A television story claimed him as "the best unknown guitarist in the world" and Rolling Stone Magazine heralded him as "one of the three greatest living guitarists." Tough credentials for anybody to live up to. But Roy Buchanan could play in almost any style he aspired: Rock, Country, Gospel, Hillbilly or Blues. He was also a remarkably influential player, giving inspiration to future guitar wizards Robbie Robertson and Danny Gatton, among others. Word of his talent was widespread, as notables such as Les Paul and John Lennon sought to hear him play. It was also said that The Rolling Stones offered Buchanan a position in their band to replace Brian Jones in 1969.
Buchanan's luck seemed to give out right from the start. His debut recording, with guitarist/vocalist Charlie Daniels playing alongside, was panned by the critics upon hearing pre-release samples. Citing that the band moved too much between styles, the album was shelved and remains unreleased to this day. Buchanan's career seemed to see-saw throughout the 1970s. Though never a great singer, he was unquestionably touted for his guitar technique. He eventually called it quits towards the end of the decade, but was convinced to give it another go by Bruce Iglauer and the folks at Alligator Records four years later. Alligator worked around his vocal inability by teaming him with artists such as Delbert McClinton and Otis Clay. Still, his fate seemed unchanged and drug and alcohol problems, compounded with his seeming rejection by the critics, ultimately lead to that momentous arrest on that mid-August night in 1988. Speculation arose questioning why Buchanan would kill himself, but was quickly answered, when reviewing his life overall.
Buchanan left the world with a large selection of wonderful music. His guitar work does not seem aged a bit a decade later, and still can stand beside both today's Blues and Rock guitarists. Nice cover tunes of "Down By The River", "Turn To Stone" and "Green Onions" are brilliant displays of Buchanan's tasteful technique, as are originals like "The Messiah Will Come Again" and "Five String Blues". All of these are available on the wonderful two-CD release from Polygram entitled, "Sweet Dreams: The Anthology", as are four selections from the unreleased debut recording, "The Prophet". On Alligator, "Dancing on the Edge" with Delbert McClinton is exceptional, especially on the song "The Choking Kind". And, for those wishing for a glimpse of the guitarist on film, "Further On Down The Road'', with Albert Collins and Lonnie Mack, is a first-rate concert performance of the three masters live at Carnegie Hall, individually and together.
RORY GALLAGHER
For a career that was cut short by illness and a premature death, guitarist, singer, and songwriter Rory Gallagher sure accomplished a lot in the blues music world. Although Gallagher didn't tour the U.S. nearly enough, spending most of his time in Europe, he was known for his no-holds-barred, marathon live shows at clubs and theaters around the United States.
Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Irish Republic, on March 2, 1948. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Cork City in the south, and at age nine he became fascinated with American blues and folk singers he heard on the radio. An avid record collector, he had a wide range of influences, including Leadbelly, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Albert King, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker. Gallagher would always try to mix some simple country blues songs into his recordings.
Gallagher began his recording career after moving to London, when he formed a trio called Taste. The group's self-titled debut album was released in 1969 in England and later picked up for U.S. distribution by Atco/Atlantic. Between 1969 and 1971, with producer Tony Colton behind the board, Gallagher recorded three albums with Taste before they split up. Gallagher began performing under his own name in 1971, after recording his 1970 debut, Rory Gallagher for Polydor Records in the U.K. The album was picked up for U.S. distribution by Atlantic Records, and later that year he recorded Deuce, also released by Atlantic in the U.S.
His prolific output continued, as he followed up Deuce with Live in Europe (1972) and Blueprint and Tattoo, both in 1973. Irish Tour 1974, like Live in Europe, did a good job of capturing the excitement of his live shows on tape, and he followed that with Calling Card for Chrysalis in 1976, and Photo Finish and Jinx for the same label in 1978 and 1982. By this point Gallagher had made several world tours, and he took a few years rest from the road. He got back into recording and performing live again with the 1987 release (in the U.K.) of Defender. His last album, Fresh Evidence, was released in 1991 on the Capo/I.R.S. label. Capo was his own record and publishing company that he set up in the hopes of eventually exposing other great blues talents.
JOHNNY WINTER
When Johnny Winter emerged on the national scene in 1969, the hope, particularly in the record business, was that he would become a superstar on the scale of Jimi Hendrix, another blues-based rock guitarist and singer who preceded him by a few years. That never quite happened, but Winter did survive the high expectations of his early admirers to become a mature, respected blues musician with a strong sense of tradition.
He was born John Dawson Winter III in Leland, MS, on February 23, 1944, and as an infant moved to Beaumont, TX, where his brother Edgar Winter was born on December 28, 1946; both brothers were albinos. They turned to music early on, Johnny Winter learning to play the guitar, while Edgar Winter took up keyboards and saxophone. Before long they were playing professionally and soon after that recording singles for small local record labels. Both of them were members of Johnny and the Jammers, whose 45 "School Day Blues"/"You Know I Love You" was released by Dart Records in 1959. Other singles, either credited to Winter or some group pseudonym, were released over the next several years, including "Gangster of Love"/"Eternally," initially issued by Frolic Records in 1963 and picked up for national distribution by Atlantic Records in 1964, and "Gone for Bad"/"I Won't Believe It," also a 1963 Frolic single that was licensed by MGM Records in 1965. Winter had his first taste of chart success with a version of "Harlem Shuffle," recorded by the Traits, which was released by Universal Records, then picked up by Scepter Records and spent two weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1966.
In 1968, Winter decided to focus exclusively on blues-rock, and he formed a trio with Tommy Shannon on bass and John "Red" Turner on drums. He signed with the Austin, TX, label Sonobeat Records, and in August cut The Progressive Blues Experiment, released locally. His life was changed irrevocably with the publication of the December 7, 1968, issue of Rolling Stone magazine, which contained an article by Larry Sepulvado and John Burks about the Texas music scene. "The hottest item outside of Janis Joplin," they wrote, "… remains in Texas. If you can imagine a hundred and thirty pound cross-eyed albino with long fleecy hair playing some of the gutsiest fluid blues guitar you have ever heard, then enter Johnny Winter." Among those who read the article was New York club owner Steve Paul, who hopped a plane to Texas and convinced Winter to hire him as manager. Paul set up a bidding war among major record labels that was won in February 1969 by CBS Records, which signed Winter for an advance of $600,000, the largest sum the label had ever paid to a new solo artist.
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