Buddy Guy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Buddy Guy
Guy performing in 2008
Background information
Birth name	George Guy
Born	(1936-07-30) July 30, 1936 (age 88) Lettsworth, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Chicago blues blues electric blues blues rock
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter
Instruments	Guitar vocals
Years active	1953–present
Labels	RCA Cobra Chess Delmark Silvertone MCA Atlantic MPS Charly Zomba Group Jive Vanguard JSP Rhino Purple Pyramid Flyright AIM Alligator Blues Ball

George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is a master of Chicago blues music. He has inspired many famous guitarists like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

In the 1960s, Buddy Guy played with the legendary Muddy Waters. He also started a musical partnership with Junior Wells, who played the blues harp. Buddy Guy has won many awards, including eight Grammy Awards. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his amazing career. Rolling Stone magazine called him one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

Early life and first guitar

Buddy Guy at the Monterey Jazz Festival, 1992

George "Buddy" Guy was born and grew up in Lettsworth, Louisiana. He was the oldest of five children. His parents were sharecroppers, which meant they farmed land owned by someone else. As a child, Buddy picked cotton to earn money. His brother, Phil Guy, also became a blues musician.

Buddy first learned to play guitar on a simple two-string instrument he made himself. Later, he received a real Harmony acoustic guitar. Years later, this special guitar was given to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Starting his music career

In the mid-1950s, Buddy Guy began playing with bands in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He worked as a cleaner at Louisiana State University during this time. In 1957, he recorded some demo songs, but they were not released then.

On September 25, 1957, Buddy moved to Chicago. There, he was greatly influenced by the famous blues musician Muddy Waters. In 1958, Buddy won a guitar competition. This led to a record deal. He soon recorded for Cobra Records. He even worked with Ike Turner on some of his early songs. After this, he signed with Chess Records.

Challenges at Chess Records

Buddy Guy's early career faced challenges because of his record company, Chess Records. From 1959 to 1968, Chess Records did not want to record Buddy playing his exciting live style. The owner, Leonard Chess, thought Buddy's playing was "just making noise."

In the early 1960s, Chess tried to record Buddy as a solo artist. They wanted him to play R&B songs, jazz, and soul. But none of these songs were released as singles. Buddy's only album with Chess, Left My Blues in San Francisco, came out in 1967. Most of the songs on it were influenced by the popular soul music of that time.

Chess Records mostly used Buddy Guy as a session musician. This meant he played guitar for other famous blues artists. He played for Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Sonny Boy Williamson. Even in 1967, Buddy had to work as a tow truck driver during the day. He played music in clubs at night.

While with Chess, Buddy also recorded with Junior Wells. These recordings were for another label, Delmark Records. He used the name Friendly Chap for these songs. In 1965, he toured Europe as part of the American Folk Blues Festival.

In 1972, Buddy Guy opened his own club called The Checkerboard Lounge. He left the club in 1985.

Later career and comeback

Buddy Guy's career became very popular again in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This happened during a time when blues music was becoming popular again. Eric Clapton asked Buddy to join his "24 Nights" blues guitar shows in London.

After this, Buddy signed with Silvertone Records. In 1991, he released a very successful album. This album helped him become famous to a wider audience.

In 2009, Buddy Guy had a small part in the movie In the Electric Mist.

As of 2019, Buddy Guy still performs over 130 nights a year. Every January, he plays a month of shows at his own blues club in Chicago, called Buddy Guy's Legends. In June 2024, he was the main performer at the Chicago Blues Festival.

Buddy Guy's unique music style

Buddy Guy in 1993, performing in Toronto, Canada

Buddy Guy's music is often called Chicago blues. But his style is very special and different. His music can be traditional, deep blues. It can also be a mix of blues, rock, soul, and jazz. His performances are always changing and exciting.

A music critic named Jon Pareles wrote about Buddy Guy in 2005. He said that Buddy mixes wildness, skill, deep blues, and fun tricks. This keeps everyone watching him. He loves sudden changes, like going from loud to soft music. He can play a sweet guitar solo and then suddenly play very fast. He is a master at building and releasing tension in his music.

In an interview in 2000, Buddy Guy explained why he sometimes plays "rocky" music. He said he wanted to get his music played on big radio stations. He noticed that if Eric Clapton played a Muddy Waters song, it would be called "classic" and played on the radio. But Muddy Waters' own songs would not be played.

His famous polka-dot guitars

Buddy Guy has played many guitars in his career. But he is most known for his special Fender guitars with a polka-dot design. In 2022, Buddy explained that the polka-dot pattern was a tribute to his mother. It reminds him of a promise he made to her when he left home.

He told his mother he would make a lot of money and come back in a polka-dot Cadillac. He knew he was telling a little lie to make her feel good. After his mother passed away, he wanted something to remember that promise. So, he asked Fender to make him a polka-dot guitar. He wanted to carry that reminder with him always.

The first polka-dot guitar was based on a guitar Eric Clapton played. Now, Fender sells its own line of Buddy Guy Signature guitars. These guitars have the polka-dot design. Buddy also wears shirts with the same polka-dot pattern on stage.

Awards and recognition

Buddy Guy at the Liri Blues Festival, Italy, in 1989

Many famous musicians admire Buddy Guy. When he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Eric Clapton said Buddy's playing was always original and full of life.

Buddy Guy performing in 1999

Buddy Guy performing at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2006

Buddy Guy in Urbana, Illinois, 1983

Jeff Beck remembered playing with Buddy Guy at his club. He called it "the most incredible stuff I ever heard." Bill Wyman, from the Rolling Stones, said that Buddy Guy is one of the best guitar legends. He can make his guitar "talk and cry the blues."

Buddy Guy has won many awards for his music.

• On September 20, 1996, he was honored at Guitar Center's Hollywood Rockwalk.
• He has won eight Grammy Awards for his blues music. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award.
• In 2003, he received the National Medal of Arts. This award is given by the President of the United States for great contributions to the arts.
• By 2004, he had won 23 W.C. Handy Awards. Billboard magazine also gave him its Century Award. He was called the "Greatest Living Electric Blues Guitarist."
• On March 14, 2005, Buddy Guy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Eric Clapton and B.B. King inducted him. Clapton remembered seeing Buddy play guitar with his teeth and over his head. These tricks later influenced Jimi Hendrix.
• In 2008, he was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
• On December 2, 2012, Buddy Guy received the Kennedy Center Honors. This is one of the highest honors for artists in the U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were there.
• On January 28, 2014, he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.
• His album Born to Play Guitar won a Grammy Award in 2016 for Best Blues Album.
• On December 8, 2018, Louisiana and Mississippi named it "Buddy Guy Day." A road in Lettsworth was named "Buddy Guy Way."
• In 2018, he received a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Louisiana.
• In 2019, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. Jimmy Page presented him with this award.

On February 21, 2012, Buddy Guy performed at the White House for President Barack Obama. During the show, he even got President Obama to sing a few lines of "Sweet Home Chicago."

Personal life

Buddy Guy has been married twice and has several children. His son, Greg Guy, also plays blues guitar. His daughter, Rashawnna Guy, is a rapper known as Shawnna.

As of 2014, Buddy Guy lives in Orland Park, Illinois, near Chicago. He wakes up very early, which he says comes from growing up on a farm. He says, "Doesn’t matter how late I get home from a show, I know I will be up, like, three, four o’clock in the morning.”

Discography

with Junior Wells

with Phil Guy

with Memphis Slim

See also

In Spanish: Buddy Guy para niños

• Buddy Guy's Legends
• Checkerboard Lounge
• Chicago Blues Festival
• Montreux Jazz Festival