Roy Buchanan earned acclaim as one of blues rock’s most gifted yet persistently underrecognized guitarists, whose fluid leads and command of harmonics would shape later masters including Jeff Beck, one-time pupil Robbie Robertson, and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. Although his birth took place in Ozark, AR, on September 23, 1939, he spent his formative years in Pixley, CA, where his father’s work as both farmer and Pentecostal preacher first acquainted the boy with gospel music at racially integrated revival meetings. Late-night R&B radio programs soon awakened a deeper fascination with the blues, prompting him to begin playing guitar at age seven. After an initial focus on steel guitar, he adopted the electric instrument by thirteen and adopted the Fender Telecaster that would define his sound. At fifteen he committed himself to music as a full-time pursuit and moved to Los Angeles, then home to a thriving blues and R&B circuit. Shortly after arriving, multi-talented bluesman Johnny Otis took him under his wing, and Buchanan furthered his education alongside Jimmy Nolen (later of James Brown), Pete Lewis, and Johnny “Guitar” Watson. Throughout the mid- to late 1950s he led his own rock outfit, the Heartbeats, which soon began supporting rockabilly great Dale Hawkins on recordings such as “Suzy Q.”
Early in the 1960s Buchanan relocated again, this time to Canada, where he joined rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. While serving in that band, he tutored its bassist on guitar; after Buchanan’s departure the bassist—Robbie Robertson—stepped forward as leader of the group that would become the Band. Buchanan passed the remainder of the decade working as a sideman with lesser-known acts and as a session guitarist for artists including pop idol Freddy Cannon, country performer Merle Kilgore, and drummer Bobby Gregg. By the mid- to late 1960s he had settled in the Washington, D.C., area and formed his own band, the Snakestretchers. Although he had yet to appear on any recordings under his own name, his exceptional abilities drew praise from John Lennon, Eric Clapton, and Merle Haggard, and he reportedly declined an invitation to join the Rolling Stones.
This growing reputation led to a 1971 hour-long public-television documentary titled The Best Unknown Guitarist in the World and, soon afterward, a recording contract with Polydor Records. Buchanan devoted the balance of the decade to solo albums, among them his 1972 self-titled debut containing the signature track “The Messiah Will Come Again,” 1974’s That’s What I Am Here For, and 1975’s Live Stock, before moving to Atlantic for several further releases. By the 1980s disillusionment with industry efforts to reshape him as a mainstream artist prompted a four-year withdrawal from music between 1981 and 1985. The blues imprint Alligator persuaded him to resume recording in the middle of the decade, resulting in the well-regarded albums When a Guitar Plays the Blues (1985), Dancing on the Edge (1986), and Hot Wires (1987).
Just as his career appeared to regain momentum, tragedy occurred on August 14, 1988, when police in Fairfax, VA, arrested him for public intoxication; a short time later he was found hanged in his holding cell. Buchanan’s standing as one of blues rock’s premier guitarists only intensified after his death, inspiring posthumous collections such as Sweet Dreams: The Anthology, Guitar on Fire: The Atlantic Sessions, Deluxe Edition, and 20th Century Masters, together with the 2009 live recording When a Telecaster Plays the Blues.
