Biography by Mark Deming
Buddy Guy is one of the most celebrated blues guitarists of his generation (arguably the most celebrated), possessing a sound and style that embodies the traditions of classic Chicago blues while also embracing the fire and flash of rock & roll. Guy began his recording career in 1959 and scored his first hit in 1960 with "First Time I Met the Blues." He spent much of the next decade a well-regarded journeyman, praised by peers and blues fans without breaking through to a larger audience; his best album of the '60s originally didn't even have his name on it (Junior Wells' Hoodoo Man Blues). However, he found an audience in Europe in the '70s and rock fans began discovering his work through the endorsements of noted fans Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Mark Knopfler. Guy released little material in the '80s (his best-known album of the decade was 1981's Stone Crazy, one of the few that received an American release), as he focused on live work. But in 1991, Guy finally enjoyed a commercial breakthrough with Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, and since then he's been one of the biggest names in contemporary blues, touring frequently and cutting new material on a regular basis. In the 21st century, Guy was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, kept recording (2001's Sweet Tea, 2008's Skin Deep, and 2010's Living Proof are high points from this period), played an annual residency at his Chicago nightclub Legends, and even played at the White House, inviting President Barack Obama on-stage for a duet on "Sweet Home Chicago."
George "Buddy" Guy was born in Lettsworth, Louisiana on July 30, 1936, and is said to have first learned to play on a home-made two-string instrument fashioned from wire and tin cans. Guy graduated to an acoustic guitar and began soaking up the influences of blues players such as T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, and Lightnin' Hopkins; when his family relocated to Baton Rouge, Guy had the opportunity to see live performances by Lightnin' Slim (aka Otis Hicks) and Guitar Slim, whose raw, forceful sound and over-the-top showmanship left a serious impression on him. Guy started playing professionally when he became a sideman for John "Big Poppa" Tilley, and he learned to work the crowd and overcome early bouts of stage fright. In 1957, Guy cut a demo tape at a local radio station and sent a copy to Chess Records, the label that was home to such giants as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Etta James, shortly before buying a one-way train ticket and moving to Chicago, eager to make music his career.
Guy didn't enjoy immediate success in Chicago, and struggled to find gigs until his fiery guitar work and flashy stage style (which included hopping on top of bars and strutting up and down their length while soloing, thanks to a 100-foot-long guitar cable) made him a regular winner in talent night contests at Windy City clubs. Guy struck up friendships with some of the city's best blues artists, including Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Freddie King, and Magic Sam, and landed a steady gig at the 708 Club, where he became known as a talent to watch. In 1958, Magic Sam arranged for Guy to meet Harold Burrage, the owner of local blues label Cobra Records, and Guy was soon signed to Cobra's sister label Artistic Records. Willie Dixon produced Guy's debut single, "Sit and Cry (The Blues)," as well as its follow-up, "This Is the End," but in 1959, Cobra and Artistic abruptly closed up shop, and like labelmate Otis Rush, Guy found a new record deal at Chess. His first single for Chess, 1960's "First Time I Met the Blues," was an artistic triumph and a modest commercial success that became one of his signature tunes, but it was also the first chapter in what would prove to be a complicated creative relationship between Guy and label co-founder Leonard Chess, who recognized his talent but didn't appreciate the louder and more expressive aspects of his guitar style. While Guy enjoyed minor successes with outstanding Chess singles such as "Stone Crazy" and "When My Left Eye Jumps," much of his work for the label was as a sideman, lending his talents to sessions for Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and many others. And one of Guy's definitive '60s recordings wasn't even issued by Chess; Guy had been performing occasionally with blues harpist Junior Wells, and Guy and his band backed Wells on the 1965 Delmark release Hoodoo Man Blues, a masterful exercise in the Chicago blues style, with Guy credited as "Friendly Chap" on initial pressings in deference to his contract with Chess.
