Broughton Quarterly - Summer 2008 - (Page 35) Check out our own mix of buddy guy songs by going to itunes and searching “bQ buddy guy Mix” under iMixes. © Joseph A. Rosen hear them play arthur Crudup and then the next thing you know i’d get a chance to hear Muddy, Wolf, Walter, and b.b. and them when they started coming out. and then i’d hear big Mama thornton and hound dog, or Johnny ace…it just blew the top of my head off! then gatemouth brown came out with a tune, an instrumental called “Okie dokie Stomp.” and then, of course, when b.b. sang “Sweet Little angel” and started squeezing the strings! i tried to go to high school for one year, but that’s when my mother had taken a stroke. i was the oldest boy and had to drop out. i went to a teacher i still know down in baton Rouge. i took him a Muddy Waters record about the Louisiana blues and i told him i wanted to take music lessons. he became your music teacher? he said, ‘i can teach you, but you have to get book one.’ and i pointed at the album and said, ‘No, this is book one’—Louisiana blues on a 78. he said, ‘i can’t teach you!’ he and i still laugh about that. his name is bob Johnson, and now he says, ‘i’m glad you didn’t listen to me!’ You ended up in Chicago. i went on to Chicago and met Muddy and them and finally started making records—and i still don’t know how to read or write music. i don’t know if i’d be a blues musician if i’d learned that. Probably would have led me in a different direction.When i went to Chicago, a lot of great guitar players, jazz and blues guitar players, would tell me that i needed to learn this scale and that, to know this different stuff. it was crackin’ me up. Every time i had that conversation i’d then go watch Muddy and them play and i’d say, i don’t need a scale; i just need the Q heart and mind and soul to do what they was doing. gEt thE ChiCagO bLUES Buddy Guy’s Legends the Man’s own blues club, a place that’s become an icon of the local music scene. Live blues seven nights a week, a tasty food menu, consistent talent level, and an occasional surprise. (Mick Jagger and Ron Wood stopped in for an impromptu jam when the Rolling Stones tour rolled through Chicago.) 54 S. Wabash ave., Chicago, 312.427.1190, BuddyGuys.com. B.L.U.E.S. Some of Chicago’s best play here every night, stalwart acts such as Eddie Shaw, Magic Slim, and Otis Clay. Show up early, because crowds pack the place. 2519 N. halsted, Chicago, 773.528.1012, ChicagoBluesBar.com. © Victoria Fadden WhERE tO StaY City inns of Chicago, a collection of three historic 1920s style boutique hotels located in the exclusive Lakeview section of the city. Willows Hotel a graceful hotel with a European flare and upscale amenities. 555 West Surf, Chicago, 773.528.8400, CityInns.com/willows. Majestic Hotel the tranquility of an English country estate amidst the bustling Chicago city life. 528 West brompton, Chicago, 773.404.3499, CityInns.com/majestic. City Suites Hotel a sleek, retro property characterized by its unique art deco style. 933 West belmont, Chicago, 773.404.3400, CityInns.com/citysuites www.BroughtonQuarterly.com 35 http://BuddyGuys.com http://ChicagoBluesBar.com http://CityInns.com/willows http://CityInns.com/majestic http://CityInns.com/citysuites http://www.BroughtonQuarterly.com
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