They were part of the new generation of bluesmen who came up in Chicago after the generation of masters that included Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. This was my first introduction to Buddy Guy (and Junior Wells), and Alex and I listened to that album until we could play every song note for note.īuddy Guy and Junior Wells had a turbulent relationship spanning more than twenty years, playing together or apart, but always playing well. Buddy was under contract to the Chess brothers, so to avoid legal hassles Koester listed him under a fictitious name. We asked Koester about this and he told us that “Friendly Chap” was in reality the guitarist Buddy Guy. The guitar player, who very subtly supported Junior’s singing and harp playing, but also showed some occasional flash, was credited as “Friendly Chap”. Most of the blues albums on Chess were really just compendiums of greatest hits, with maybe some filler thrown in, but Hoodoo Man Blues was a real album, with continuity, songs leading into other songs, all sounding like they were recorded live at, say, Theresa’s, a blues club on the South Side where Junior Wells often played. The music on the album was just as atmospheric. The album cover was an atmospheric black and white shot of Junior Wells playing in some after-hours blues dive, cigarette smoke surrounding him in a thick cloud, his harmonica in one hand. We rushed back to Alex’s house and put the record on. It was recorded by Bob Koester on his Delmark label. Alex bought a single album: Hoodoo Man Blues by Junior Wells.

The first time I went down to the Jazz Record Mart with a friend, Alex, I stocked up on Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf records. On any given day you might spot a well-known blues musician flipping through the stacks or talking to Koester. Bruce Iglauer, who went on to start Alligator Records, worked behind the counter. It was piled floor to ceiling with jazz and blues records. He also had his own record company, Delmark Records, where he recorded a lot of blues artists who’d been passed over by Chess Records. It was run by a guy named Bob Koester, a jazz and blues fanatic. I used to buy records in a Chicago shop called the Jazz Record Mart on Grand Avenue.

Some kind of wonderful song buddy guy