Bluesman Buddy Guy, 72, is known in the music business as a "triple threat." His prowess as a singer, songwriter and guitarist has earned him five Grammy Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As VOA's Doug Levine tells us, Guy is still in top form and shares the spotlight with some of his closest friends on his latest album, "Skin Deep."
Buddy Guy never considered slowing down. He now joins forces with a handful of rock and blues greats on his first studio album in three years. Among them, pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph on the track "That's My Home."
Guy has never had trouble attracting an audience. In fact, one of his biggest fans was Jimi Hendrix, who sometimes cancelled his own concerts to attend a Buddy Guy show. Texas blues-rocker Stevie Ray Vaughan was one of the lucky few that got to perform alongside his idol. He once said, "Buddy Guy plays from a place that I've never heard anyone play."
Other famous fans include Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and frequent collaborator Eric Clapton who traded guitar solos on "Every Time I Sing The Blues."
Guy has come a long way since his arrival on the Chicago blues scene in the late-1950s. He earned a recording contract by winning a local competition over fellow West Side guitarists Magic Sam and Otis Rush. Since 1965, few have surpassed Guy as America's best-selling electric blues artist.
As for his live shows, most who attend never forget them. Typically, Guy will play while roaming through the audience, often allowing fans to strum the guitar while he bends the notes. On a good night, Guy will play the guitar with his teeth, his feet or with a drumstick; play it behind his back; or toss it into the air and then flip it backwards before letting it fall into his arms. Guy credits New Orleans bluesman Guitar Slim for inspiring his flamboyant showmanship.
In June, Buddy Guy shared the cover of Rolling Stone magazine with B.B. King, Carlos Santana and other modern guitar heroes for the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time." Guy's 1961 recording of "Stone Crazy" made the list at Number 78.
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