Buddy Guy was honored with the Chicago Music Legend Award at the Obama Presidential Center’s Chicago Culture Ball this weekend.
The nine-time Grammy Award-winning blues guitarist was recognized Saturday night for significantly shaping the music industry and upholding the city’s identity, while inspiring generations.
George “Buddy” Guy, who turned 90 in July, moved to Chicago in 1957 from his native Louisiana. He hopped a bus to Chicago with just the clothes on his back and his guitar, and soon afterward, he met blues legend Muddy Waters.
It wasn’t long before Guy was playing with blues luminaries like Waters and Howlin’ Wolf as a house guitarist for Chicago’s legendary Chess label. Guy later switched labels to Vanguard, and began working with harmonica player Junior Wells — with whom he put out several albums, The Kennedy Center noted.
Over the years, Guy has inspired musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton. In 2005, Clapton and B.B. King inducted Guy into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
But even with that, and with all his Grammys and a Kennedy Center honor, Guy has always come back to his namesake club, Buddy Guy’s Legends at 700 S. Wabash Ave. in the South Loop.
Guy also headlined the Chicago Blues Festival in 2024. He released a new album for his 89th birthday last year and has been back on tour this summer.
