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He's Chicago's blues king today, ruling his domain just as his idol and mentor Muddy Waters did before him. Yet there was a time, and not all that long ago, when Buddy Guy couldn't even negotiate a decent record deal. Times sure have changed for the better: Guy's first three albums for Silvertone in the '90s all earned Grammys. Eric Clapton unabashedly calls Guy his favorite blues axeman, and so do a great many adoring fans worldwide.
High-energy guitar histrionics and boundless on-stage energy have always been Guy trademarks, along with a tortured vocal style that's nearly as distinctive as his incendiary rapid-fire fretwork. He's come a long way from his beginnings on the '50s Baton Rouge blues scene; at his first gigs with bandleader "Big Poppa" John Tilley, the young guitarist had to chug a stomach-jolting concoction of Dr. Tichenor's antiseptic and wine to ward off an advanced case of stage fright. But by the time he joined harpist Raful Neal's band, Guy had conquered his nervousness.
Guy journeyed to Chicago in 1957, ready to take the town by storm. But initially, times were tough, until he turned up the juice as a showman (much as another of his early idols, Guitar Slim, had back
home). It didn't take long after that for the new kid in town to establish himself. He hung with the city's blues elite: Freddy King, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Magic Sam, who introduced Buddy Guy to Cobra Records boss Eli Toscano. Two searing 1958 singles for Cobra's Artistic subsidiary were the result: "This Is the End" and "Try to Quit You Baby" exhibited more than a trace of B.B. King's influence, while "You Sure Can't Do" was an unabashed homage to Guitar Slim. Willie Dixon produced the sides.
When Cobra folded, Guy wisely followed Rush over to Chess. With the issue of his first Chess single in 1960, Guy was no longer aurally indebted to anybody. "First Time I Met the Blues" and its follow-up, "Broken Hearted Blues," were fiery, tortured, slow blues brilliantly showcasing Guy's whammy-bar-enriched guitar and shrieking, hellhound-on-his-trail vocals.
Although he's often complained that Leonard Chess wouldn't allow him to turn up his guitar loud enough, the claim doesn't wash: Guy's 1960-1967 Chess catalog remains his most satisfying body of work. A shuffling "Let Me Love You Baby," the impassioned downbeat items "Ten Years Ago," "Stone Crazy," "My Time After Awhile," "Leave My Girl Alone," and a bouncy "No Lie" rate with the hottest blues waxings of the '60s. While at Chess, Guy worked long and hard as a session guitarist, getting his licks in on sides by Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Koko Taylor (on her hit "Wang Dang Doodle").
Upon leaving Chess in 1967, Guy went to Vanguard. His first LP for the firm, A Man and the Blues, followed in the same immaculate vein as his Chess work and contained the rocking "Mary Had a Little Lamb," but This Is Buddy Guy and Hold That Plane! proved somewhat less consistent. Guy and harpist Junior Wells had long been friends and played around Chicago together (Guy supplied the guitar work on Wells' seminal 1965 Delmark set Hoodoo Man Blues, initially billed as "Friendly Chap" because of his Chess contract); they recorded together for Blue Thumb in 1969 as Buddy & the Juniors (pianist Junior Mance being the other Junior) and Atlantic in 1970 (sessions co-produced by Eric Clapton and Tom Dowd), and 1972 for the solid album Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play the Blues. Buddy and Junior toured together throughout the '70s, their playful repartee immortalized on Drinkin' TNT 'n' Smokin' Dynamite, a live set cut at the 1974 Montreux Jazz Festival.
Guy's reputation among rock guitar gods such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan was unsurpassed, but prior to his Grammy-winning 1991 Silvertone disc Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, he amazingly hadn't issued a domestic album in a decade. That's when the Buddy Guy bandwagon really picked up steam: he began selling out auditoriums and turning up on network television (David Letterman, Jay Leno, etc.). Feels Like Rain, his 1993 encore, was a huge letdown artistically, unless one enjoys the twisted concept of having one of the world's top bluesmen duet with country hat act Travis Tritt and hopelessly overwrought rock singer Paul Rodgers. By comparison, 1994's Slippin' In, produced by Eddie Kramer, was a major step in the right direction, with no hideous duets and a preponderance of genuine blues excursions. Last Time Around: Live at Legends, an acoustic outing with longtime partner Junior Wells, followed in 1998. In 2001, Guy switched gears and went to Mississippi for a recording of the type of modal juke-joint blues favored by Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, and the Fat Possum crew. The result was Sweet Tea: arguably one of his finest albums and yet a complete anomaly in his catalog. Oddly enough, he chose to follow that up with Blues Singer in 2003, another completely acoustic effort that won a Grammy. For 2005's Bring 'Em In, it was back to the same template as his first albums for Silvertone, with polished production and a handful of guest stars. Skin Deep appeared in 2008 and featured guest spots by Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Eric Clapton, and Robert Randolph. Snakebite was released in 2009, followed by Living Proof a year later in 2010.
