Phil Guy

Blues guitarist Phil Guy, the younger brother of the legendary Buddy Guy, was born in Lensworth, LA, in 1940. He learned to play the guitar by using one his brother Buddy left behind when he moved to Baton Rouge, LA. On Buddy's occasional trips home he would help Phil develop his skills, and it wasn't long before Phil was able to take Buddy's place in Raful Neal's blues band. He stayed with Neal for almost a decade before striking out on his own, settling in Chicago. He joined Buddy's band just before they embarked on a tour of Africa in 1970 and stayed with them for five years until Buddy, angered and frustrated at his inability to secure a record contract, retired from touring (albeit, as it turned out, temporarily). Phil managed to do what Buddy couldn't--get a record contract--and that year he recorded "The High Energy Blues" for JSP Records, and soon afterward began his own band, Phil Guy and the Chicago Machine. He continued to play in the Chicago blues scene, in addition to touring and recording, and on occasion would open the show for his brother at Buddy's club, Legends, in Chicago. In January of 2008 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and his health quickly deteriorated. He died on August 20 of the disease.