Buddy Guy once had to reassure Albert King that he wasn’t trying to steal his guitar tricks.
The two blues legends were often booked on the same shows, and Guy recalls one particularly funny encounter during a soundcheck in Montreal. King, who was famously protective of his distinctive guitar style, spotted Guy sitting in the audience — and immediately turned his back.
“I didn’t play a lot with Albert, but we were often on the same show,” Guy told Guitar Player. “I’ll never forget one time in Montreal when Albert was doing his soundcheck. I was sitting in the audience, and he turned his back to me after he saw me out there. He said, ‘I ain’t going to let you see a damn thing.’
“I had to tell him, ‘Man, you’re left-handed. I can’t take shit from you no way, because I’m right-handed.’”
King was left-handed, but that wasn’t the only unusual aspect of his playing. He played a right-handed electric guitar upside down, with the high E string on top, and also used unorthodox alternate tunings.
I had to tell him, ‘Man, you’re left-handed. I can’t take shit from you no way, because I’m right-handed.’”
— Buddy Guy
Even so, King may have had reason to be cautious around Guy. He was certainly not shy about strutting his stuff in front of other guitarists, having famously shared stages with Rory Gallagher, B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others.
Both King and Guy were known for their aggressive string-bending techniques and their sliding into pentatonic boxes. Neither man used a whammy bar, and perhaps King thought Guy might steal some ideas about technique from him.
As Guy revealed to Guitar Player, he did experiment once with a whammy bar early in his career while recording for Chess Records.
“I cut a side at Chess using a whammy bar, but they weren’t ready for it. They were like, ‘Nobody wants to hear that.’
“These days, though, I don’t put a whammy bar on my guitars. Honestly, I stopped back when I was using very light strings because it made them break easier, and I couldn’t afford to keep buying new ones.”
Guy also never attempted to play slide guitar, explaining that the technique required too much precision for the wild, attention-grabbing style he had developed.
When I came out, I didn’t ever think I was a good guitar player, so I was trying to make people pay attention. I got that from Guitar Slim.”
— Buddy Guy
“It’s because I was always wanted to be like Guitar Slim, and you can’t be wild and play a slide. You’ve got to be precise. You’ve got to sit there, and make that tone — like Derek Trucks.
“When I came out, I didn’t ever think I was a good guitar player, so I was trying to make people pay attention. I got that from Guitar Slim.
“I remember when I first saw his show. At the start, all I heard was a guitar. And then he came in the front door playing. I turned to see he had a 150-foot-long cable. I said, ‘That’s what I want to do. I want to be wild like Guitar Slim, and I want to be able to shake my wrist like B.B. King.’ But who can?”
Guy is currently on the road with his Buddy Guy 90 tour, which continues through September 2026. The run includes dates across the U.S., with upcoming performances scheduled in cities including Chicago, Atlantic City, Nashville and Denver.