A Buddy Guy concert can sometimes be a frustrating experience. He'll be in the middle of something downright hair-raising, only to break it off abruptly in midsong, or he'll ignore his own massive songbook in order to offer imitations of Clapton, Vaughan, and Hendrix. But Guy, whose club remains the most successful blues joint in Chicago (you'll likely find him sitting at the bar whenever he's in town), is without a doubt the Windy City's reigning blues artist, and he rules benevolently.
-- Bill Dahl of All Music Guide.
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01. Keep It To Myself 02. Crazy Love 03. I Suffer with The Blues 04. When My Left Eye Jumps 05. Buddy�s Groove 06. Goin� Home |
07. She Suits Me To A T 08. Leave My Girl Alone 09. Too Many Ways 10. Mother-In-Law Blues 11. Every Girl I see |
01. A Man And His Blues 02. I Can�t Quit The Blues 03. Money (that�s what I want) 04. One-Room Country Shack 05. Mary Had A Little Lamb |
06. Just Playing My Axe 07. Sweet Little Angel 08. Worry, Worry 09. Jam On A Monday Morning |
01. I Got My Eyes On You 02. The Things I Used To Do 03. Fever 04. Knock On Wood |
05. I Had A Dream Last Night 06. 24 Hours Of The Day 07. You Were Wrong 08. I�m Not The Best |
01. Talkin� �Bout Women, Obviously 02. Riffin� 03. Buddy�s Blues 04. (I�m your) Hoochie Coochie Man |
05. Five Long Years 06. Rock Me Mama 07. Ain�t No Need |
01. A Man Of Many words 02. My Baby She Left Me 03. Come On In This House 04. T-Bone Shuffle 05. A Poor Man�s Plea |
06. Messin� With The Kid 07. This Old Fool 08. I Don�t Know 09. Bad Bad Whiskey 10. Honeydripper |
01. Watermelon Man 02. Hold That Plane 03. I�m Ready 04. You Don�t Love Me |
05. Come See About Me 06. Hello San Francisco 07. My Time After Awhile |
01. One-Room Country Shack 02. The Things I Used To Do 03. Every Day I Have The Blues 04. Driving Wheel 05. Help Me 06. Come On In This House 07. Messin� With The Kid 08. Somebody�s Got To Go |
09. Everything�s Going To Be Alright 10. Got My Mojo Working 11. Hide Away 12. When I Feel Better 13. I Don�t Know 14. So Many Roads 15. Blue Shadows Falling 16. (I�m your) Hoochie Coochie Man |
01. Pleading The Blues 02. It Hurts Me Too 03. Cut Out The Lights 04. Quit Teasing My Baby |
05. I�ll Take Care Of You 06. Take Your Time Baby 07. Just For My Baby 08. I Smell Something |
01. Give Me My Coat And Shoes 02. Big Boat (Buddy and Junior�s thing) 03. Sweet Black Girl 04. Diggin� My Potatoes 05. Don�t Leave Me 06. Rollin� And Tumblin� 07. I�m In The Mood 08. High Heel Sneakers |
09. Wrong Doing Woman 10. Cut You Loose 11. Sally Mae 12. Catfish Blues 13. My Home�s In The Delta 14. Boogie Chillen 15. Medley: Baby What You Want Me To Do, etc |
01. I Smell A Rat 02. Are You Losing Your Mind? 03. You�ve Been Gone Too Long |
04. She�s Out There Somewhere 05. Outskirts Of Town 06. When I Left Home |
01. Girl You�re Nice And Clean 02. Dedicated To The Late T-Bone Walker 03. Good News 04. Blues At My Baby�s House 05. She Suits Me To A T |
06. DJ Play My Blues 07. Just Teasin� 08. All Your Love 09. The Garbage Man Blues 10. Mellow Down |
01. Introduction 02. Ah�w Baby/Everything Gonna Be Alright 03. How Can One Woman Treat A Man So Mean 04. Checking On My Baby 05. When You See The Tears From My Eyes |
06. Introduction 07. Ten Years Ago 08. Messin� With The Kid 09. Hoodoo Man Blues 10. My Younger Days |
01. Girl You�re Nice And Clean 02. Garbage Man Blues 03. Tell Me What�s Inside Of You |
