Biography
Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy's friendship goes a long way, back to the late 60s when Buddy 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.
Buddy Guy has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation, including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. 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."
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Buddy Guy recalls: "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.
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.
Guy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 14, 2005 by Eric Clapton and B.B. King. Clapton (who holds the record for being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times, as a solo artist and also as a member of the bands Cream and The Yardbirds) 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. Guy’s acceptance speech was concise: "If you don’t think you have the blues, just keep living."
Clapton and Guy have played a number of live performances, most of them available in bootleg form. Some of them, most particularly the Live at Ronnie Scott's one form 1987 are cited as one of the greatest electric-blues recordings of the modern age blues.
If anyone can get Clapton playing in a way that fits his ability, it's Buddy Guy!
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.