At 73 years old, Louisiana- born Buddy Guy still maintains a touring schedule that would keep performers one-third his age on their toes. And Guy, one of the headliners at this weekend’s Telluride Blues and Brews Festival, knows that he is still here for a reason.
“I do feel a responsibility to be here,” Guy said recently from his Chicago home. “I’ve been left here for something, and the good Lord kept me here to play the blues.”
Guy is Chicago’s reigning king of the blues — the man who played side by side with Muddy Waters, the bluesman who hung with Magic Sam, the cat who met the Rolling Stones before they were the world-famous Rolling Stones.
We caught up with Guy in advance of his headlining date in Telluride on Saturday to talk about his new album, “Skin Deep,” the first he’s ever co-written entirely, and his recent on-screen fling with the Stones.
Q: How is life in Chicago?
A:It’s great. I own a blues club here, and we have all of the artists coming in. But the blues has been treated just like it always has: It’s been on the back burner ever since Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters. People found out about them after the British guys put them out there. They called it the British Invasion, but it was like, “No, you’ve had all this all along.”
Q:Speaking of “the British guys,” you had a cameo in the recent Rolling Stones concert film “Shine a Light.” What was that like?
A: I’ve known the Stones since before they got famous. I was in Chess (Records) in ’63 or ’64, and they brought them in and lined them up against the wall. I’d never seen white men with long hair who looked like women before. And we’ve been friends since then. They called to ask me to be a part of that (movie).
Q:You performed Muddy Waters’ “Champagne and Reefer” with the Stones in the film. What is it about that song that makes it so vital today?
A: Anything Muddy ever did is like that. When they were taping it, Keith was joking, and he had a champagne glass and a reefer. I thought it was a fake, but it wasn’t a fake. He lit it up right there.
Q:You’re still touring a ton. Is it a trip to compare your world with that of the Stones?
A: One day I’ll sit down and look at it. Those guys are so famous, they don’t have to do nothing but just walk on stage. But I gotta go out there and prove it.
Q: But you’re keeping the music out there.
A: When you look around and see that I’m playing all these dates with B.B. King, you’ll realize that there are only a couple of us left. Muddy and Wolf and all the others, they’re no longer with us. So what B.B. and I are trying to do is keep (the blues) alive.
Q: Did you see “Cadillac Records,” which told the story of Chess Records?
A: Haven’t seen it. They asked me to come in and do “Forty Days and Forty Nights,” but I don’t know if that made it into the movie.
Q:And your most recent record, last year’s “Skin Deep,” marked a big moment for you, as it was your first record that you wrote or co-wrote all of the songs.
A: This is the first time I did that, yeah. And I love those songs, especially “Skin Deep,” because that goes back to when I was a little kid and I would look at myself in the mirror, brushing my hair, and my mom would tell me, “Oh, beauty’s only skin deep.”
Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com
TELLURIDE BLUES AND BREWS FESTIVAL.
Blues/rock/jam. Telluride Town Park, featuring Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Joe Cocker, Umphrey’s McGee, Xavier Rudd and others. Today-Sunday, noon-9 p.m. $55-$60/day; $155/three-day pass.
