands in Baton Rouge. While living there, he worked as a custodian at Louisiana State University.

Soon after moving to Chicago on September 25, 1957, Guy fell under the influence of Muddy Waters. In 1958, a competition with West Side guitarists Magic Sam and Otis Rush gave Guy a record contract. Soon afterwards he recorded for Cobra Records. He recorded sessions with Junior Wells for Delmark Records under the pseudonym Friendly Chap in 1965 and 1966.

Guy’s early career was impeded by conservative business choices made by his record company (Chess Records) and by "the scorn, diminishments and petty subterfuge from a few jealous rivals". Chess, his record label from 1959 to 1968, refused to record Guy playing in the novel style of his live shows. Leonard Chess, Chess Records founder, denounced Guy’s playing as "noise". In the early 1960s, Chess tried recording Guy as a solo artist with R&B ballads, jazz instrumentals, soul and novelty dance tunes, but none of these recordings was released as a single. Guy’s only Chess album, Left My Blues in San Francisco, was released in 1967. Most of the songs belong stylistically to the era's soul boom, with orchestrations by Gene Barge and Charlie Stepney. Chess used Guy mainly as a session guitarist to back Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko Taylor and others.

In 1965, Guy participated in the European tour American Folk Blues Festival.

He appeared onstage at the March 1969 "Supershow" in Staines, England, which also included Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Jack Bruce, Stephen Stills, Buddy Miles, Glenn Campbell, Roland Kirk, Jon Hiseman, and the Misunderstood. But by the late 1960s, Guy's star was in decline.

Guy's career took off during the blues revival of the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was sparked by Clapton's request that Guy be part of the "24 Nights" all-star blues guitar lineup at London's Royal Albert Hall. Guy subsequently signed with Silvertone Records.

Guy performs an annual residency in January at his Chicago blues club, Buddy Guy's Legends.

Music

While Guy's music is often labelled Chicago blues, his style is unique and separate. His music can vary from the most traditional, deepest blues to a creative, unpredictable and radical gumbo of the blues, avant rock, soul and free jazz that changes with each performance.

As the New York Times music critic Jon Pareles noted in 2004,

Mr. Guy, 68, mingles anarchy, virtuosity, deep blues and hammy shtick in ways that keep all eyes on him.... loves extremes: sudden drops from loud to soft, or a sweet, sustained guitar solo followed by a jolt of speed, or a high, imploring vocal cut off with a rasp.... Whether he's singing with gentle menace or bending new curves into a blue note, he is a master of tension and release, and his every wayward impulse was riveting.

In an interview taped on April 14, 2000, for the Cleveland college station WRUW-FM, Guy said,

The purpose of me trying to play the kind of rocky stuff is to get airplay...I find myself kind of searching, hoping I'll hit the right notes, say the right things, maybe they'll put me on one of these big stations, what they call 'classic'...if you get Eric Clapton to play a Muddy Waters song, they call it classic, and they will put it on that station, but you'll never hear Muddy Waters.

Influence

For almost 50 years, Guy has performed flamboyant live concerts of energetic blues and blues rock, predating the 1960s blues rockers. As a musician, he had a fundamental impact on the blues and on rock and roll, influencing a new generation of artists.

Guy has been called the bridge between the blues and rock and roll. He is one of the historic links between Chicago electric blues pioneers Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf and popular musicians like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and later revivalists like Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan stated that "Without Buddy Guy, there would be no Stevie Ray Vaughan." Guitarist magazine observed,

Without Buddy Guy, the blues, not to mention rock as we know it, might be a heckuva lot less interesting today. Take the blues out of contemporary rock music—or pop, jazz and funk for that matter—and what you have left is a wholly spineless affair. A tasteless stew. Makes you shudder to think about it ...

Guy's guitar techniques also contributed greatly to rock and roll. His guitar playing is loud and aggressive, uses pioneering distortion and feedback techniques, employs long solos, has shifts in volume and texture, and is driven by emotion and impulse. These characteristics were eagerly learned and applied by the new wave of 1960s British artists and later became basic attributes of blues-rock music and its offspring, hard rock and heavy metal music. Jeff Beck realized in the early 1960s that "I didn't know a Strat could sound like that—until I heard Buddy's tracks on the Blues From Big Bill's Copa Cabana album" (a reissue of the album 1963 Folk Festival of the Blues) and that "It was the total manic abandon in Buddy's solos. They broke all boundaries. I just thought, this is more like it! Also, his solos weren't restricted to a three-minute pop format; they were long and really developed."

