I saw the amazing Buddy Guy a few years back at Casino Rama, in Orillia, Ont., still rocking (and wading into the audience) even in his early 80s. Now 87, the last of the great Chicago bluesmen is on his “Damn Right” farewell tour, and I’m lucky to be catching him again tonight (Friday) at Massey Hall in Toronto, where he has played 18 times since 1970.
Born in Louisiana and moving to Chicago at age 21, George “Buddy” Guy was a contemporary of Muddy Waters and the city’s other electric blues pioneers, ultimately establishing himself as one of the most prolific and influential artists of all time, having influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, and John Mayer.
The quintessential Chicago Blues artist, Guy has earned eight GRAMMY Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and much more.
He also established his own club, Buddy Guy’s Legends, in Chicago in 1989, which is still a landmark on the Windy City’s music scene.
A great place to catch Guy on tour – no doubt bedecked with his trademark polka dot shirt and guitar – will at the Chicago Blues Festival June 6-9, in one of his last performances in his hometown.
Established in 1984, the Chicago Blues Festival is the largest free Blues festival in the world, this year returning for its 20th year at Millennium Park. Throughout the weekend, three stages set up across the Park will welcome more than 35 performances and more than 250 artists celebrating the city’s renowned Blues legacy, including a special Sunday evening performance by Guy as part of his last tour.
“I can’t wait to hit the stage (at the Festival!),” Guy said. “There’s something special about playing in the city where it all started. The energy, the history, the soul of Chicago blues – it’s in the air, and I’m excited to be a part of it once again.”
In recognition of Guy’s immeasurable impact on music in Chicago and around the world, the City of Chicago plans to honour Guy and his legacy in light of his Chicago Blues Festival engagement with more details to be announced.
Here he leads the charitable Playing for Change Collective in his 2008 song “Skin Deep.”
Lyrics
I’ve been around a while
I know wrong from right
Learned a long time ago
Things ain’t always black and white
Just like you can’t judge a book by the cover
We all gotta be careful
How we treat one another
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we’re all the same
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we’re all the same
We’re all of the same
A man in Louisiana
He never called me by my name
He said “boy do this and boy do that”
But I never once complained
I knew he had a good heart
But he just didn’t understand
That I needed to be treated
Just like any other man
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we’re all the same
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we’re all the same
We’re all of the same
I sat my little child down
when he was old enough to know
I said out there in this big wide world
You’re gonna meet all kinds of folks
I said son it all comes down to just one simple rule
That you treat everybody just the way
You want them to treat you
Yeah
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we’re all the same
Skin Deep
Skin Deep
Underneath we’re all the same