34 Facts About Buddy Guy

1.

George "Buddy" Guy was born on July 30,1936 and is an American blues guitarist and singer.

2.

Buddy Guy is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Gary Clark Jr.

3.

Buddy Guy has won eight Grammy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Medal of Arts, and the Kennedy Center Honors.

4.

Buddy Guy was ranked 23rd in Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

5.

In 1999, Buddy Guy wrote the book Damn Right I've Got the Blues, with Donald Wilcock.

6.

Buddy Guy's parents were sharecroppers, and as a child, Guy would pick cotton for $2.50 per 100 pounds.

7.

Buddy Guy began learning to play the guitar using a two-string diddley bow he made.

8.

Leonard Chess, Chess Records founder, denounced Buddy Guy's playing as "just making noise".

9.

Buddy Guy appeared onstage at the March 1969 "Supershow" in Staines, England, which included Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Jack Bruce, Stephen Stills, Buddy Miles, Glenn Campbell, Roland Kirk, Jon Hiseman, and the Misunderstood.

10.

Buddy Guy's career was revived during the blues revival of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

11.

Buddy Guy's resurgence was sparked by Clapton's request that Guy be part of the "24 Nights" all-star blues guitar lineup at London's Royal Albert Hall.

12.

Buddy Guy subsequently signed with Silvertone Records and recorded his mainstream breakthrough album Damn Right, I've Got the Blues in 1991.

13.

Buddy Guy had a small role in the 2009 crime film In the Electric Mist as Sam "Hogman" Patin.

14.

Buddy Guy has played numerous guitars over the course of his career and continues to use multiple guitars in concerts and recordings, but he has become known for his custom model Fenders with their characteristic Polka-dot finish.

15.

Buddy Guy stood out in the mix, simply by virtue of the originality and vitality of his playing.

16.

Buddy Guy is feted by his peers and loved by his fans for his ability to make the guitar both talk and cry the blues.

17.

Buddy Guy was a judge for the 6th and 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.

18.

On February 21,2012, Buddy Guy performed in concert at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

19.

On September 20,1996, Buddy Guy was inducted into Guitar Center's Hollywood Rockwalk.

20.

Buddy Guy has won eight Grammy Awards, for his work on electric and acoustic guitars and for contemporary and traditional forms of blues music, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award.

21.

Clapton recalled seeing Buddy Guy perform in London's Marquee Club in 1965, impressing him with his technique, his looks and his charismatic showmanship.

22.

In 2008, Buddy Guy was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, performing at the Texas Club in Baton Rouge to commemorate the occasion.

23.

On December 2,2012, Buddy Guy was awarded the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors.

24.

At his induction, Kennedy Center chairman David Rubenstein said, "Buddy Guy is a titan of the blues and has been a tremendous influence on virtually everyone who has picked up an electric guitar in the last half century".

25.

On January 28,2014, Buddy Guy was inducted into Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

26.

In 2015, Buddy Guy received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

27.

Also in 2016, Buddy Guy toured the US east coast as the opening act for Jeff Beck.

28.

In 2018, Buddy Guy was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana.

29.

In 2019, Buddy Guy received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Jimmy Page.

30.

Buddy Guy was born as George Guy to Sam and Isabel Guy in Lettsworth, Louisiana.

31.

Buddy Guy was the first of five children born to the couple.

32.

Buddy Guy was married to Jennifer Guy from 1975 to 2002.

33.

Rashawnna Buddy Guy, known by her stage name Shawnna, is a rapper.

34.

Buddy Guy lived in Orland Park, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago as of 2014.