Latest Release
- MAR 8, 2024
- 2 Songs
- Calling All Blues · 1990
- Calling All Blues · 1960
- Calling All Blues · 1989
- Alone & Acoustic · 1981
- Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play the Blues · 1972
- Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play the Blues · 1972
- Heaven's Prisoners (Music From the Motion Picture) · 1965
- Come On In This House · 1996
- Delmark 70th Anniversary Blues Anthology · 1965
- Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play the Blues · 1972
Essential Albums
- At the behest of Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells left Chicago for Miami's Criteria Studios (a Clapton haunt) to record this album in the fall of 1970. These are some of the most soul-influenced recordings of the duo's career. With Dr. John on piano, A.C. Reed on tenor sax, and Clapton himself on rhythm guitar, "A Man of Many Words," "T-Bone Shuffle," and "Messin' with the Kid" all have a distinct Southern-style R&B groove. Wells's reading of Sonny Boy Williamson's "My Baby She Left Me (She Left Me a Mule to Ride)" has a bit more of a typical 12-bar Chicago feel, while "Bad Bad Whiskey" features Clapton contributing some tasty bottleneck fills. With Tom Dowd assisting Clapton in the producer's chair, Play the Blues has a unique place in Guy's and Well's catalog, sounding as polished as they've ever sounded. Since only eight songs survived from the Miami sessions, Guy recorded two tracks with the J. Geils Band in 1972 to complete the program.
- Recorded when Buddy Guy and Junior Wells were still known as two of Chicago’s finest sidemen, Hoodoo Man Blues thrust the pair into the spotlight and marked a turning point for Chicago blues. Up to this point, Chess Records was the dominant influence on the local scene, and recordings of all the greats were often compromised by the regulations and unabashedly commercial intentions of Leonard Chess. Bob Koester — a blues nut who founded Delmark Records and ran the Blues Record Mart — intended Hoodoo Man Blues as the antidote to Chess’s regulations. Koester wanted to capture on record how electric blues was felt and played in South Side clubs, and in that mission, this album is entirely successful. There is exceptional weight and dignity to these recordings. Every instrument is captured with total clarity. Wells and Guy give the album its bite, but special mention should be made of bassist Jack Myers and drummer Billy Warren, one of the leanest, stickiest rhythm sections every put on record. This album should be experienced front-to-back, like a nightclub set, but you’ll want extra time with “In the Wee Hours,” “Chitlin Con Carne” and “Hoodoo Man Blues.”
Music Videos
- 2011
- 2011
Artist Playlists
- His gutsy harp leads embrace R&B and guide Chicago blues into the rock ‘n' roll era.
- Buddy Guy pops up on some of the blues great's most unique sides.
About Junior Wells
One of the true giants of blues harmonica, Junior Wells is regarded--along with Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson--as a definitive post-WWII figure. Wells rose to prominence after replacing Little Walter in Muddy Waters's band, then reached the pinnacle of his fame in the mid 1960s when he and Buddy Guy formed a fruitful partnership. He performed until his death in 1998.
- HOMETOWN
- Memphis, TN, United States
- BORN
- December 9, 1934
- GENRE
- Blues