Guy, Buddy

Guy, Buddy

George “Buddy” Guy was born in Lettsworth, Louisiana on 30 July 1936. In the early 1950s, he worked his way up through the Baton Rouge, Louisiana blues scene and by 1957 was in Chicago playing with his heroes like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Little Walter. Besides embarking on a solo career in 1958, he appeared as a session man on many Chess sessions throughout the 1960s. For many years, he toured extensively with harpist Junior Wells.

Buddy has sold more than two million albums, he has won four Grammy Awards and nineteen W.C. Handy Blues Awards – more than any other recording artist.

Buddy first met Eric Clapton in the late 1960s. In October 1970, Eric co-produced and played on sessions for the Buddy Guy and Junior Wells album, Play The Blues. The two have jammed together many times over the years. Some of their more significant pairings were the 1987 jam at Ronnie Scott’s in London (filmed for The Southbank Show), the 1990 and 1991 Royal Albert Hall blues shows, the Rush soundtrack, and Eric’s appearance on Buddy’s 1990 album, Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues.

The two men appeared together at the historic Concert For New York City on 20 October 2001, which raised funds for those affected by the World Trade Center tragedy of 11 September, 2001. On 14 March 2005, Eric performed with Buddy and B.B. King at Buddy’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Buddy has been a guest at all three of EC’s Crossroads Guitar Festivals (2004 / 2007 / 2010). The events were organized by Eric to raise funds for Crossroads Centre in Antigua. Highlights of all three festivals are available on DVD. 

In addition to recording and touring, Buddy owns the Chicago blues club, Buddy Guy’s Legends.