Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc

Type	Private
Industry	Consumer electronics
Founded	1965
Headquarters	Benicia, California
Products	Picks, Strings, Straps, Capos, Slides, Electronic Pedals, Maintenance and Accessory products for musical instruments.
Website	http://www.jimdunlop.com

Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc., known colloquially as Jim Dunlop, is a manufacturer of musical accessories, especially effects units, based in Benicia, California. Originally founded in 1965 by Jim Dunlop, Sr., the company has grown from a small home operation to being a large manufacturer of music gear for over 40 years. Dunlop has acquired other brands of effect manufacturers, including MXR and Way Huge. It's the manufacturer of the original Cry Baby pedal, and it has been since Vox bankrupted, and keep on making it to the present day even after Vox was resurrected.

Background and early history[link]

Scottish immigrant Jim Dunlop founded the Jim Dunlop Company in 1965 as a part-time business while working as a processing and chemical engineer, first creating the Vibra-Tuner, a small device that attached to a guitar with a suction cup and would display whether the guitar was in tune with the vibration of a small reed in the tuner. While going from music store to music store trying to sell his new product, someone mentioned to him that what musicians needed was a good capo, pointing out that if anyone ever made a good capo that would securely clamp on a 12-string guitar, that person could make a lot of money.

Using his broad engineering background, Dunlop was able to create the toggle capo, and then worked with a local machine shop to build his first capo dies, eventually manufacturing what is now called the 1100 series capo. Starting from his living room, Dunlop later moved construction to his garage, and then to a location outside of the house.

On March 19, 1972, he moved into the pick market, reading every issue of Guitar Player magazine and noting musicians’ comments concerning what they liked and didn't like about picks. His first picks were made from nylon, which continue to be produced to this day. That same year, Dunlop left Dymo Industries to focus on his new company full-time, moving his family to Benicia, California and setting up shop in at Benicia Industrial Park. A few years later, they had outgrown that building and moved onto Industrial Way.

Dunlop products now range from the capos and picks to slides, fret wire, strap retainers, and a wide array of electronic effects, including the original Crybaby wah-wah pedal, the Univibe, Heil Talkbox, and the MXR and Way Huge lines of stompboxes.

Way Huge Electronics[link]

Way Huge was launched in 1992 by Jeorge Tripps.^[1] In late 1999 the company closed its doors when Tripps went to work for Line 6. In 2008, Tripps and the company moved to Dunlop Manufacturing where the Way Huge line was resurrected, including the Swollen Pickle (a fuzz), Pork Loin (an overdrive), Fat Sandwich (a distortion),^[1] and Green Rhino (another overdrive).^[2]

Tortex[link]

Dunlop offers a Tortex line of guitar picks made from DuPont Delrin, as well as a Delrex series, featuring a different surface coating. Tortex has been influential in replacing tortoiseshell since an international ban was placed on tortoiseshells in 1973. Picks come in a variety of colors based on thickness, from 0.50 mm to 2.00 mm.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jim Dunlop official site

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2008)

Zakk Wylde
Wylde in August 2010
Background information
Birth name	Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt
Also known as	Ghode, The Ghost of Rock Past, The Idol
Born	(1967-01-14) January 14, 1967 (age 45) Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Heavy metal, southern metal, groove metal, southern rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, actor, producer
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, bass, banjo, piano, keyboards, mandolin, harmonica, organ, mellotron
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Geffen, Spitfire, InsideOut Music, Artemis, Roadrunner, Epic, Sony
Associated acts	Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society, Pride & Glory, Steel Dragon, Britny Fox
Website	zakkwylde.com
Notable instruments
Zakk Wylde Signature Les Paul, Zakk Wylde Signature Gibson Flying V

Zachary Phillip "Zakk" Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt, January 14, 1967), is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory, who released one self-titled album in 1994 before disbanding. As a solo artist he released Book of Shadows in 1996.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Wylde was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. Wylde started playing the guitar at the age of 14 and worked at Silverton Music in Silverton, New Jersey. He grew up in Jackson, New Jersey, and went to Jackson Memorial High School, where he graduated in 1985. Wylde has stated that he would practice playing the guitar as much as 12 hours per day and would often play the guitar almost non-stop between coming home from school and leaving for school the next morning, then sleeping through the school day.

