Although Buddy Guy does not consider himself as one of the greatest guitarists ever, you need to listen to his live performances to understand why he is among the few artists that can claim to have influenced an artist of Jimi Hendrix stature. Hendrix is revered worldwide for his magnificent guitar playing skills but at one point, he claimed that he liked listening to Buddy Guy playing his guitar. From the moment that he arrived in the Chicago blues music scene in the 1950s, you could tell that Buddy Guy was clearly ahead of his time. Apart from Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy has influenced a generation of great guitarists including Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, and Keith Richards. Over the course of his career, Buddy Guy has won eight Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and Kennedy Center Honors. He was ranked #23 by Rolling Stones in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and Eric Clapton once referred to him as the greatest guitar player alive. Buddy Guy released a book by the name Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues in 1999 and his autobiography named, When I Left Home: My Story was published in 2012. In our latest top ten songs, article, we take a look at ten of Buddy Guy’s best songs ever. Read on and find out the Song that we think is Buddy Guy’s best song of all time.
10. Skin Deep
Our article starts off with a track from Buddy Guy’s 14th studio album, Skin Deep (2008). The album was a massive success and featured collaborations from artists such as Eric Clapton, Robert Randolph, and Susan Tedeschi. “Skin Deep,” the ninth track on the album features Derck Trucks and was inspired by Buddy Guy’s reunion with a white childhood friend who had cut off links with him due to the parents. Buddy Guy’s soulful delivery of the song is powerful and the message behind it is even more powerful.
9. First Time I Met the Blues
Coming in at number nine is the song, “First Time I Met the Blues” which was written by Little Brother Montgomery. The song is contained in his 1970 album, I Was Walking Through the Woods and it was first released in 1937 by Little Brother. The piano tunes in the song are amazing and the vocals are quite inspirational.
8. Tramp
This song was written by Lowell Fulson and Jimmy McCracklin and it was originally recorded by Lowell Fulson in 1966. This incredible gem is contained in Buddy Guy’s 2001 Grammy-award nominated album, Sweet Tea. The album had some loud blues songs and “Tramp” is up there among my all time favorites tunes in the album.
7. Mustang Sally
Buddy Guy’s seventh studio album, Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues was lauded by many people who saw it as his commercial comeback after close to a decade of limited recording. “Mustang Sally” is the fourth song on the album and it featured Jeff Beck in what is one of my favorite tunes from the album.
6. Blues Don’t Care
The first half of Buddy Guy’s 2013 album, Rhythm and Blues is not as great as the second which featured collaborations with the likes of Beth Hart and our number six song “Blues Don’t Care” which features Gary Clark Jr. If you think that blues music is generally about sadness, then you need to listen to this song which is so uplifting.
5. Blues at My Baby’s House
For many Buddy Guy fans, “Blues at My Baby’s House” was Buddy Guy’s most iconic song ever. The song takes fifth spot on our list of his top ten songs because of how the guitar solos in the song are so expressive. The lyrics are absolutely powerful and its a pity that many people haven’t heard how amazing this song is.
4. Outskirts of Town
Coming in at number four on our list of the top ten Buddy Guy songs is the fifth song from his album, The Blues Giant which was released in 1979. The album itself was a display of Buddy Guy at the height of inventiveness and the track “Outskirts of Town” is one of the freshest tracks on the album. The song runs for slightly over eight minutes and it has been recorded by many artists most often under the title, “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town.” The song’s original version was released in 1936 by Casey Bill Weldon of Piedmont blues.
3. Baby Please Don’t Leave Me
The number three song on our list of the greatest Buddy Guy songs ever is a song from his Grammy- nominated album, Sweet Tea, which was released in 2001. “Baby Please Don’t Leave Me” is a classic blues song that showcases Buddy Guy’s strength in playing the guitar as well as his incredible voice, which is often overlooked.
2. Sit and Cry
Coming in at number two is a song from Buddy Guy’s album, Southern Blues 1957-63. The track was written by Willie Dixon and was performed in 1958 by Buddy Guy who did the vocals while Otis Rush played the guitar tunes. The song was Buddy Guy’s debut release and it warrants a place at position two on our list.
1. Stone Crazy
The top song on our ranking is the track “Stone Crazy’ which is contained in undoubtedly Buddy Guy’s greatest album ever. The blues song has some R&B vibes and Buddy Guy deliver it with lots of energy. If you have not listened to any of Buddy Guy’s songs, I would recommend you to start with this one.
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