Buddy Guy

Buddy Guy (born George Guy on 1936-07-30) is an American blues guitarist and vocalist whose career spans more than seven decades. Born the first of five children to sharecropper parents Sam and Isabel in Lettsworth, Louisiana, he learned to play on a two‑string diddley bow before receiving a Harmony acoustic guitar that later found a home in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After a stint as a custodian at LSU and early gigs with Big Papa Tilley and Raful Neal, he moved to Chicago on September 25, 1957, where he fell under Muddy Waters’ influence and entered a fierce competition with West Side legends Magic Sam and Otis Rush that earned him a contract with Cobra Records. His early recordings featured collaborations with Ike Turner and, after a brief period at Chess Records, he became a sought‑after session guitarist for Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and others while the label resisted releasing his electrifying live sound. Despite working as a tow‑truck driver in the late 1960s, Guy continued to hone his craft, touring Europe with Junior Wells and appearing on the 1969 Supershow alongside Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin. He co‑founded the iconic Checkerboard Lounge in 1972 and, after a period of relative obscurity, experienced a renaissance in the late 1980s when Clapton invited him to the “24 Nights” gig at London’s Royal Albert Hall, leading to a new recording contract with Silvertone and the breakthrough album Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues (1991). Buddy Guy has won eight Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Medal of Arts, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005; his signature polka‑dot Fender guitars pay tribute to a childhood promise to his mother. His influence extends to guitar giants such as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck and modern artists like Gary Clark Jr., while his energetic stage presence—often involving guitar‑playing tricks like biting the neck—has become legendary. After retiring from touring in early 2024 with the “Damn Right Farewell Tour,” he still runs Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago, appears occasionally in film (e.g., In the Electric Mist and a cameo in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners), and remains a vibrant ambassador for the blues, celebrated each year on “Buddy Guy Day” in his native Louisiana. His autobiography When I Left Home: My Story (2012) and his 1999 memoir Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues offer insight into a life defined by relentless creativity, cultural impact, and an unyielding dedication to the music that shaped his soul.