Music career[link]

Wylde played locally with his first band Stone Henge, then later with local Jersey band Zyris. Later, he landed the role as lead guitarist and co-writer for Ozzy Osbourne. He sent Ozzy a demo tape in 1987 and was hired to replace Jake E. Lee, who had replaced the deceased Randy Rhoads. Rhoads remains Wylde's foremost guitar-playing and stagecraft influence.^[1]

Wylde gravitated toward a particular Les Paul guitar, which has become known as "The Grail"; his infamous bullseye-painted Gibson Les Paul custom. Wylde lost the guitar after it fell from the back of a truck transporting equipment as he was travelling between gigs in Texas. Rewards were offered to anyone that had information about the guitar. Wylde and The Grail were reunited years later when a fan bought it at a Dallas pawn shop and saw the initials "Z.W." carved into the humbucker pickups backs. He contacted Wylde's former webmaster Randy Canis to arrange its return to Wylde. He bartered for it, in exchange for two other Les Pauls.^{[citation needed]}

Osbourne has maintained a flexible attitude with regard to his backing band, leaving his band members free to leave as they wish, but Wylde has remained faithful to Osbourne. Wylde was replaced in Osbourne's band by Joe Holmes from 1995 until his return in 2001. On January 17, 2006, Zakk Wylde was recognized at the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame, featuring his handprints and signature, in recognition of his successful career as a musician and his contribution to the music industry. The event was open to the public and many rock celebrities were present, including Ozzy Osbourne.^{[citation needed]}

After auditions in 2005/2006, Ozzy Osbourne announced Wylde as the official guitarist for his upcoming album, Black Rain, which was released in 2007. On stage with Osbourne, Wylde has been credited for lending a high level of energy and passion to performances. Black Label Society's album Shot To Hell, was released on September 11, 2006 in the UK, and September 12, 2006 in the U.S. through Roadrunner records, with production by Michael Beinhorn. Black Label Society headlined the second stage at the 2006 Ozzfest, with Wylde playing double duty with Ozzy on certain dates. Ozzy Osbourne's album Black Rain, was released in May 2007.^{[citation needed]}

Black Label Society released 'The Song Remains Not the Same' on May 10, 2011 on E1. Wylde also played a guitar solo on Black Veil Brides cover of Kiss' "Unholy," on the band's Rebels EP released in December 2011.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Wylde lives with his wife, Barbaranne, and his three children: Hayley Rae, Hendrix, and Jesse—who is godson to Ozzy Osbourne. Wylde was a close friend of Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott before he was murdered in 2004. As of 2011, he is in partnership with Blair's Sauces and Snacks to produce "Berserker" Hot Sauce and several variations.^[2] Wylde is Irish Catholic and has spoken about his faith, calling himself as a "soldier of Christ".^{[citation needed]} Wylde's health has come under scrutiny for several years. Wylde was asked by Sharon Osbourne to attend rehab, but left early on.^[3] In August 2009, Wylde was hospitalized due to blood clots.^[4] He was forced to cancel his tour with Mudvayne and Static-X due to an embolism.^{[citation needed]}

Equipment[link]

He is known for his use of Gibson Les Paul Custom model guitars with a "bulls-eye" graphic on them, a design he used to differentiate himself visually from Randy Rhoads - who was also frequently identified by his white Les Paul Custom. The "bulls-eye" paint job was originally supposed to look like the spiral from the movie Vertigo, but when it came back incorrect from the luthier, he liked the result and stuck with it. He was sometimes criticized by viewers and media for taking the idea of the "bulls-eye" from Eddie Ojeda from Twisted Sister, however, both Eddie and Zakk deny it and suppose it to be coincidence. One of Wylde's favorite stage guitars is a replica of Rhoads' Flying V, with the colours inverted (i.e. White with black dots).