Chess didn't issue an album of Guy's until the 1967 release of I Left My Blues in San Francisco, and when his contract with the 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 well-received 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 follow-ups, 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, Guy 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.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/buddy-guy-mn0000942529/biography
Buddy Guy is one of the most celebrated blues guitarists of his generation (arguably the most celebrated), possessing a sound and style that embodies the traditions of classic Chicago blues while also embracing the fire and flash of rock & roll. Guy began his recording career in 1959 and scored his first hit in 1960 with "First Time I Met the Blues." He spent much of the next decade a well-regarded journeyman, praised by peers and blues fans without breaking through to a larger audience; his best album of the '60s originally didn't even have his name on it (Junior Wells' Hoodoo Man Blues). However, he found an audience in Europe in the '70s and rock fans began discovering his work through the endorsements of noted fans Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Mark Knopfler. Guy released little material in the '80s (his best-known album of the decade was 1981's Stone Crazy, one of the few that received an American release), as he focused on live work. But in 1991, Guy finally enjoyed a commercial breakthrough with Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, and since then he's been one of the biggest names in contemporary blues, touring frequently and cutting new material on a regular basis. In the 21st century, Guy was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, kept recording (2001's Sweet Tea, 2008's Skin Deep, and 2010's Living Proof are high points from this period), played an annual residency at his Chicago nightclub Legends, and even played at the White House, inviting President Barack Obama on-stage for a duet on "Sweet Home Chicago."
George "Buddy" Guy was born in Lettsworth, Louisiana on July 30, 1936, and is said to have first learned to play on a home-made two-string instrument fashioned from wire and tin cans. Guy graduated to an acoustic guitar and began soaking up the influences of blues players such as T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, and Lightnin' Hopkins; when his family relocated to Baton Rouge, Guy had the opportunity to see live performances by Lightnin' Slim (aka Otis Hicks) and Guitar Slim, whose raw, forceful sound and over-the-top showmanship left a serious impression on him. Guy started playing professionally when he became a sideman for John "Big Poppa" Tilley, and he learned to work the crowd and overcome early bouts of stage fright. In 1957, Guy cut a demo tape at a local radio station and sent a copy to Chess Records, the label that was home to such giants as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Etta James, shortly before buying a one-way train ticket and moving to Chicago, eager to make music his career.
Guy didn't enjoy immediate success in Chicago, and struggled to find gigs until his fiery guitar work and flashy stage style (which included hopping on top of bars and strutting up and down their length while soloing, thanks to a 100-foot-long guitar cable) made him a regular winner in talent night contests at Windy City clubs. Guy struck up friendships with some of the city's best blues artists, including Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Freddie King, and Magic Sam, and landed a steady gig at the 708 Club, where he became known as a talent to watch. In 1958, Magic Sam arranged for Guy to meet Harold Burrage, the owner of local blues label Cobra Records, and Guy was soon signed to Cobra's sister label Artistic Records. Willie Dixon produced Guy's debut single, "Sit and Cry (The Blues)," as well as its follow-up, "This Is the End," but in 1959, Cobra and Artistic abruptly closed up shop, and like labelmate Otis Rush, Guy found a new record deal at Chess. His first single for Chess, 1960's "First Time I Met the Blues," was an artistic triumph and a modest commercial success that became one of his signature tunes, but it was also the first chapter in what would prove to be a complicated creative relationship between Guy and label co-founder Leonard Chess, who recognized his talent but didn't appreciate the louder and more expressive aspects of his guitar style. While Guy enjoyed minor successes with outstanding Chess singles such as "Stone Crazy" and "When My Left Eye Jumps," much of his work for the label was as a sideman, lending his talents to sessions for Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and many others. And one of Guy's definitive '60s recordings wasn't even issued by Chess; Guy had been performing occasionally with blues harpist Junior Wells, and Guy and his band backed Wells on the 1965 Delmark release Hoodoo Man Blues, a masterful exercise in the Chicago blues style, with Guy credited as "Friendly Chap" on initial pressings in deference to his contract with Chess.