04. You Can Make It If You Try 05. Have You Ever Been Lonesome 06. She Winked Her Eye |
01. Have You Ever Been Lonesome 02. You Can Make It If You Try 03. Break Out All Over You 04. She Winked Her Eye 05. I Didn�t Know Mother Had A Son Like Me |
06. Boogie Family Style 07. You Called Me In My Dream 08. Me And My Guitar 09. Ice Around My Heart 10. Texas Flood |
01. Damn Right, I�ve Got The Blues 02. Where Is The Next One Coming From 03. Five Long Years 04. Mustang Sally 05. There Is Something On Your Mind |
06. Early In The Morning 07. Too Broke To Spend The Night 08. Black Night 09. Let Me Love You Baby 10. Rememberin� Stevie |
01. She�s A Superstar 02. I Go Crazy 03. Feels Like Rain 04. She�s Nineteen Years Old 05. Some Kind Of Wonderful 06. Sufferin� Mind |
07. Change In The Weather 08. I Could Cry 09. Mary Ann 10. Trouble Man 11. Country Man |
01. Buddy�s Blues 02. Stormy Monday 03. Everyday I Have The Blues 04. Woman Blues 05. Satisfaction |
06. Messin� With The Kid 07. No Use Cryin� 08. Ships On The Ocean 09. Junior�s Shuffle 10. Out Of Sight |
01. I Smell Trouble 02. Please Don�t Drive Me Away 03. 7-11 04. Shame, Shame, Shame 05. Love Her With A Feeling 06. Little-Dab-A-Doo |
07. Someone Else Is Steppin� In 08. Trouble Blues 09. Man If Many Words 10. Don�t Tell Me About The Blues 11. Cities Need Help |
01. You Sure Can�t Do(alt. vers.) 02. This Is The End 03. I Hope You Come Back Home 04. The Way You Been Treating Me |
05. Sit And Cry (the blues) 06. Try To Quit You Baby 07. You Sure Can�t Do 08. Good Things |
01. Heavy Love 02. Midnight Train 03. I Got A Problem 04. I Need You Tonight 05. Saturday Night Fish Fry 06. Had A Bad Night |
07. Are You Lonely For Me Baby 08. I Just Want To Make Love To You 09. Did Somebody Make A Fool Of You 10. When The Time Is Right 11. Let Me How You |
01. Seeds If Reed Medley: Big Boss Man, etc. 02. That�s All Right 03. She�s All Right/Still A Fool 04. (I�m your) Hoochie Coochie Man 05. What�d I Say |
06. Key To The Highway 07. I�ve Been There 08. Feelin� Good/What�d I Say 09. Oh Baby/You Better Watch Yourself 10. Hoodoo Man Blues |
01. Done Got Old 02. Baby Please Don�t Leave Me 03. Look What All You Got 04. Stay All Night 05. Tramp |
06. She Got The Devil In Her 07. I Gotta Try You Girl 08. Who�s Been Foolin� You 09. It�s A Jungle Out There |
01. Hard Time Killing Floor 02. Crawlin� Kingsnake 03. Lucy Mae Blues 04. Can�t See Baby 05. I Love The Life I Live 06. Louise McGhee |
07. Moanin� And Groanin� 08. Black Cat Blues 09. Bad Life Blues 10. Sally Mae 11. Anna Lee 12. Lonesome Home Blues |
01. Now You�re Gone 02. Ninety Nine And A Half 03. What Kind Of Woman Is This 04. Somebody�s Sleeping In My Bed 05. I Put A Spell On You 06. On A Saturday Night 07. Ain�t No Sunshine |
08. I�ve Got Dreams To Remember 09. Lay Lady Lay 10. Cheaper To Keep Her/Blues In The Night 11. Cut You Loose 12. The Price You Gotta Pay 13. Do Your Thing |
01. Best Damn Fool 02. Too Many Tears 03. Lyin� Like A Dog 04. Show Me The Money 05. Every Time I Sing The Blues 06. Out In The Woods |
07. Hammer And A Nail 08. That�s My Home 09. Skin Deep 10. Who�s Gonna Fill Those Shoes 11. Smell The Funk 12. I Found Happiness |
01. 74 Years Young 02. Thank Me Someday 03. On The Road 04. Stay Around A Little Longer 05. Key Don�t Fit 06. Living Proof |
07. Where The Blues Begins 08. Too Soon 09. Everybody�s Got To Go 10. Let The Door Knob Hit Ya 11. Guess What 12. Skanky |