Wylde's signature Les Pauls include a red flame-maple bulls-eye model, a black and antique-white bulls-eye model, an orange "buzz-saw" model, the pattern on which was inspired by a design on a Zippo lighter,^[5] and a "camo" bulls-eye model with mother of pearl neck inlays and a green camouflage paint scheme. His original bulls-eye Les Paul was purchased from one of the owners of Metaltronics Amplification. Metaltronics was building a one-off live rig for Wylde that was designed around one of the owner's guitars, a creamy white Les Paul Custom with EMG pickups, which would later become known as "The Grail". Wylde has a custom Dean Splittail with a mud splatter bulls-eye graphic, as well as a signature Splittail shaped Gibson model called the "ZV". Another Dean in his collection is a Dime series Razorback with custom Bulls-eye graphics ordered for him specially by Dimebag Darrell shortly before his death; since receiving the guitar, he has only ever used it on stage to play "In This River," Zakk's personal tribute to Dimebag.

In practice, Wylde uses Marshall MG Series practice combos ranging in wattage levels from 10-30W during tour/private use especially in hotels and buses. Wylde has an extensive relationship with Marshall Amplification due to his love for their amplifiers, both solid state and valve powered. Live, Wylde exclusively uses Marshall JCM 800's with twin 4 X 12 Cabinets loaded with EVM12L 300W Black Label Speakers. His usual signal path consists of his guitar > (on stage pedal board) Dunlop Wylde Wah > Dunlop Rotovibe > MXR EVH Phase 90 (soon to be replaced by the new MXR Wylde Phase) > MXR Wylde Overdrive > MXR Carbon Copy Delay Delay > (to a back stage pedal board) > MXR EVH Flanger > MXR Black Label Chorus > split signals, one to each distorted amp into the High Gain input.

Media appearances[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2008)

Music[link]

Wylde has made guest appearances on various albums by other artists:

• He appears as guest vocalist and guitarist on the tracks "Soul Bleed" and "Reborn" on Damageplan's debut album, New Found Power.
• He played guitar solos on Dope's single "Addiction" from their newest album, No Regrets.
• He plays a solo on Fozzy's 2005 release "All That Remains" on the song, Wanderlust.
• He has also worked on five of Derek Sherinian's solo albums: Inertia, Black Utopia, Mythology, Blood of the Snake and Molecular Heinosity alongside Yngwie Malmsteen and others.
• Wylde was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards. His contributions helped assist independent artists' careers.^[6][7]
• In 2010 he played lead guitar on My Darkest Days first single "Porn Star Dancing", along with guest singers Chad Kroeger and Ludacris.^[8]
• In 1993 Ozzy Osbournes double album Live and Loud was released. Wylde is the guitarist.
• In 2011 he featured in Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed's new project, "Jasta" in the song "The Fearless must Endure".
• He plays the guitar solo on Black Veil Brides cover of the Kiss song "Unholy" on their EP, Rebels.

Live performances[link]

Black Label Society performing at Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas on October 16, 2011

• On August 1, 1993, at Great Woods Amphitheatre in Mansfield, MA, Wylde appeared on stage with the Allman Brothers on lead guitar since Dickey Betts was unable to make the show, and they needed a guitarist at the last minute. This show is documented on the bootleg "Zakk Goes Wylde".
• Wylde is a New York Yankees fan. He performed the National Anthem on the electric guitar during a New York Rangers game in October 2005. He has also played the anthem at Los Angeles Kings and Dodgers games. A video of a Kings performance is included as an extra feature, on the DVD Boozed, Broozed, and Broken-Boned.
• On February 1, 2007 Wylde and Nick Catanese began a tour of acoustic shows at the Hard Rock Cafe in various cities across North America. Although Catanese had to leave mid-tour due to unspecified personal reasons, Wylde continued to play shows alone. He performed several songs, on both the acoustic guitar and keyboard. The tour was eventually canceled due to unspecified reasons.
• On April 13, 2011 he was the guitarist for James Durbin on American Idol, during Durbin's performance of "Heavy Metal", by Sammy Hagar.
• On May 14, 2011 he performed the National Anthem at Rockfest in Kansas City, Missouri.
• Wylde appeared on stage December 8, 2011 in Indianapolis, IN, to play a cover of AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" with Guns N' Roses while Black Label Society opened for Guns N' Roses during a leg of the US Tour. Wylde also did this on subsequent shows before BLS finished their run on the tour.