Chess didn't issue an album of Guy's until the 1967 release of I Left My Blues in San Francisco, and when his contract with the 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 well-received 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 follow-ups, 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, Guy 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.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/buddy-guy-mn0000942529/biography
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Biografía de Mark Deming
Buddy Guy es uno de los guitarristas de blues más célebres de su generación (posiblemente el más célebre), y posee un sonido y un estilo que encarnan las tradiciones del blues clásico de Chicago al tiempo que adoptan el fuego y el destello del rock & roll. Guy comenzó su carrera discográfica en 1959 y consiguió su primer éxito en 1960 con "First Time I Met the Blues". Pasó la mayor parte de la década siguiente como un viajero bien considerado, alabado por sus colegas y por los aficionados al blues, pero sin llegar a un público más amplio; su mejor álbum de los años 60 ni siquiera llevaba su nombre (Junior Wells' Hoodoo Man Blues). Sin embargo, encontró un público en Europa en los años 70 y los aficionados al rock empezaron a descubrir su obra gracias a los avales de los famosos Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaughan y Mark Knopfler. Guy publicó poco material en los años 80 (su álbum más conocido de la década fue Stone Crazy, de 1981, uno de los pocos que se editaron en Estados Unidos), ya que se centró en el trabajo en directo. Pero en 1991, Guy tuvo por fin un gran éxito comercial con Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, y desde entonces ha sido uno de los nombres más importantes del blues contemporáneo, realizando frecuentes giras y editando nuevo material con regularidad. En el siglo XXI, Guy fue incluido en el Salón de la Fama del Rock & Roll, siguió grabando (Sweet Tea, de 2001, Skin Deep, de 2008, y Living Proof, de 2010, son los mejores trabajos de este periodo), realizó una residencia anual en su club nocturno de Chicago, Legends, e incluso tocó en la Casa Blanca, invitando al Presidente Barack Obama a subir al escenario para hacer un dúo en "Sweet Home Chicago".
George "Buddy" Guy nació en Lettsworth, Luisiana, el 30 de julio de 1936, y se dice que aprendió a tocar por primera vez con un instrumento casero de dos cuerdas fabricado con alambre y latas. Cuando su familia se trasladó a Baton Rouge, Guy tuvo la oportunidad de ver actuaciones en directo de Lightnin' Slim (también conocido como Otis Hicks) y Guitar Slim, cuyo sonido crudo y contundente, así como su espectacularidad, le causaron una gran impresión. Guy empezó a tocar profesionalmente cuando se convirtió en músico de acompañamiento de John "Big Poppa" Tilley, y aprendió a trabajar con el público y a superar los primeros ataques de miedo escénico. En 1957, Guy grabó una maqueta en una emisora de radio local y envió una copia a Chess Records, el sello que albergaba a gigantes como Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf y Etta James, poco antes de comprar un billete de tren de ida y trasladarse a Chicago, deseoso de hacer de la música su carrera.
