Chicago Blues: Buddy Struts His Stuff

(Continued from Chicago Blues: Buddy Gets a New Guitar)

Featured Photo: “Buddy Guy, Off-Stage at Legends”  Chicago, Illinois—2025

By now, you must be wondering, “So, how was Buddy Guy’s performance?” Maybe you’re asking, “What songs did he play on that January night in 2025 at his Legends club in Chicago?” In a nutshell, even though he was closing in on 90 years of age, Buddy was still the consummate showman and gave a wide-ranging and entertaining show that featured some original Blues tunes, some Blues standards, and some rock and roll covers…along with a few surprises.

But I must admit, one year later, I can’t really recall the specific songs from Buddy’s show. Thank goodness I took a few short videos while he was on stage! Looking back at those, I can tell you he definitely played “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues”. (You really should click the link and have a listen!) It’s the title track from his seventh studio album— and arguably his most famous record—released in 1991, which celebrated his unique Chicago Blues sound.

In my last post, I mentioned that after his disastrous experience with Chess Records, his first album with Silvertone Records marked Buddy’s comeback. That album “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues” was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful and became his mainstream breakthrough release.

That night in Chicago, we also heard him play “Hoochie Coochie Man”, a Blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954. The link will take you to a live version of the song that Buddy broadcast just a month ago (February 2026) as part of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.

At one point, the band began playing the iconic riff from the rock song “Sunshine of Your Love”—written by Eric Clapton and originally performed by Cream—while Buddy banged his guitar strings with a drumstick. It captured exactly what the music critic wrote in 2005 about that element of Buddy’s live performances: “…hammy shtick that keeps all eyes on him….with sudden drops from loud to soft.” You can see 15 seconds of the video I took that night. (Click below. 👇)

But wait…why would he ever want or need to play an Eric Clapton riff from days long ago? Wikipedia quoted his response to that question from an interview Buddy gave in 2000 to a Cleveland radio station.

“The purpose of me trying to play the kind of rocky stuff is to get airplay…I find myself kind of searching, hoping I’ll hit the right notes, say the right things, maybe they’ll put me on one of these big stations, what they call ‘classic’.”

So here was the legendary Buddy Guy playing music from the legendary Eric Clapton to create another legendary classic to get some classic radio airplay! How about that?

And there was still more to his performance that night: Buddy was about to leave the stage! I’d heard somewhere—maybe my friend told me before the show, or maybe it was that young guy who was there to see Melvin Taylor—that when Buddy played, he liked to go out among the crowd. Right in the middle of a song, he would get off the stage and walk around while still playing—without cords or cables—using a wireless transmitter plugged into his guitar, with a receiver connected to the amp so the music kept going.

It was supposed to be an impressive sight at an outdoor venue or a large stadium, but not so much in his own club. But even there, I was told he would sometimes head right out the front door and stand on the corner playing guitar while curious pedestrians passed by. This was somewhat concerning to me, as I looked at the 88-year-old Blues man up on stage. I doubted he would attempt such a venture that night. Of course, I was dead wrong.

About 15 minutes before his show ended, a couple of his crew came on stage to help him amble through the club, playing among his adoring and appreciative fans. One handler walked ahead of him to make sure he made it down the short ramp that led off the side of the stage; another fellow followed him, shining a flashlight to guide his way and help clear the crowd.

As he left the stage and eased himself toward the floor of the club, his face changed: that carefree smile was gone; his expression hardened into single-minded focus. Just look at the tight grip he had on the railing! But I must admit, even though I’m 20 years his junior, I’d grip the railing firmly too, if I’d just performed on stage for nearly an hour!

Having successfully navigated his short descent, he picked right up playing the Blues, starting his circuit around the club not five feet from where we were standing. Of course, we were not sitting at this point in the show! I took a 32 second video, so you can watch his progression for yourself. As a bonus, you can glimpse more of the Legends club. And I pulled a screenshot from the video for today’s Featured Photo. (Click below. 👇)

As you can see, he kept stopping to play to his fans as he went; it took nearly 10 minutes for him to circle the club and clamber back on stage. (He did not go outside that night.) I think Buddy did one more song after that, and then he surprised us by yielding to his son, who came out and played his own guitar (sans polka-dots). Melvin Taylor also came back on stage to play along. And Buddy Guy, recognizing it was time for the next generation to carry on the Blues tradition, told the audience: “These young people are gonna have to take over because—you know—I’ll be 89 years old this year.”

I think Buddy’s son, along with Melvin and the band played just one song together. And all the while, Buddy walked around flashing his smile, flicking guitar picks out to clamoring admirers seated at the tables in front of the stage. When the music stopped, the emcee came back out on stage one last time, whipping the crowd into a couple more ovations. As the applause died down, the host announced that Buddy would be at the front door signing autographs and chatting with anyone who wanted to stop by. And then, the show was over.

But there was one more surprise in store for us before we left the club. And this chance event was neither musical nor social; this time it was a financial misadventure.

(To be continued…)