Film and television[link]

• On June 5, 2011, he appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and performed with The Roots
• Wylde's film credits include Rock Star (As "Ghode", guitarist of the fictitious band Steel Dragon)
• Wylde also appeared on the TV show Angel in the season four episode "The Magic Bullet" where he plays acoustic on the song "Mandy" while Angel and Conner sing along.
• Wylde has also appeared as a guest star on the TV show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. In it, he plays guitar on a track produced by Master Shake that is supposed to become the next big birthday song, which is called "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary." Wylde becomes irate when he finds out that Shake cannot pay him for his input on the project. Later in the show, Wylde is killed when caught between the crossfire of two robotic banjo-playing scorpions.
• On September 26, 2003, Wylde appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and sat in with the house band. During the course of the night he repeatedly made fun of and threatened to beat up Fred Durst, the front man for Limp Bizkit.^[9]
• On January 30, 2007, Wylde, alongside Black Label Society, were the musical guests for MTV's Wrestling Society X debut episode. He worked the night as a guest commentator as well.
• On February 2, 2007, Wylde guest hosted on Seattle's 99.9 KISW on the afternoon program The Men's Room.
• On the May 18 edition of WWE Smackdown!, Wylde appeared with Ozzy Osbourne to perform the song "I Don't Wanna Stop", at the First Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
• Wylde performed alongside Osbourne on the 2007 VH1 Rock Honors broadcast.
• On October 18, 2009, Zakk Wylde performed the National Anthem on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's biggest PPV, Bound for Glory, before the matches officially started.
• He appears as a guest in Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage.
• He appears in the Pantera episode of Behind the Music.
• He appears as a music store worker in a scene from the TV show Californication on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 2.t
• He was on tour with Black Label Society in 2010 on the Ozzfest Tour that also had Ozzy and Mötley Crüe, among many others.
• He performed "Heavy Metal" by Sammy Hagar with James Durbin during season 10 of American Idol.

Video games[link]

• Wylde recorded a guitar duel for the video game Guitar Hero: World Tour. He also appears as a playable character performing the songs Stillborn and, along with Ozzy Osbourne, Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley.
• Some of Wylde's signature guitars have been for sale to play with throughout the Guitar Hero series. These include "The Grail", "The Camo Grail", and "The Buzzsaw".
• Wylde was featured in the first Guitar Hero with the studio version recording of Fire it Up.
• He was the guitarist in the remix of "Bring The Noise" called "Bring The Noise 20XX" that appeared in Guitar Hero 5 as a playable track

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zakk Wylde

• Official website
• Black Label Society official website
• Zakk Wylde Video Workshop (Videos in engl.) Source: Bonedo.de
• Zakk Wylde Interview Source: Bonedo.de
• [1] Source: Alternative Press

Buddy Guy
Guy in a 2008 performance
Background information
Birth name	George Guy
Born	(1936-07-30) July 30, 1936 (age 75) Lettsworth, Louisiana, United States
Genres	Chicago blues, electric blues
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1953–present
Labels	RCA, Cobra, Chess, Delmark, Silvertone, MCA, Atlantic, MPS, Charly, Zomba Music Group, Jive, Vanguard, JSP Records, Rhino Records, Purple Pyramid, Flyright, AIM Recording Co., Alligator Records, Blues Ball Records
Associated acts	Junior Wells
Website	http://www.buddyguy.net/
Notable instruments
Fender Buddy Guy Signature Stratocaster

George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936)^[1] is an American blues guitarist and singer. Critically acclaimed, he is a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation. "A key influence on Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy put the Louisiana hurricane in 1960s electric Chicago blues as a member of Muddy Waters' band and as a house guitarist at Chess Records. A native of the Baton Rouge area, he combined a blazing modernism with a fierce grip on his roots, playing frantic leads heavy with swampy funk on Howlin' Wolf's 'Killing Floor' and Koko Taylor's 'Wang Dang Doodle' as well as on his own Chess sides and the fine series of records he made with harp man Junior Wells. One of the last active connections to the golden age of Chess, Guy still plays with his original fire."

