Chicago Blues icon Buddy Guy gets set for Legends club homecoming: 'I'm thankful to go out there'
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Buddy Guy has been wailing the Chicago Blues since he arrived to the city from Louisiana 67 year ago.
At 88, he's getting set for his annual "residency" at his Legends club in January. It's a heat wave of ferocious sound echoing from a vibrant corner in the South Loop.
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"The guitar took me a long ways and I'm thankful to go out there, to be able to talk to you about my life and what I've seen and what I've accomplished by teaching myself," Guy said. "It's like being at home, you know... you can go around the world and you can eat food and all different types of restaurants, but ain't nothing like my kitchen when I go in and fix that gumbo. My way."
Guy exalts the blues legacy with his own harmony of pain and passion, an evangelist for his majesty of mournful chords, savage and sublime.
Coming from the South and even coming to Chicago, there was a lot of racism, a lot of setbacks, a lot of roadblocks. A lot of people would be bitter, but he said he's not.
The guitar took me a long ways and I'm thankful to go out there, to be able to talk to you about my life and what I've seen and what I've accomplished by teaching myself.Buddy Guy, Chicago Blues legend
"When I left the South, I had to ride in the back of the bus," Guy said. "Even if the bus was empty, they would tell you to go in the back. And I said to myself, 'one day, you know, that's your bus, one day I might have mine...' I can't believe I've been blessed to have been playing for two different presidents in the White House."
Guy shared his "secret" to staying healthy physically.
"You know, I told my doctor the other day, a shot of cognac makes you forget about it," Guy said. "You know, when I was in my prime, I used to chase women. I still do. But guess what? I catch 'em! I don't go to that stage if I think I can give your best, I go out. I'm not going to play because you know that a person think enough to come see you. I think you should be on the best you got. I didn't give up. It's like a prizefighter. If you're in the ring, if you lay down, you can't win, huh? Just keep what you might get a lucky hit."
