George “Buddy” Guy

George “Buddy” Guy is an American blues guitarist and singer, born in 1936 in Lettsworth, Louisiana. At the age of 7, he gained an interest in music and created a two-string instrument, which he called a guitar, and taught himself to play. Although, the instrument was far cry from a real guitar, it was a good start.

In the early 1950s, Guy started to perform in clubs around Baton Rouge. Later, in 1957, with the improvement of his music skills, he decided to pursue a career in music. Motivated by musicians such as Guitar Slim, John Lee Hooker and Lightnin’ Slim, he moved to Chicago.

In Chicago, Guy met Otis Rush, who introduced him to a location, called 708 Club, where he became regular performer and was discovered by composer Willie Dixon. Dixon provided him a contract with Chess Records, where Guy worked with several of his idols, such as Howlin’ Wolf.

From the ‘60s through ‘80s, Guy released a string of popular albums, including I Left My Blues in San Francisco and A Man and the Blues.

In the 1990s, he was a recipient of three Grammy Awards for the albums: Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues, Feels Like Rain and Slippin’ In.

Buddy Guy was ranked 30th on the Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and he has influenced many blues guitarists, such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmy Page.