NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 For Buddy Guy 鈥 a stalwart and staunch defender of the blues 鈥 there's nothing more important than keeping his chosen genre at the forefront of conversation. It comes naturally: Guy is one of America's greatest guitar players, a singular artist with a thick roster of A-list super fans 鈥 Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Gary Clark Jr. among them.
The list also includes innovative writer and who tapped Guy for his earlier this year, and artists like Peter Frampton and the Eagles' Joe Walsh, who feature on his new album 鈥淎in't Done with the Blues.鈥 It releases Wednesday, on Guy's 89th birthday.
For the eight-time musician, those recognitions aren't priority. The longevity of the music that made his life is his primary concern. 鈥淟ike I promised B.B. King, Muddy Waters and all of them,鈥 he tells The Associated Press over the phone, 鈥淚 do the best I can to keep the blues alive.鈥
He's concerned that radio stations no longer play the blues, and that the genre might miss out on connecting with younger listeners. It's one of the reasons 鈥淎in't Done with the Blues鈥 is a strong collection of classics that run the risk of being forgotten 鈥 like on the album closer 鈥淭alk to Your Daughter,鈥 a rendition of the J.B. Lenoir tune.
In Guy's performance, there's an undeniable universality. 鈥淏lues is based on everyday life,鈥 he says. 鈥淎 good time or a bad time.鈥
Or, another way Guy explains it: 鈥淢usic is like a bowl of real good gumbo. They got all kinds of meat in there. You got chicken in there, you got sausage in there. You got a seafood in it. ... When we play music, we put everything in there.鈥
It's resonating. In its 2025 midyear report, Luminate, an industry data and analytics company, found that U.S. on-demand audio streams of blues music due to the success of 鈥淪inners.鈥
Jaime Marconette, Luminate乌鸦传媒 vice president of music insights and industry relations, describes the current moment as a 鈥渞esurgence of the blues,鈥 following 鈥淪inners.鈥
鈥淪everal artists featured on the film乌鸦传媒 soundtrack, which includes works from real-life blues, folk and country musicians, saw spikes the week of the film乌鸦传媒 theatrical release,鈥 he explains. 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e all enjoying a sustained rise in listenership even two-plus months following release.鈥
Guy has noticed the shift, too. 鈥淚 walk in the grocery store or the drugstore and people recognize me. 鈥楳an, you know, I heard that 鈥橲inners' music, man. Man, it sounds good,'鈥 he says. 鈥淭hey ain鈥檛 never gonna come in and say, 鈥業 heard it on the radio.鈥欌
That's part of the reason why Guy decided to participate in the movie in the first place. 鈥淚 hope this will give the blues a boost, because my worry right now is, like I said, a young person don鈥檛 know how good a gumbo is 鈥 you鈥檝e got to taste it.鈥
For now, he's excited to see how people respond to his new album, 鈥淎in't Done with the Blues鈥 鈥 but he's not listening to it.
鈥淚 listen to everything but Buddy Guy,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 already know Buddy Guy. I can't learn anything from that.鈥