Buddy Guy

(continued from previous page) label ran out, he promptly signed with Vanguard, which put out A Man and the Blues in 1968. As a growing number of rock fans were discovering the blues, Guy was finding his stock rising with both traditional blues enthusiasts and younger white audiences, and his recordings for Vanguard gave him more room for the tougher and more aggressive sound that was the trademark of his live shows. (It didn’t hurt that Jimi Hendrix acknowledged Guy as an influence and praised his live show in interviews.) At the same time, Guy hadn’t forsaken the more measured approach he used with Junior Wells; Buddy and Wells cut an album that also featured Junior Mance on piano for Blue Thumb called Buddy and the Juniors, and in 1972, Eric Clapton partnered with Ahmet Ertegun and Tom Dowd to produce the album Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Play the Blues. In 1974, Guy and Wells played the Montreux Jazz Festival, with Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones sitting in on bass; the show was later released as a live album, Drinkin’ TNT and Smokin’ Dynamite, with Wyman credited as producer.

By the end of the ’70s, Guy was without an American record deal, and his career took a hit as a result; while he recorded some material for specialist labels in Europe and Japan, and Alligator issued two collections in 1981, Alone & Acoustic and Stone Crazy, for the most part Guy supported himself in the ’80s by extensive touring and live work, often appearing in Europe where he was more well-respected than in the United States. Despite this, he continued to plug away at the American market, buoyed by interest from guitar buffs who had heard major stars sing his praises; in 1985, Eric Clapton told a reporter for Musician magazine, “Buddy Guy is by far and without a doubt the best guitar player alive...he really changed the course of rock & roll blues,” while Vaughan declared, “Without Buddy Guy, there would be no Stevie Ray Vaughan.” In 1989, Guy opened his own nightclub in Chicago, Buddy Guy’s Legends, where he frequently performed and played host to other top blues acts, and in 1991, after a wellreceived appearance with Clapton at London’s Royal Albert Hall (documented in part on the album 24 Nights), he finally scored an international record deal with the Silvertone label, distributed by BMG. Guy’s first album for Silvertone, Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues, featured guest appearances by Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Mark Knopfler, and featured fresh versions of several fan favorites as well as a handful of new tunes; it was the Buddy Guy album that finally clicked with record buyers, and became a genuine hit, earning Guy a gold album, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Guy wasted no time cutting followups, releasing Feels Like Rain in 1993 and Slippin’ In in 1994, both of which racked up solid sales figures and won Guy further Grammy Awards.

In 1993, Guy reunited with Junior Wells on the stage of his Legends club; it would prove to be one of Wells’ last live performances, and the show was released in 1998, several months after Wells’ passing, on the album Last Time Around: Live at Legends. While most of Guy’s work in the late ’90s and into the new millennium was the sort of storming Chicago blues that was the basis of his reputation, he also demonstrated he was capable of exploring other avenues, channeling the hypnotic Deep Southern blues of Junior Kimbrough on 2001’s Sweet Tea and covering a set of traditional blues classics on acoustic guitar for 2003’s Blues Singer. In 2004, Guy won the W.C. Handy Award from the American Blues Foundation for the 23rd time, more than any other artist, while he took home his sixth Grammy Award in 2010 for the album Living Proof. Guy also received the National Medal of the Arts in 2003, and was awarded Kennedy Center Honors in 2012. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, with both Eric Clapton and B.B. King presenting him with his award, and in 2012 he performed a special concert at the White House, where he persuaded President Barack Obama to join him at the vocal mike for a few choruses of “Sweet Home Chicago.” Guy continued his late-career revival with the 2012 memoir When I Left Home: My Story and the summer 2013 release of the ambitious, guest star-laden, double-album Rhythm & Blues. The record reached number one on Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart and 27 on their Top 200. Two years later, Guy returned with Born to Play Guitar, another album recorded with producer Tom Hambridge, who has helmed the guitarist’s albums since 2008’s Skin Deep. In 2018, he took time off from his busy road schedule to release a studio album, The Blues Is Alive and Well, which featured guest appearances from Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, and Mick Jagger. The album earned Guy the Grammy Award (his eighth) for Best Traditional Blues Album. He reunited with producer Tom Hambridge for The Blues Don’t Lie, a 2022 album featuring cameos by Jason Isbell, Elvis Costello, Bobby Rush, James Taylor, and Mavis Staples.

Friday, January 27, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am

The Abbey Pub 2002 N Fry Rd - Houston, TX 77084

Saturday, January 28, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am

Aspens Bar & Grill

817 Clear Lake Rd - Kemah, TX 77565

Friday, February 3, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am

Scotty’s Saloon

114 Agnes Rd - Richmond, TX 77469

Saturday, February 4, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am

Sharky’s Tavern 504 25th St - Galveston, TX 77550

Saturday, February 11, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am

Backwoods Saloon

230 Lexington Ct - Conroe, TX 77385

Friday, February 24. 9:00 pm - 1:00 am

Shades Club 405 7th St - Bay City, TX 7414

Saturday, March 4, 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

3 Doors Down 102 20th St - Galveston, TX 77550

Saturday, March 11, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am

Aspens Bar & Grill

817 Clear Lake Rd - Kemah, TX 77565

Thursday, March 16, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Republic Harley Davidson 12707 Southwest Freeway - Stafford, TX 77477

Friday, March 17, 3:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Mo’s Irish Pub-Katy 23511 Katy Frwy - Katy, TX 77494

Friday, March 17, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am

The Abbey Pub 2002 N Fry Rd - Houston, TX 77084

Saturday, March 18, 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Mo’s Irish Pub College Station 1025 University Dr - College Station, TX 77840