“He was told early in his career that his playing was too loud, too strident and outside the accepted norms of the day”: Buddy Guy influenced Clapton, Page, Hendrix and countless others – here’s what you can learn from blues guitar’s greatest showman

Blues icon Buddy Guy wears dungarees, a longsleeve Hawaiian shirt and ballcap as he performs with his customary Fender Stratocaster.

Buddy Guy is the pioneer who influenced Hendrix, Clapton, Page and Beck among others. His fiery playing (and equally impassioned vocals) remain as exciting today as ever.

Like Eric Clapton, he was told early in his career that his playing was too loud, too strident and outside the accepted norms of the day. This necessitated him largely pausing his solo career after 1967’s I Left My Blues In San Francisco to become a sideman for artists such as Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Walter, supplementing his income with club dates and working as a tow truck driver.