Guy no disfrutó de un éxito inmediato en Chicago, y le costó encontrar actuaciones hasta que su ardiente trabajo con la guitarra y su llamativo estilo en el escenario (que incluía subirse a las barras y pavonearse a lo largo de ellas mientras hacía un solo, gracias a un cable de guitarra de 30 metros de largo) lo convirtieron en un ganador habitual de los concursos de la noche de talentos en los clubes de la Ciudad del Viento. Guy entabló amistad con algunos de los mejores artistas de blues de la ciudad, como Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Freddie King y Magic Sam, y consiguió una actuación fija en el 708 Club, donde se hizo conocido como un talento a tener en cuenta. En 1958, Magic Sam consiguió que Guy conociera a Harold Burrage, el propietario del sello local de blues Cobra Records, y Guy pronto fue contratado por el sello hermano de Cobra, Artistic Records. Willie Dixon produjo el primer sencillo de Guy, "Sit and Cry (The Blues)", así como su continuación, "This Is the End", pero en 1959, Cobra y Artistic cerraron abruptamente, y al igual que su compañero de sello Otis Rush, Guy encontró un nuevo contrato discográfico en Chess. Su primer sencillo para Chess, "First Time I Met the Blues", de 1960, fue un triunfo artístico y un modesto éxito comercial que se convirtió en uno de sus temas característicos, pero también fue el primer capítulo de lo que resultaría ser una complicada relación creativa entre Guy y el cofundador del sello, Leonard Chess, que reconocía su talento pero no apreciaba los aspectos más ruidosos y expresivos de su estilo de guitarra. Aunque Guy tuvo pequeños éxitos con destacados singles de Chess como "Stone Crazy" y "When My Left Eye Jumps", la mayor parte de su trabajo para el sello fue como músico de acompañamiento, prestando su talento a sesiones para Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter y muchos otros. Y una de las grabaciones definitivas de Guy en los 60 ni siquiera fue publicada por Chess; Guy había estado actuando ocasionalmente con el arpista de blues Junior Wells, y Guy y su banda respaldaron a Wells en el lanzamiento de Delmark de 1965, Hoodoo Man Blues, un ejercicio magistral en el estilo de blues de Chicago, con Guy acreditado como "Friendly Chap" en las impresiones iniciales en deferencia a su contrato con Chess.
Buddy Guy es uno de los guitarristas de blues más célebres de su generación (posiblemente el más célebre), y posee un sonido y un estilo que encarnan las tradiciones del blues clásico de Chicago al tiempo que adoptan el fuego y el destello del rock & roll. Guy comenzó su carrera discográfica en 1959 y consiguió su primer éxito en 1960 con "First Time I Met the Blues". Pasó la mayor parte de la década siguiente como un viajero bien considerado, alabado por sus colegas y por los aficionados al blues, pero sin llegar a un público más amplio; su mejor álbum de los años 60 ni siquiera llevaba su nombre (Junior Wells' Hoodoo Man Blues). Sin embargo, encontró un público en Europa en los años 70 y los aficionados al rock empezaron a descubrir su obra gracias a los avales de los famosos Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaughan y Mark Knopfler. Guy publicó poco material en los años 80 (su álbum más conocido de la década fue Stone Crazy, de 1981, uno de los pocos que se editaron en Estados Unidos), ya que se centró en el trabajo en directo. Pero en 1991, Guy tuvo por fin un gran éxito comercial con Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, y desde entonces ha sido uno de los nombres más importantes del blues contemporáneo, realizando frecuentes giras y editando nuevo material con regularidad. En el siglo XXI, Guy fue incluido en el Salón de la Fama del Rock & Roll, siguió grabando (Sweet Tea, de 2001, Skin Deep, de 2008, y Living Proof, de 2010, son los mejores trabajos de este periodo), realizó una residencia anual en su club nocturno de Chicago, Legends, e incluso tocó en la Casa Blanca, invitando al Presidente Barack Obama a subir al escenario para hacer un dúo en "Sweet Home Chicago".
George "Buddy" Guy nació en Lettsworth, Luisiana, el 30 de julio de 1936, y se dice que aprendió a tocar por primera vez con un instrumento casero de dos cuerdas fabricado con alambre y latas. Cuando su familia se trasladó a Baton Rouge, Guy tuvo la oportunidad de ver actuaciones en directo de Lightnin' Slim (también conocido como Otis Hicks) y Guitar Slim, cuyo sonido crudo y contundente, así como su espectacularidad, le causaron una gran impresión. Guy empezó a tocar profesionalmente cuando se convirtió en músico de acompañamiento de John "Big Poppa" Tilley, y aprendió a trabajar con el público y a superar los primeros ataques de miedo escénico. En 1957, Guy grabó una maqueta en una emisora de radio local y envió una copia a Chess Records, el sello que albergaba a gigantes como Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf y Etta James, poco antes de comprar un billete de tren de ida y trasladarse a Chicago, deseoso de hacer de la música su carrera.
