By Nick Loss-Eaton

If you love Buddy Guy (and who doesn’t?) or if you’re a new fan captivated by the PBS “American Masters” episode about Buddy that premiered last week, we thought we’d spend August suggesting some Music Maker albums you might like. Bandcamp Fridays have returned for the rest of the year: The first Friday of each month through the end of the year, Bandcamp does not take its usual cut of sales on the platform. So if you make a purchase on August 6 or any of the first Fridays through 2021, 100 percent of your purchase will go towards our mission. We think these selections of electric blues guitar are perfect for the remaining nights of summer.

Lee Gates: “Black Lucy’s Deuce”

“Lee Gates is on fire! He doesn’t let up the entire record!,” attests our co-founder Tim Duffy. Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, before settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Gates was a cousin of the legendary Albert Collins and shared his legendary “ice pick” single-string guitar style. He made his recording debut at 66, arriving at the studio by long-distance bus. The title “Black Lucy’s Deuce” refers to his guitar, which he named Black Lucy, and the fact that this was his second album. Full of intense guitar work and impassioned vocals, this album will also appeal to fans of Albert King and Freddie King.

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Cool John Ferguson

Buddy Guy’s concert performances in the 1960s famously influenced Jimi Hendrix: He played psychedelic, experimental, emotive blues with overdriven amps turned up to 10. Like Hendrix, Cool John Ferguson plays a right-handed guitar left-handed. Born on an island on the South Carolina coast, Cool John is a guitar savant, able to play everything from jazz to Piedmont blues. As Music Maker’s secret weapon, he has appeared on albums by Captain Luke, Essie Mae Brooks, Carl Rutherford and more. This self-titled debut, released 20 years ago, shines from distorted psychedelic blues-rock to jazz-tinged, romantic R&B. This album is truly a guitar virtuoso’s tour de force, and ever after, Cool John was a secret no longer.

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Beverly Guitar Watkins: “Don’t Mess With Miss Watkins”

The Atlanta guitar daredevil started touring while still in high school as part of rhythm & blues hitmaker Piano Red’s band, later playing with the likes of James Brown, B.B. King and Ray Charles. She would mesmerize the crowds nightly by playing her guitar behind her head. After she became a Music Maker artist, Taj Mahal took her on the road to open a 42-date tour. In one of her signature songs, she would sing, “They call me Miz Dr. Feelgood. I said, hey, hey, hey. Well, it’s my time now. Gonna rock your blues away.” We know that’s right!

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