Clapton has stated that he got the idea for a blues-rock power trio while watching Guy's trio perform in England in 1965. Clapton later formed the rock band Cream, "the first rock supergroup to become superstars" and "the first top group to truly exploit the power-trio format, in the process laying the foundation for much blues-rock and hard rock of the 1960s and 1970s."

Clapton said that "Buddy Guy was to me what Elvis was for others." In a 1985 article in Musician magazine, he was quoted as saying that "Buddy Guy is by far and without a doubt the best guitar player alive...if you see him in person, the way he plays is beyond anyone. Total freedom of spirit, I guess. He really changed the course of rock and roll blues." In inducting Guy into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Clapton said, "No matter how great the song, or performance, my ear would always find him out. He stood out in the mix, simply by virtue of the originality and vitality of his playing."

Recalls Guy, "Eric Clapton and I are the best of friends and I like the tune "Strange Brew" and we were sitting and having a drink one day and I said 'Man, that "Strange Brew" ... you just cracked me up with that note.' And he said 'You should...cause it's your licks ...' " As soon as Clapton completed his sessions with Derek & the Dominos in October 1970, he co-produced (with Ahmet Ertegün and Tom Dowd) the album Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play the Blues, with Guy's longtime harp and vocal companion, Junior Wells. The record, released in 1972, is regarded by some critics as among the finest electric blues recordings of the modern era.

In recognition of Guy's influence on the career of Jimi Hendrix, the Hendrix family invited him to headline all-star casts at several tribute concerts they organized, "calling on a legend to celebrate a legend." Hendrix himself once said that "Heaven is lying at Buddy Guy’s feet while listening to him play guitar." Songs such as "Red House", "Voodoo Chile" and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" came partly from the sonic world that Guy helped to create. According to the Fender Players' Club, "Almost ten years before Jimi Hendrix would electrify the rock world with his high-voltage voodoo blues, Buddy Guy was shocking juke joint patrons in Baton Rouge with his own brand of high-octane blues. Ironically, when Buddy’s playing technique and flamboyant showmanship were later revealed to crossover audiences in the late Sixties, it was erroneously assumed that he was imitating Hendrix." (In 1993, Guy covered "Red House" on Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix.)

Stevie Ray Vaughan once declared that Buddy Guy "plays from a place that I've never heard anyone play." Vaughan continued:

Buddy can go from one end of the spectrum to another. He can play quieter than anybody I've ever heard, or wilder and louder than anybody I've ever heard. I play pretty loud a lot of times, but Buddy's tones are incredible. He pulls such emotion out of so little volume. Buddy just has this cool feel to everything he does. And when he sings, it's just compounded. Girls fall over and sweat and die! Every once in a while I get the chance to play with Buddy, and he gets me every time, because we could try to go to Mars on guitars but then he'll start singing, sing a couple of lines, and then stick the mike in front of me! What are you gonna do? What is a person gonna do?!

Geez, you can't forget Buddy Guy. He transcended blues and started becoming theater. It was high art, kind of like drama theater when he played, you know. He was playing behind his head long before Hendrix. I once saw him throw the guitar up in the air and catch it in the same chord.

— Jeff Beck

Beck recalled the night he and Vaughan performed with Guy at Buddy Guy's Legends club in Chicago: "That was just the most incredible stuff I ever heard in my life. The three of us all jammed and it was so thrilling. That is as close you can come to the heart of the blues."

According to Jimmy Page, "Buddy Guy is an absolute monster." "There were a number of albums that everybody got tuned into in the early days. There was one in particular called, I think, American Folk Festival Of The Blues, which featured Buddy Guy. He just astounded everybody."

Singer-songwriter and guitarist John Mayer, who has performed with Guy on numerous occasions (including Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival and on the PBS television program Soundstage) and collaborated with him on Guy's 2005 album Bring 'Em In, has stated on several occasions that Guy was one of his top influences.

Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman said,

Guitar Legends do not come any better than Buddy Guy. He is feted by his peers and loved by his fans for his ability to make the guitar both talk and cry the blues. Such is Buddy's mastery of the guitar that there is virtually no guitarist that he cannot imitate.

Guy opened for the Rolling Stones on numerous tours, beginning in the early 1970s. Slash said that "Buddy Guy is the perfect combination of R&B and hardcore rock and roll." ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons said, "He ain't no trickster. He may appear surprised by his own instant ability but, clearly, he knows what's up."

He was a judge for the 6th and 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.

He appeared as the "King of Swing" and performed in an episode of the popular children's show Jack's Big Music Show.

Guy has influenced the styles of subsequent artists such as Reggie Sears and Jesse Marchant of JBM.

On February 21, 2012, Guy performed in concert at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. During the finale of the concert, he persuaded the President to sing a few bars of "Sweet Home Chicago".

Awards

On September 20, 1996, Guy was inducted into Guitar Center's Hollywood Rockwalk.

Guy has won six Grammy Awards, for his work on electric and acoustic guitars and for contemporary and traditional forms of blues music.

In 2003, he was presented with the National Medal of Arts, awarded by the President of the United States to those who have made extraordinary contributions to the creation, growth and support of the arts in the United States.

By 2004, Guy had also earned 23 W.C. Handy Awards, Billboard magazine's Century Award (he was its second recipient) for distinguished artistic achievement, and the title of Greatest Living Electric Blues Guitarist.

Guy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 14, 2005, by Eric Clapton and B.B. King. Clapton recalled seeing Guy perform in London’s Marquee Club in 1965, impressing him with his technique, his looks and his charismatic showmanship. He remembered seeing Guy pick the guitar with his teeth and play it over his head—two tricks that later influenced Jimi Hendrix. Guy’s acceptance speech was concise: "If you don’t think you have the blues, just keep living." He had previously served on the nominating committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2008, Guy was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, performing at the Texas Club in Baton Rouge to commemorate the occasion.

In October 2009, he performed "Let Me Love You Baby" with Jeff Beck at the 25th anniversary concert at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

On November 15, 2010, he performed a live set for Guitar Center Sessions on DirecTV. The episode also included an interview with Guy by program host Nic Harcourt.

On December 2, 2012, Guy was awarded the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. At his induction, Kennedy Center chairman David Rubenstein said, "Buddy Guy is a titan of the blues and has been a tremendous influence on virtually everyone who has picked up an electric guitar in the last half century". He was honored that night along with Dustin Hoffman, Led Zeppelin (John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant), David Letterman and Natalia Makarova.

On January 28, 2014, Guy was inducted into Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

Born to Play Guitar won a Grammy Award in 2016 for Best Blues Album.

Personal life and family

Several members of Guy's family are musicians. His brother, Phil Guy, was also a blues musician. Buddy Guy's daughter, Shawnna, is a rapper. His son, Greg, also plays blues guitar.

He was married to Jennifer Guy from 1991 to 2002. The marriage ended in divorce.

Discography

Solo studio albums

I Left My Blues in San Francisco	1967	Chess
A Man and the Blues	1968	Vanguard
Hold That Plane!	1972	Vanguard
Stone Crazy!	1979	Alligator
Breaking Out	1980	JSP
DJ Play My Blues	1982	JSP
Damn Right, I've Got the Blues	1991	Silvertone/BMG	Won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album
Feels Like Rain	1993	Silvertone	Won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album
Slippin' In	1994	Silvertone	Won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album
Heavy Love	1998	Silvertone
Sweet Tea	2001	Jive	Nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album
Blues Singer	2003	Silvertone	Won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album
Bring 'Em In	2005	Jive
Skin Deep	2008	Jive
Living Proof	2010	Jive	Won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album
Rhythm & Blues	2013	RCA Records
Born to Play Guitar	2015	RCA Records	Won the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Blues Album

