Broughton Quarterly - Summer 2008 - (Page 34) had for those two women was different than for the woman who i made the polka dot guitar for. See, you can go running in the house to your mother with no clothes on and she’ll look at you and the first thing she would say is, ‘boy, put some clothes on!’ and then she’ll ask you a question. See, you go running in your house with no clothes on to your wife or girlfriend and she’ll ask you, ‘boy, where the f you been?’ there are really two types of love. What musician do you think had the most blues to sing about? the most blues? One person? Oh, man, that’s a $64,000 question because all of my older friends had the most blues. Muddy Waters and b.b. King are my favorite people that just knock me out, but they are just two of a great many musicians. i could go on and on. imagine your next project is to put together an album of five of your favorite songs by other artists. What are the songs, and who are the artists? Let’s see. i’d say b. b. King’s “Sweet Little angel,” Muddy Waters’ “Mojo Worker,” Eric Clapton’s “Strange brew,” Little Walter’s “Juke,” and guitar Slim’s “the things that i Used to do.” Was your induction into the Rock and Roll hall of fame your greatest honor? i would have to say it was one of them, because i never thought i’d get a grammy and i won a grammy for [the album] damn Right i got the blues. So, i’d put that as a toss up. has playing the guitar helped you meet women? Meet women? Yeah! because i was a very shy guy until Muddy Waters and them taught me how to drink. Matter of fact, some people used to think i was gay because i’d never say nothing to nobody. When you play the guitar you don’t have to say nothing; the girls would say something to you. i’m at an age when you had to court a young girl, if you understand what i’m talking about. i remember that you had to go to the penthouse to get permission to even talk to her. but when i learned how to play guitar, i didn’t have to approach young women. they see a guitar and they see you do something. in the back of your mind you know they don’t want what you know; they want what you do…You can ask a lot of rock cats from back in the ‘60s. they were calling it free love then. You just get a guitar and throw the guitar away and go straight to the woman. if you played accordion, would you still end up playing the blues? Probably would, because in the blues you have that squeeze box that people like Chenier Clifton and those guys played, and that’s similar, right? Yeah, i’d probably still be singing the blues, because, you know, i started listening to the radio when my parents first bought a radio, when i was fifteen or seventeen years old…it wasn’t like it is now, just one station playing soft rock or whatever they decide to play. You never knew what they were going to play next. i would buddy guy’s career spans nearly six decades and has directly influenced the likes of Jimi hendrix and Eric Clapton. (opposite) Rocking the afro and classic Epiphone, circa 1979. © Joseph A. Rosen 3 Broughton Quarterly Summer 2008
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