Jazz, soul & blues
Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy (born 1936 in Louisiana) is one of the last living giants of Chicago blues, the declared hero of Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. For half a century his electric guitar has set the Montreux stages ablaze.
Buddy Guy: half a century of blues in Montreux
1974: with Junior Wells and a Rolling Stone
In 1974, Buddy Guy came to Montreux with his lifelong partner, harmonica player Junior Wells. That night, Bill Wyman, bassist of the Rolling Stones, came up to join them on stage. The concert was released as “Drinkin’ TNT ’n’ Smokin’ Dynamite”, with Wyman producing.
Buddy Guy would return often: the archives also keep a “Live at Montreux 1982 & 1985” with Junior Wells. Over the decades the festival became one of his European homes.
2004: “Blues at Montreux” with Carlos Santana
On 12 July 2004, Montreux lived a blues night that became legendary. Carlos Santana, the evening’s musical director and guest guitarist, brought together on one stage three giants — Bobby Parker, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Buddy Guy — each giving his own set. Chic’s maestro, Nile Rodgers, joined the party too.
Buddy Guy delivered there an incandescent version of “Stormy Monday”. The concert was released as “Carlos Santana presents Blues at Montreux 2004”: a summit of blues guitar, and one of the finest illustrations of Claude Nobs’s spirit, who loved to make legends meet on his stage.
A giant’s loyalty
From the 1970s to his 2023 concert, Buddy Guy never stopped coming back, polka-dot Stratocaster slung over his shoulder, extending in Montreux the line of Chicago blues traced by Muddy Waters and B.B. King. With each visit he recalls where all the music that fills the festival comes from.
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