Blues guitarist Buddy Guy sums up his illustrious career pretty succinctly in his Instagram bio: "8x Grammy Award winner, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and Chicago Blues legend."
Character limits aside, Guy could add many more accolades to the list. There's his lifetime achievement Grammy, his inductions into the Musicians Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, his recognition at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors and his National Medal of Arts, which he received in 2003. He even has his own section of Highway 418 called "Buddy Guy Way," which runs through his hometown of Lettsworth, Louisiana.
He's released 19 studio albums as a solo performer, most recently 2022's The Blues Don't Lie, and guitar legends like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton took influence from Guy.
"He was, for me, what Elvis probably was for most other people," Clapton said while inducting Guy into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. "My course was set, and he was my pilot."
All of Guy's success is even more impressive given his, in a word, modest introduction to playing music.
Growing up in Louisiana, Guy wanted to eschew the baseball games the others played and instead "do something the rest of the kids can't do," Guy told Guitar Player's Gary Graff. He fashioned a diddley bow out of a piece of wood and two wires taken from a window screen and began plucking away.
Guy didn't get his hands on an actual guitar until about two years later while staying with his sister in Baton Rouge. In what could be the plot of an actual blues tune, a stranger approached Guy while he played his diddley bow and said, according to Guy, "Son, you could probably learn how to play if you had a real guitar." The next day, the stranger picked Guy up and bought him a Harmony guitar.
"The first thing I learned how to play was 'Boogie Chillen' by John Lee Hooker," Guy said. "When I figured that out, I walked a mile and found every distant relative I had and said, 'Look! Listen!'... I was afraid to quit. I played it so long my fingers started bleeding."
Guy later picked up the electric guitar, found his singing voice and moved to Chicago. The rest is... well... you know... see accolades above.
Guy's current "Damn Right Farewell" tour is likely your last chance to see the guitarist in Spokane, as this run of dates marks the end of his extensive touring career. In the future, you'll have to take a trip to Chicago and visit his blues club — Buddy Guy's Legends — if you want to see the master ply his trade.
With nearly 70 years of songs, Guy's output is as musically and lyrically diverse as it comes. Need to cry? Laugh? Love? Yell? Dance? Guy has a tune for you. These songs show a bit of that range, but don't stop here. It's worth exploring his catalog whether you're new to the blues or re-listening to old favorites to prepare for the concert.
"GUNSMOKE BLUES"
The lead single from The Blues Don't Lie, "Gunsmoke Blues," which features Jason Isbell, is a lyrically straightforward yet still searing song about gun violence. "Some folks blame the shooter / Other folks blame the gun / But that don't stop the bullets / And more bloodshed to come / A million thoughts and prayers / Won't bring back anyone," Guy sings.
"DAMN RIGHT, I'VE GOT THE BLUES"
The title track from Guy's 1991 comeback record (he hadn't released a studio album in nearly a decade) starts with 40 seconds of electric guitar that shows off his elite dexterity, it's as if he's telling listeners "Don't call it a comeback / I've been here for years."
"HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN"
This Chicago blues classic has shown up in a lot of Guy's recent setlists. Written by Willie Dixon, a prolific songwriter for Chess Records (which Guy called home for about a decade), "Hoochie Coochie Man" was first recorded by Muddy Waters. The song is about a man who has a way with the ladies all thanks to hoodoo. Ooh la la.
"MUSTANG SALLY"
Another cut from Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, Guy might perform "Mustang Sally" live as a nod to the late Jeff Beck, who played electric guitar on the track. For a show of just how supernaturally skilled Guy is with the guitar, watch his performance of this song at the 2008 Glastonbury Festival — Guy plays the neck of the guitar with his left hand and mirrors the fingering on his cheek with his right with such ease, you'd think that's how a guitar is meant to be played.
"THE BLUES IS ALIVE AND WELL"
The title track from Guy's 2018 Grammy-winning album, which featured performances from the likes of Beck, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and James Bay, this might be an apt way for the blues legend to close the show. While the song is sung from the perspective of a heartbroken man, the chorus seems to summarize Guy's feelings about his future. "As long as I am breathin' / And my heart's still beatin' / I got my story to tell / I know the blues is alive and well."No matter what Guy plays, expect to have a good time. In fact, he almost demands that from his audiences.
"If you get angry at home, at your wife, your sister, your brother, your friend, come out and have a drink! If you are mad at somebody sitting next to you, then we need to cut that bullshit out," Guy told Forbes' Derek Scancarelli. "We only here for a little while, man, let's just have fun!" ♦
Buddy Guy, Eric Gales • Wed, Aug 9 at 7 pm • $40-$150 • All ages • First Interstate Center for the Arts • 334 W. Spokane Fall Blvd. • firstinterstatecenter.org