Ranked thirtieth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time",^[2] Guy is known for his showmanship on stage: playing his guitar with drumsticks or strolling into the audience while playing solos. His song "Stone Crazy" was ranked seventy-eighth in list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time also of Rolling Stone.^[3]

Guy's autobiography, When I Left Home: My Story, was released on May 8, 2012.^[4]

Biography[link]

Born and raised in Lettsworth, Louisiana, Guy began learning guitar on a two string diddley bow he made. Later he was given a Harmony acoustic guitar, which, decades later in Guy's lengthy career was donated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the early '50s he began performing with bands in Baton Rouge. Soon after moving to Chicago in 1957, Guy fell under the influence of Muddy Waters. In 1958, a competition with West Side guitarists Magic Sam and Otis Rush gave Guy a record contract. Soon afterwards he recorded for Cobra Records. He recorded sessions with Junior Wells for Delmark Records under the pseudonym Friendly Chap in 1965 and 1966.^[5]

Guy’s early career was held back by both conservative business choices made by his record company (Chess Records) and "the scorn, diminishments and petty subterfuge from a few jealous rivals"^{[citation needed]}. Chess, Guy’s record label from 1959 to 1968, refused to record Buddy Guy’s novel style that was similar to his live shows. Leonard Chess (Chess founder and 1987 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee) denounced Guy’s playing as "noise". In the early 1960s, Chess tried recording Guy as a solo artist with R&B ballads, jazz instrumentals, soul and novelty dance tunes, but none were released as singles. Guy’s only Chess album, "Left My Blues in San Francisco", was finally issued in 1967. Most of the songs belong stylistically to the era's soul boom, with orchestrations by Gene Barge and Charlie Stepney. Chess used Guy mainly as a session guitarist to back Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko Taylor and others.

Buddy Guy appeared onstage at the March 1969 Supershow at Staines, England that also included Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Jack Bruce, Stephen Stills, Buddy Miles, Glen Campbell, Roland Kirk, Jon Hiseman, and The Misunderstood. But by the late 1960s, Guy's star was in decline.

Guy's career finally took off during the blues revival period of the late 1980s and early 1990s. It 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 and Guy's subsequent signing with Silvertone Records.

When not traveling, Guy performs at his Downtown Chicago nightclub, Buddy Guy Legends at 700 S. Wabash Ave.^[6]

Music[link]

Buddy Guy in 1993 performing in Toronto, Canada

While Buddy Guy's music is often labeled Chicago blues, his style is unique and separate. His music can vary from the most traditional, deepest blues to a creative, unpredictable and radical gumbo of the blues, avant rock, soul and free jazz that morphs at each night’s performance.

As New York Times music critic Jon Pareles noted in 2004:

Mr. Guy, 68, mingles anarchy, virtuosity, deep blues and hammy shtick in ways that keep all eyes on him... [Guy] loves extremes: sudden drops from loud to soft, or a sweet, sustained guitar solo followed by a jolt of speed, or a high, imploring vocal cut off with a rasp...Whether he's singing with gentle menace or bending new curves into a blue note, he is a master of tension and release, and his every wayward impulse was riveting.

In a revealing interview taped on April 14, 2000 for WRUW-FM Cleveland (a college station), Guy said "The purpose of me trying to play the kind of rocky stuff is to get airplay...I find myself kind of searching, hoping I'll hit the right notes, say the right things, maybe they'll put me on one of these big stations, what they call 'classic'...if you get Eric Clapton to play a Muddy Waters song, they call it classic, and they will put it on that station, but you'll never hear Muddy Waters."

