Birth of the Blues: Buddy Guy

By Hunter60

Stevie Ray Vaughn, when he accepted his Grammy Awards in 1989 stepped up to the podium and said "Now let's get Buddy Guy one of these!" Stevie considered Guy one of his mentors and had been sharing the stage with him many times over his career from his early days in Austin in the 70's, through the opening of 'Buddy Guys Legends' club in Chicago to his final performance in Wisconsin where they jammed together the final time. Of Guy, Stevie was never shy on praise saying in one interview " Buddy's style is not necessarily such a technical style, it's more like raw meat in a lot of ways," he explained. "He plays from a place that I've never heard anyone play. A place inside"


But it may have been Jeff Beck who has summed up Buddy Guy perfectly. When asked about how much influence Buddy Guy has had, he said " 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. Amazing."

Yes, that's Buddy Guy. Amazing.