👀Check This Out! - Son House & Buddy Guy - Live On Camera Three - Look in sidebar for a quick video

Eddie James “Son” House (1902–1988) poured more raw emotion into the Delta blues than almost anyone else. He spent his life torn between preaching in church and playing in rowdy jukes. Living in Mississippi during the 1930s and '40s, he became a massive influence on legends like Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters.

While he started out playing for local crowds at weekend house parties, House hit the international stage during the 1960s blues revival. Fans loved his intense, trance-like performances, aggressive guitar style, and powerful a cappella gospel singing.

He first recorded with Charley Patton in 1930, and later did legendary field recordings for the Library of Congress in 1941 and 1942. House walked away from music in 1943 and moved to Rochester, New York, where young blues fans tracked him down in 1964. This "rediscovery" launched a major comeback career, leading to his famous 1965 Columbia album, Father of Folk Blues. He retired for good in the mid-1970s and lived out his final years in Detroit with his wife, Evie.

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LOOK TO THE SIDEBAR: Don't forget to fire up the video player running in our page sidebar to watch this legendary guitar footage live while you browse the discography!

🎸 Essential Discography & Collaborations

Buddy Guy Solo Works

Left My Blues in San Francisco
1967 A Man and the Blues
1968 Hold That Plane!
1972

Damn Right, I've Got the Blues
1991 Sweet Tea
2001 The Blues Is Alive and Well
2018

Son House Essential Releases

Library of Congress Sessions
1941-1942 Father of Folk Blues
1965 Forever On My Mind
2022 (Live 1964)

Classic Collaborations & Duets

Hoodoo Man Blues
w/ Junior Wells (1965) Play the Blues
w/ Junior Wells (1972) Alone & Acoustic
w/ Junior Wells (1991)

George “Buddy” Guy was born into a sharecropping family in Lettsworth, Louisiana, on July 30, 1936. One of the most dazzling performers in blues history, he grew up idolizing local artists and Mississippi giants like B.B. King, Guitar Slim, and Muddy Waters. His dad bought him his first guitar from a local fieldhand, and young Buddy learned to play by copying John Lee Hooker's records. He cut his teeth playing gigs in Baton Rouge, taking inspiration from Guitar Slim's wild showmanship—he wanted to play like B.B. but act like Slim.

In 1957, Guy moved to Chicago to find better work and chase his musical dreams. The local scene was full of southern transplants; Muddy Waters and Otis Rush quickly befriended him, and Willie Dixon ran his early Chess Records sessions. Guy electrified audiences with his incendiary live shows, but he was also a fantastic team player, backing up legends like Son House and Howlin’ Wolf. He also opened famous clubs like Buddy Guy’s Legends to give other blues artists a place to shine.

Despite his massive influence on rock icons like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, major recording success took decades. His huge breakthrough finally arrived with the 1991 album Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues. He went on to win multiple Grammys, enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and score several No. 1 albums—all while keeping his deep southern roots at the heart of his music.