At nearly 90 years old, Buddy Guy stands as one of the most influential guitarists in American music. As a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a pioneer of Chicago’s explosive West Side sound, Buddy Guy remains a guiding force for generations of rock and blues legends. The nine-time GRAMMY winner has also earned a Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY, 38 Blues Music Awards, the Billboard Century Award, the Presidential National Medal of Arts, and the Kennedy Center Honor. Rolling Stone ranks him #23 on its list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” underscoring his unmatched impact on modern music.
Born in 1936 in Lettsworth, Louisiana, Guy built his first two-string guitar at age seven. His life changed in 1957 when he moved to Chicago, soon recording for Chess Records and collaborating with its legendary roster. His raw emotion, showmanship, and blistering guitar style reshaped the instrument’s possibilities and set a new standard for electric blues.
Guy’s visibility surged in the 2010s, highlighted by his 2012 Kennedy Center Honor and the release of his memoir When I Left Home. A run of acclaimed albums followed, including Born to Play Guitar; The Blues Is Alive and Well, which earned his eighth GRAMMY in 2019; and The Blues Don’t Lie, his 2022 Billboard #1 Blues album. In 2021, PBS American Masters released Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase the Blues Away, cementing his status as both a historic figure and a cultural force.
In 2025, he released Ain’t Done With the Blues, produced by longtime collaborator Tom Hambridge and featuring The Blind Boys of Alabama, Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and Joe Bonamassa. Its lead single, “How Blues Is That?” reaffirmed the grit, humor, and wisdom that define his late-career renaissance. As Buddy shared, “This album is about where I’ve been, it’s about where I’m going… Before they passed, Muddy, Wolf, Walter, Sonny Boy, B.B.—they used to say, ‘If you outlive me, just keep the blues alive.’ And I’m trying to keep that promise.” Released on his 89th birthday, the album drew widespread acclaim, praising him as “masterful,” “vital,” and “one of the last of the great bluesmen still standing.” Around the same time, his appearance in Ryan Coogler’s blockbuster SINNERS introduced him to yet another new audience.
In recent years Buddy announced his Damn Right Farewell Tour, although a step back from extensive touring, he has never stepped away from performing or recording. Now, as he celebrates his 90th year, Buddy Guy remains one of the last surviving architects of electric blues; A bridge from the fields of Louisiana to the clubs of Chicago to the world’s biggest stages. Whether creating new music, inspiring rising artists, or electrifying audiences with the fire that has defined him for seven decades, Buddy Guy continues to show that the blues not only lives, it thrives.
