Very Best of Buddy Guy

Read About This Recording

In 1957, Louisiana-born Buddy Guy won a talent contest in Chicago, scoring a contract with Artistic. After the label folded, Guy signed with Chess as a session guitarist and later as a solo act. His stinging guitar solos and impassioned vocals mark this sampler of his classic Chicago blues, recorded over four decades for Chess, Vanguard, Atco and other labels. Buddy Guy has had his own share of the blues as real as the songs he's written and performed. He has struggled to record his influential style of blues, which has inspired guitarists from Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray. These days, he's enjoying a well-deserved higher profile.

This is a taste of his best work. Standouts include When My Left Eye Jumps, This Is The End and two edgy versions of When I First Met The Blues. The Very Best of Buddy Guy features sessions with his brother Phil Guy, longtime associate Junior Wells on harp, Eric Clapton, Willie Dixon, Dr. John and Bill Wyman. It's digitally remastered, with liner notes by Bill Dahl.

-Richard Antone

Contents

First Time I Met The Blues; The Way You Been Treating Me; Sit And Cry (The Blues); This Is The End; Stone Crazy; When My Left Eye Jumps; My Time After While; Hold That Plane; Hello San Francisco; Five Long Years; First Time I Met The Blues; A Man Of Many Words; T-Bone Shuffle; When You See The Tears From My Eyes; Ten Years Ago; Blues At My Baby's House; She Suits Me To A T; Just Teasin'.

Buddy Guy, Vocals/Guitar; Little Brother Montgomery, Harold Burrage, Leonard Caston, Junior Mance, Junior Mance, Dr. John, Pianos; Jack Meyers, Willie Dixon, Eddie Jones, Carl Radle, Leroy Stewart, Mike Morrison, Basses; Fred Below, Odie Payne, Phil Thomas, Clifton James, Jesse Lewis, Ray Allison, Roosevelt Shaw, Jim Gordon, Dallas Taylor, Drums; Jarrett Gibson, Bob Neely, Harold Ashby, Carlson Oliver, Tenor Saxes; Donald Hankins, McKinley Easton, Jackie Brenston, Baritone Saxes; Phil Guy, Lefty Bates, Otis Rush, Doug Williams, Eric Clapton, Guitars; Lafayette Leake, Piano/Organ; Otis Spann, Keyboards/Vocals; Gary Bartz, Alto/Sopr. Sax; Abb Locke, A.C. Reed, Saxes; Sonny Turner, Murray Watson, Trumpets; Junior Wells, Vocals/Harmonica.