Influence[link]

For almost 50 years, Guy performed flamboyant live concerts of energetic blues and blues rock, predating the 1960s blues rockers. As a musician’s musician, he had a fundamental impact on the blues and on rock and roll, influencing a new generation of artists.

Buddy Guy has been called the bridge between the blues and rock and roll. He is one of the historic links between Chicago electric blues pioneers Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf and popular musicians like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page as well as later revivalists like Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan stated that, "Without Buddy Guy, there would be no Stevie Ray Vaughan." Guitarist magazine observed:

Without Buddy Guy, the blues, not to mention rock as we know it, might be a heckuva lot less interesting today. Take the blues out of contemporary rock music—or pop, jazz and funk for that matter—and what you have left is a wholly spineless affair. A tasteless stew. Makes you shudder to think about it...^[where?]

Buddy Guy at the Liri Blues Festival, Italy, in 1989

In addition, Guy's pathfinding guitar techniques also contributed greatly to rock and roll music. His guitar playing was loud and aggressive; used pioneering distortion and feedback techniques; employed longer solos; had shifts of volume and texture; and was driven by emotion and impulse. These lessons were eagerly learned and applied by the new wave of 1960s British artists and later became basic attributes of blues-rock music and its offspring, hard rock and heavy metal music. Jeff Beck realized in the early 1960s: "I didn't know a Strat could sound like that — until I heard Buddy's tracks on the Blues From Big Bill's Copa Cabana album" (reissue of 1963 Folk Festival Of The Blues album) and "It was the total manic abandon in Buddy's solos. They broke all boundaries. I just thought, this is more like it! Also, his solos weren't restricted to a three-minute pop format; they were long and really developed."^{[citation needed]}

Clapton has stated that he got the idea for a blues-rock power trio while watching Buddy Guy's trio perform in England in 1965. Clapton later formed the rock band Cream, which was "the first rock supergroup to become superstars" and was also "the first top group to truly exploit the power-trio format, in the process laying the foundation for much blues-rock and hard rock of the 1960s and 1970s."^[where?]

Eric Clapton said "Buddy Guy was to me what Elvis was for others." Clapton said in a 1985 Musician magazine article that "Buddy Guy is by far and without a doubt the best guitar player alive...if you see him in person, the way he plays is beyond anyone. Total freedom of spirit, I guess. He really changed the course of rock and roll blues."

Buddy Guy performing in 1999

Recalls Guy: "Eric Clapton and I are the best of friends and I like the tune "Strange Brew" and we were sitting and having a drink one day and I said 'Man, that "Strange Brew"...you just cracked me up with that note.' And he said 'You should...cause it's your licks...' " As soon as Clapton completed his famous Derek & the Dominos sessions in October 1970, he co-produced (with Ahmet Ertegün and Tom Dowd) the Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues album with Guy's longtime harp and vocal compatriot, Junior Wells. The record, released in 1972, is regarded by some critics as among the finest electric blues recordings of the modern era.^{[citation needed]}

In recognition of Guy's influence on Hendrix's career, the Hendrix family invited Buddy Guy to headline all-star casts at several Jimi Hendrix tribute concerts they organized in recent years, "calling on a legend to celebrate a legend." Jimi Hendrix himself once said that "Heaven is lying at Buddy Guy’s feet while listening to him play guitar."^{[citation needed]}

Songs such as "Red House", "Voodoo Chile" and "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" partly came from the sonic world that Buddy Guy helped to create. According to the Fender Players' Club: "Almost ten years before Jimi Hendrix would electrify the rock world with his high-voltage voodoo blues, Buddy Guy was shocking juke joint patrons in Baton Rouge with his own brand of high-octane blues. Ironically, when Buddy’s playing technique and flamboyant showmanship were later revealed to crossover audiences in the late Sixties, it was erroneously assumed that he was imitating Hendrix." (In 1993, Guy covered "Red House" on Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix.)

Guy performing at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2006.