Guy no disfrutó de un éxito inmediato en Chicago, y le costó encontrar actuaciones hasta que su ardiente trabajo con la guitarra y su llamativo estilo en el escenario (que incluía subirse a las barras y pavonearse a lo largo de ellas mientras hacía un solo, gracias a un cable de guitarra de 30 metros de largo) lo convirtieron en un ganador habitual de los concursos de la noche de talentos en los clubes de la Ciudad del Viento. Guy entabló amistad con algunos de los mejores artistas de blues de la ciudad, como Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Freddie King y Magic Sam, y consiguió una actuación fija en el 708 Club, donde se hizo conocido como un talento a tener en cuenta. En 1958, Magic Sam consiguió que Guy conociera a Harold Burrage, el propietario del sello local de blues Cobra Records, y Guy pronto fue contratado por el sello hermano de Cobra, Artistic Records. Willie Dixon produjo el primer sencillo de Guy, "Sit and Cry (The Blues)", así como su continuación, "This Is the End", pero en 1959, Cobra y Artistic cerraron abruptamente, y al igual que su compañero de sello Otis Rush, Guy encontró un nuevo contrato discográfico en Chess. Su primer sencillo para Chess, "First Time I Met the Blues", de 1960, fue un triunfo artístico y un modesto éxito comercial que se convirtió en uno de sus temas característicos, pero también fue el primer capítulo de lo que resultaría ser una complicada relación creativa entre Guy y el cofundador del sello, Leonard Chess, que reconocía su talento pero no apreciaba los aspectos más ruidosos y expresivos de su estilo de guitarra. Aunque Guy tuvo pequeños éxitos con destacados singles de Chess como "Stone Crazy" y "When My Left Eye Jumps", la mayor parte de su trabajo para el sello fue como músico de acompañamiento, prestando su talento a sesiones para Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter y muchos otros. Y una de las grabaciones definitivas de Guy en los 60 ni siquiera fue publicada por Chess; Guy había estado actuando ocasionalmente con el arpista de blues Junior Wells, y Guy y su banda respaldaron a Wells en el lanzamiento de Delmark de 1965, Hoodoo Man Blues, un ejercicio magistral en el estilo de blues de Chicago, con Guy acreditado como "Friendly Chap" en las impresiones iniciales en deferencia a su contrato con Chess.
Chess no publicó un álbum de Guy hasta el lanzamiento de I Left My Blues in San Francisco en 1967, y cuando su contrato con la discográfica finalizó, firmó rápidamente con Vanguard, que publicó A Man and the Blues en 1968. A medida que un número creciente de aficionados al rock descubría el blues, Guy se encontraba con que su cotización aumentaba tanto con los entusiastas del blues tradicional como con el público blanco más joven, y sus grabaciones para Vanguard le daban más espacio para el sonido más duro y agresivo que era la marca de sus espectáculos en directo. (No le vino mal que Jimi Hendrix reconociera a Guy como una influencia y elogiara su espectáculo en directo en las entrevistas). Al mismo tiempo, Guy no había abandonado el enfoque más comedido que utilizaba con Junior Wells; Buddy y Wells grabaron un álbum que también contaba con Junior Mance al piano para Blue Thumb llamado Buddy and the Juniors, y en 1972, Eric Clapton se asoció con Ahmet Ertegun y Tom Dowd para producir el álbum Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Play the Blues. En 1974, Guy y Wells tocaron en el Festival de Jazz de Montreux, con Bill Wyman de los Rolling Stones como bajista; el espectáculo se publicó posteriormente como un álbum en directo, Drinkin' TNT and Smokin' Dynamite, con Wyman como productor.
