“George Buddy Guy” was one of the very few guitarists who had the uncanny knack of showmanship of playing the guitar with drumsticks, sometimes just playing with his left hand while swigging a can of beer with his right hand, playing the guitar with his feet, sometimes playing the guitar behind his back or sometimes just walking into the audience directly jamming and trailing a long guitar cord etc were some of the highlights of his showmanship.
Born in Lettsworth, Louisiana, 1936, George Buddy Guy was a five time Grammy Awards winner. George Buddy Guy was one of the main Rock Guitarists and traditional Blues Singer in the late 1950’s. Jimi Hendrix was so inspired by him that sometimes he used to skip his own concerts to attend to Guy’s shows in Clubs. George Buddy Guy’s popularity rose after he moved to Chicago in 1957 and later in 1958 he bagged his first contract after being noticed during his competition with West Side guitarists Magic Sam and Otis Rush. Soon afterwards George Buddy Guy recorded for Cobra Records and also had recording sessions with Junior Wells for Delmark Records.
Most notably Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton were very much inspired by Guy’s style of music. Eric Clapton once remarked “Buddy Guy is to me what Elvis is for others. He is the greatest guitar player alive”. Known more as a “Musician’s Musician”, George Buddy Guy had an impact on the early blues and on rock and roll, influencing a new generation of artists. Buddy Guy has been one of the main pioneers in changing the course of Rock N’ Roll. His guitar playing techniques may have been viewed as loud and aggressive at times, but he often used pioneering distortion and feedback techniques, sometimes using long solos and driven by emotions and impulse.
George Buddy Guy later realised that his music had a major influence over the British singers and Guitarists when he toured Great Britain during 1965. During his music career, many of his songs have been covered by such artists such as Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones, John Mayall to name a few. As some say, his early songs were stolen by the late Willie Dixon and Guy’s earlier Recording companies. Guy has been the exponent of the famous “Chicago Blues”.
George Buddy Guy won the Grammy five times for his work on both, the Electric Guitar and Acoustic guitar and also for composing traditional forms of Blues Music. Buddy Guy was inducted into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” in 2005 by Eric Clapton and BB King. George Buddy Guy’s speech after being inducted was precise and clear “If you don’t think you have the blues, just keep living”.