Roy Buchanan ( 1939-1988) was one of America's true geniuses of the electric guitar. One of the greatest unknown American guitarist and blues musician, he was born in Ozark, Arkansas and learned to play the guitar through a number of disparate influences and musical inspirations. In 1958, he made his recording debut for Chicago’s Chess Records and continued to play as a sideman with various rock bands throughout the early 1960s. In 1971, Buchanan was featured in an hour-long PBS television documentary entitled “Introducing Roy Buchanan” that earned him a record deal with Polydor Records and praise from John Lennon and Merle Haggard. After recording five albums with Polydor, he decided to quit recording in 1981 unless he could record music in his own way, and then signed on with Alligator Records in 1985. The first expression of his own artistic freedom was exemplified in his first album release with Alligator later that year entitled, When A Guitar Plays the Blues. His twelfth and final album, Hot Wires, was released in 1987.
