Buddy Guy (Born 30/07/1936)

Born in Lettsworth, Louisiana, Guy is one of the most respected and vibrant of the 'classic bluesmen' still recording prolifically into the 21st Century - indeed, some (me included) would argue that some of his fairly recent work is his best and certainly most successful work of his whole career.

Moving to the Vanguard label, he developed a stong working relationship with Junior Wells, gaining an even stronger reputation as he blended his increasingly powerful guitar playing with the soul style prevalent in the late 60s and early 70s.
For a while during the 70s and 80s Guy's career went into a holding state (for that read nosedive!) but a guest appearance with Eric Clapton at his Blues Night concerts introduced him to a new audience (interestingly, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown went through a similar process, for which we should all be grateful) and a move to the Silvertone label heralded the production of a couple of excellent CDs. "Damn Right I've Got The Blues" was the first (1991) and had guest appearances from Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Mark Knopfler. The follow up "Feels Like Rain" (Silvertone ORECD 525) released in 1993 was, in my opinion, even better, but not one for the blues purists. The musical net was cast even wider (even the Drifters 'Some Kind Of Wonderful' was tackled) and there was excellent, but understated support from Bonnie Raitt, John Mayall, Paul Rodgers and Travis Tritt.

Although the follow-up release "Slippin' In" (again on Silvertone in 1993) was something of a disappointment, there is still no denying that Buddy Guy is one of the outstanding blues guitarists currently performing. Note there is now a Best Of ("Buddy's Baddest") the Silvertone releases available, for those who prefer a 'compilation' alternative to the Primer pick