Live albums

Album	Year	Label	Notes
This Is Buddy Guy (Live)	1968	Vanguard
The Dollar Done Fell	1980	JSP	Re-released in 1988 as Live at the Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago - 1979
Drinkin’ TNT ’n’ Smokin’ Dynamite	1982	Blind Pig	Recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1974
Live in Montreux	1992	Evidence	With Junior Wells
Chicago Blues Festival 1964	2003	Stardust
Jammin’ Blues Electric & Acoustic	2003	Sony	Compilation of tracks from Live: The Real Deal and Last Time Around: Live at Legends
Live at the Mystery Club	2003	Quicksilver	Reissue of Every Day I Have the Blues
Live: The Real Deal	2006	Sony	With G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band (reissue)
Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino	2007	Vanguard	With Joss Stone and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, performing "Every Night About This Time".
Live at Legends	2012	RCA/Silvertone

Compilations

Album	Year	Label	Notes
First Time I Met the Blues	1969	Python
In the Beginning	1971	Red Lightnin’
I Was Walking Through the Woods	1974	Chess	Recorded 1960-64
Hot & Cool	1978	Vanguard
Got to Use Your Head	1979	Blues Ball
Buddy Guy	1983	Chess
Ten Blue Fingers	1985	JSP	Compilation of tracks from Breaking Out and DJ Play My Blues
Chess Masters	1987	Charly
My Time After Awhile	1992	Vanguard
The Very Best of Buddy Guy	1992	Rhino/WEA
The Complete Chess Studio Recordings	1992	Chess	Two CDs, 1960-67
Southern Blues 1957-63	1994	Paula PCD-26
Buddy’s Blues	1997	Chess	Chess Masters series
Buddy’s Blues 1978-1982: The Best of the JSP Recordings	1998	JSP
As Good As It Gets	1998	Vanguard
Blues Master	1998	Vanguard
Buddy’s Baddest: The Best of Buddy Guy	1999	Silvertone
The Complete Vanguard Recordings	2000	Vanguard
20th Century Masters: The Millennium: The Best of Buddy Guy	2001	MCA
Can't Quit the Blues: Box Set	2006	Silvertone/Legacy
The Definitive Buddy Guy	2009	Shout! Factory	His first single-disc career-spanning CD
Icon	2011	Geffen/Chess	Same track listing as 20th Century Masters: The Millennium: The Best of Buddy Guy

Collaborative albums

Album	Year	Label	Notes
Hoodoo Man Blues	1965	Delmark	With the Junior Wells Band
Chicago / The Blues / Today!, Vol. 1	1966	Vanguard	With the Junior Wells Band
It’s My Life, Baby!	1966	Vanguard	With the Junior Wells Band
Berlin Festival - Guitar Workshop	1967	MPS	With various artists; LP released in Argentina by Microphone Argentina S.A. (1974)
Coming at You	1968	Vanguard	With the Junior Wells Band
Buddy and the Juniors	1970	MCA	with Junior Mance and Junior Wells
South Side Blues Jam	1970	Delmark	With Junior Wells and Otis Spann
Buddy & Junior Mance & Junior Wells	1971	Harvest (UK)	UK release of Buddy and the Juniors
South Side Reunion	1972	Sunny Side	With Memphis Slim
Play the Blues	1972	Rhino	With Junior Wells
Buddy & Phil	1981	JSP (1024)	With Phil Guy; also released as P-Vine CD 23886 (2007)
Going Back	1981	Isabel	With Junior Wells; LP released only in France
The Original Blues Brothers	1983	Blue Moon	With Junior Wells
Atlantic Blues: Chicago	1986	Atlantic	With various artists
I Ain’t Got No Money	1989	Flyright	With various artists
Alone & Acoustic	1991	Alligator	CD reissue of Going Back (1981) plus 5 more songs from the sessions
Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix	1993	Reprise	With various artists; Guy performed "Red House"
Live: The Real Deal	1996	Silvertone	With G.E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band
Last Time Around - Live at Legends	1998	Jive	With Junior Wells
Every Day I Have the Blues	2000	Purple Pyramid	With Junior Wells
Double Dynamite	2001	AIM	With Junior Wells
A Night of the Blues	2005		With Junior Wells; Master Classics reissue of Every Day I Have the Blues

[ Source: Wikipedia ]