Guitar legend Buddy Guy brings the blues to Northern Quest

Thu., April 21, 2022

Buddy Guy stands in the media room with the award for best traditional blues album for "The Blues Is Alive and Well " at the 61st Grammy Awards at Staples Center on Feb. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

By Ed Condran edc@spokesman.com (509) 459-5440

You would never know that Buddy Guy is one of the most acclaimed and accomplished guitarists in the long and storied history of the blues when conversing with the icon. Guy, 85, is humble to a fault.

Guy paused after being asked in 2017 what it’s like when lionized guitarists such as the late Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page praise him. He turned it around. “Those guys are the truly great players,” Guy said. “They blow me away with their music. I’m just a working musician doing my thing.”

Guy, who will perform Sunday at Northern Quest Resort & Casino, is routinely near the top of Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list, and his pal and fellow guitar hero Eric Clapton believes that Guy is the greatest living guitarist.

Guy was a game-changer when he emerged during the 1960s. The soft-spoken but flamboyant performer combines the power of traditional Chicago blues with the flash of rock and roll. Guy is a showman. He plays behind his back or with his teeth and is an emotive vocalist.

When Guy influenced guitar monsters such as Jeff Beck and Billy Gibbons, among many others during the 1960s, he failed to receive his due. However, Guy received long-overdue recognition during the 1990s. Albums were finally selling, and Guy started headlining large theaters during the Bill Clinton era.

And when Guy hit pay dirt, what did he do? Guy introduced other guitarists during his show. While catching him in Tampa, Fla., in 1994, he invited a young guitarist on to his stage, Derek Trucks of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, who was just 14 years old.

“I’ll never forget that experience,” Trucks said during a 2019 interview. “Buddy didn’t have to do what he did, but he wanted to pass the blues torch to me, and I’ll always appreciate what he did for me.”

It’s remarkable that Guy had no resentment toward white British bands who were popular playing their blues-inspired rock while he and other African-American blues artists got the fuzzy end of the lollipop.

The eight-time Grammy Award winner persevered and is now one of the most revered musicians in the country.