His song catalogue is a treasure house that has often been looted by lesser bluesmen, and his guitar technique to this day shoots down most of the new kids in town.
There is only one blues guitarist who can claim to have influenced any one or more of the following blues superstars: Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Gary Clark Jr. and John Mayer. That one and only is Buddy Guy.
Buddy Guy is all of 86 years old, still on tour in 2022. More than a few of the musical greats learned a few guitar tricks from this man, notably Jimi Hendrix, but all of those mentioned above owe him a considerable debt for their individual successes. Not for nothing has this man written a classic song called “Where The Blues Begins”. Featured guests on that track include the much-heralded B.B. King and the unforgettable tones of Carlos Santana.
Buddy made an amazing album a few years ago called Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues, and it’s still worth tracking down. It featured a few apprentices of the Buddy Guy School of Guitar Playing, namely Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Mark Knopfler, along with a great collection of blues tunes including an original of Buddy’s with an all-time unforgettable title Too Broke To Spend The Night. His 2010 release though, entitled Living Proof , is his most personal statement.
This man is a legend, and at the age of 74 back in 2010, he still had it going on, still had that mojo workin’, and he loomed large as an artist that other blues legends regarded as their inspiration. His song catalogue is a treasure house that has often been looted by lesser bluesmen, and his guitar technique to this day shoots down most of the new kids in town. He is a menacing axeman with a tone that has been compared to shrapnel.
Standout tracks here are the title song, Too Soon, and Where The Blues Begins, as well as the instrumental tune Skanky which demonstrates for all time that lyrics are the least important part of the blues.
If you love the blues, if you relish stinging guitar solos, tend to drown in soulful vocals, and enhance your romantic tragedies with lyrics that speak from the heart about the troubles that a lived-in, lived-out life can bring, you’ll have Living Proof in heavy rotation in no time.
