Buddy Guy once saw Eric Clapton in the crowd at one of his gigs and assumed he was a cop
Buddy Guy has been looking back on the early days of his music career, noting how things began to change for him when his music found its way to British artists who were flawed by his guitar work.
Guy juggled a number of jobs to pay the bills as a young man, and eventually worked as a session guitarist while playing gigs of his own. For a long time, he was overlooked by radio stations, mistaken for other Black artists, and suffered racial abuse.
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A new cover feature from Rolling Stone documents how the cognac that he’d drink at shows needed to be sealed in order for him to actually drink it, as he’d gotten sick before due to people urinating or spitting in it if it had been opened.
It was in the 1960s, however, that his music began to be much more appreciated. Guy began to be embraced by British artists like Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, and Jimmy Page. Culture was shifting, and it was the ‘hippies’ that fell in love with his skill. He tells Rolling Stone that he once saw “a white face” at one of his shows and assumed it was a cop, but he laughs, “It was Eric Clapton!”
He continues, “I saw the [Rolling] Stones coming with the high heels on, almost looked like a woman. I’m saying, ‘What is this?’ I got to San Francisco, and I said, ‘Man, look at this.’ I didn’t know what a hippie was. I saw men with long hair. But they were going crazy [for my music], man: ‘What do you got in that amp?’”
Also in the interview, Guy talks about the importance of keeping the blues alive and kicking. He notes how thankfully, young musicians like Christone “Kingfish” Ingram are helping to do so. He also celebrates the 2025 film Sinners, in which Guy played an older version of the character Sammie Moore.
“It seems like every time I go to the grocery store, I hear, ‘That looks like that guy in Sinners.’” He goes on to add, “I’m the last old man still walking and playing the blues. That’s what we talked about with Muddy [Waters] and Howlin’ Wolf before they died. They said, ‘Buddy, please keep the blues alive.’ And I’m tryin’.”
Buddy Guy released his 20th album, Ain’t Done With The Blues, back in July. You can stream or buy now via his official website.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