A finales de los años 70, Guy se quedó sin contrato discográfico en Estados Unidos, y su carrera se vio afectada por ello; aunque grabó material para sellos especializados en Europa y Japón, y Alligator publicó dos colecciones en 1981, Alone & Acoustic y Stone Crazy, en los años 80 Guy se mantuvo sobre todo gracias a sus extensas giras y a su trabajo en directo, apareciendo a menudo en Europa, donde era más respetado que en Estados Unidos. A pesar de ello, continuó trabajando en el mercado estadounidense, animado por el interés de los aficionados a la guitarra que habían oído a grandes estrellas cantar sus alabanzas; en 1985, Eric Clapton dijo a un periodista de la revista Musician: "Buddy Guy es, con diferencia y sin duda, el mejor guitarrista vivo... realmente cambió el curso del rock & roll blues", mientras que Vaughan declaró: "Sin Buddy Guy, no habría Stevie Ray Vaughan". En 1989, Guy abrió su propio club nocturno en Chicago, el Buddy Guy's Legends, donde actuaba con frecuencia y recibía a otros grupos de blues de primera fila, y en 1991, tras una bien recibida aparición con Clapton en el Royal Albert Hall de Londres (documentada en parte en el álbum 24 Nights), consiguió finalmente un contrato discográfico internacional con el sello Silvertone, distribuido por BMG. El primer álbum de Guy para Silvertone, Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, contaba con la participación de Clapton, Jeff Beck y Mark Knopfler, y ofrecía nuevas versiones de varios temas favoritos de los fans, así como un puñado de canciones nuevas; fue el álbum de Buddy Guy que finalmente encajó con los compradores de discos, y se convirtió en un auténtico éxito, lo que le valió a Guy un disco de oro, así como un premio Grammy al mejor álbum de blues contemporáneo. Guy no perdió el tiempo y lanzó Feels Like Rain en 1993 y Slippin' In en 1994, ambos con sólidas cifras de ventas y premios Grammy.
En 1993, Guy se reunió con Junior Wells en el escenario de su club Legends; sería una de las últimas actuaciones en directo de Wells, y el espectáculo se publicó en 1998, varios meses después del fallecimiento de Wells, en el álbum Last Time Around: Live at Legends. Aunque la mayor parte del trabajo de Guy a finales de los 90 y en el nuevo milenio fue el tipo de blues de Chicago que era la base de su reputación, también demostró que era capaz de explorar otras vías, canalizando el hipnótico Deep Southern blues de Junior Kimbrough en Sweet Tea de 2001 y cubriendo un conjunto de clásicos del blues tradicional con guitarra acústica para Blues Singer de 2003. En 2004, Guy ganó el premio W.C. Handy de la American Blues Foundation por vigésimo tercera vez, más que ningún otro artista, mientras que en 2010 se llevó su sexto premio Grammy por el álbum Living Proof. Guy también recibió la Medalla Nacional de las Artes en 2003, y fue galardonado con los Kennedy Center Honors en 2012. Fue incluido en el Salón de la Fama del Rock and Roll en 2005, y tanto Eric Clapton como B.B. King le entregaron su premio, y en 2012 ofreció un concierto especial en la Casa Blanca, donde convenció al presidente Barack Obama para que se uniera a él en el micrófono vocal para unos coros de "Sweet Home Chicago". Guy continuó con el resurgimiento de su carrera en los últimos años con las memorias de 2012 When I Left Home: My Story y el lanzamiento en verano de 2013 del ambicioso doble álbum Rhythm & Blues, cargado de estrellas invitadas. El disco alcanzó el número uno en la lista de Top Blues Albums de Billboard y el 27 en su Top 200. Dos años después, Guy regresó con Born to Play Guitar, otro álbum grabado con el productor Tom Hambridge, que ha dirigido los discos del guitarrista desde Skin Deep, de 2008. En 2018, Guy se tomó un tiempo de su apretada agenda de carretera para lanzar un álbum de estudio, The Blues Is Alive and Well, que contó con apariciones de invitados como Keith Richards, Jeff Beck y Mick Jagger. El álbum le valió a Guy el premio Grammy (su octavo) al Mejor Álbum de Blues Tradicional.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/buddy-guy-mn0000942529/biography
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