Stevie Ray Vaughan once declared that Buddy Guy "plays from a place that I've never heard anyone play." Vaughan continued:

Buddy can go from one end of the spectrum to another. He can play quieter than anybody I've ever heard, or wilder and louder than anybody I've ever heard. I play pretty loud a lot of times, but Buddy's tones are incredible. He pulls such emotion out of so little volume. Buddy just has this cool feel to everything he does. And when he sings, it's just compounded. Girls fall over and sweat and die! Every once in a while I get the chance to play with Buddy, and he gets me every time, because we could try to go to Mars on guitars but then he'll start singing, sing a couple of lines, and then stick the mike in front of me! What are you gonna do? What is a person gonna do?!

Jeff Beck affirmed:

Geez, you can't forget Buddy Guy. He transcended blues and started becoming theater. It was high art, kind of like drama theater when he played, you know. He was playing behind his head long before Hendrix. I once saw him throw the guitar up in the air and catch it in the same chord.

Beck recalled the night he and Stevie Ray Vaughan jammed with Guy at Buddy Guy’s Legends club^[7] in Chicago: "That was just the most incredible stuff I ever heard in my life. The three of us all jammed and it was so thrilling. That is as close you can come to the heart of the blues." According to Jimmy Page: "Buddy Guy is an absolute monster" and "There were a number of albums that everybody got tuned into in the early days. There was one in particular called, I think, American Folk Festival Of The Blues, which featured Buddy Guy. He just astounded everybody."

Singer-songwriter and guitarist John Mayer, who has performed with Guy on numerous occasions (including with Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival and on PBS' SoundStage) and collaborated with him on Guy's 2005 album Bring 'Em In, cited on several occasions that Buddy Guy was one of his top influences.

Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman: "Guitar Legends do not come any better than Buddy Guy. He is feted by his peers and loved by his fans for his ability to make the guitar both talk and cry the blues. Such is Buddy's mastery of the guitar that there is virtually no guitarist that he cannot imitate."

Guy has opened for the Rolling Stones on numerous tours since the early 1970s. Slash: "Buddy Guy is the perfect combination of R&B and hardcore rock and roll." ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons: "He (Buddy Guy) ain't no trickster. He may appear surprised by his own instant ability but, clearly, he knows what's up."

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

Guy appeared and performed in an episode of the popular children's show, Jack's Big Music Show, as the "King of Swing". Guy has influenced the styles of subsequent artists such as Jesse Marchant of JBM.^[9]

On February 21, 2012, Guy performed in concert at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle.^[10] During the finale of the concert Guy successfully encouraged the President to sing a few bars of Sweet Home Chicago.^[11]

Awards[link]

Guy previously served on the Hall of Fame’s nominating committee. Guy has won six^[12] Grammy Awards both for his work on his electric and acoustic guitars, and for contemporary and traditional forms of blues music. In 2003, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. This medal is awarded by the President of the United States of America to those who have made extraordinary contributions to the creation, growth and support in the arts in the United States.^[13] By 2004, Guy had also earned 23 W.C. Handy Awards (more than any other artist has received), Billboard magazine's The Century Award (Guy was its second recipient) for distinguished artistic achievement, and the title of Greatest Living Electric Blues Guitarist.

In 2008, Buddy Guy was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame while performing at Texas Club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[link]

Guy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 14, 2005 by Eric Clapton and B.B. King. Clapton recalled seeing Guy perform in London’s Marquee Club in 1965, impressing him with his technique, his looks and his charismatic showmanship. He remembered seeing Guy pick the guitar with his teeth and play it over his head—two tricks that later influenced Jimi Hendrix.^{[citation needed]} Guy’s acceptance speech was concise: "If you don’t think you have the blues, just keep living."

In October 2009, he performed "Let Me Love You Baby" with Jeff Beck at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert.^[14]

Discography[link]

See also[link]

• Chicago Blues Festival
• Phil Guy (his brother)
• Shawnna (Rashawnna Guy, his daughter), rap artist

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Buddy Guy

• Official website
• Buddy Guy at the Open Directory Project
• Buddy Guy at the Internet Movie Database