Buddy Whittington
Soulful Texas blues with a master's touch on the Stratocaster. Warm, unhurried, and deeply rooted in the grit of a roadside tavern.
Soulful Texas blues with a master's touch on the Stratocaster. Warm, unhurried, and deeply rooted in the grit of a roadside tavern.
Buddy Whittington delivers the kind of blues that feels like a well-worn leather jacket. It is music that prioritizes feel over flash, even though the technical skill on display is immense. His sound is defined by the classic Texas shuffle, a rhythmic pulse that feels like a heartbeat, paired with a guitar tone that is thick, warm, and just on the edge of breaking up. It is the sound of a musician who has spent decades in the clubs, honing a style that is as much about the space between the notes as the notes themselves.
What truly sets Whittington apart is his versatility and his deep connection to the lineage of the electric guitar. While he is a bluesman at his core, you can hear the echoes of Western Swing, early R&B, and the British Invasion in his phrasing. He does not just play the blues; he inhabits the history of the instrument, moving from stinging leads to sophisticated chordal work with a fluid ease that made him a mainstay of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for fifteen years.
Start with his 2007 self-titled solo debut. It is a perfect introduction to his ability to blend traditional blues structures with a modern, soulful sensibility. Tracks like 'Young and Dumb' showcase his wry lyrical wit and his ability to build a solo that tells a complete story, making it essential listening for anyone who appreciates the intersection of tone and taste.
Buddy Whittington (born December 28, 1956) is an American guitarist. He began playing the guitar inspired by his sister's records of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton. At the age of 14 he was already a part of the Dallas/Fort Worth music scene and playing regularly in the clubs along Jacksboro Highway. While attending L.D. Bell High School, Whittington played in a band called Short Change, which opened for Point Blank, a band that he would later join, replacing guitar player Kim Davis. During the early 1980s, he formed and sang with his own band, The Sidemen. In 1991, they opened for John Mayall and when Coco Montoya left the Bluesbreakers in 1993, Mayall called him to take his place in the band. In Mayall's band Whittington sang occasionally and contributed to songwriting. When, after fifteen years, Mayall disbanded the Bluesbreakers, Whittington continued to gig in Texas, but also joined forces with Roger Cotton and Pete Stroud, who had toured with Mayall as part of Peter Green's band. In 2008, Whittington released his first solo album and he continues to tour regularly in the UK and throughout Europe, though Roger Cotton has left the band, which now works as a threesome featuring Darby Todd on drums. In August 2013, Whittington sat in with his old boss John Mayall at the Bedford Blues Festival in Bedford, Texas. Whittington lives in Hurst, Texas with his family. Whittington usually plays a 1963 Stratocaster plugged into a Dr. Z amplifier. He also plays a Lentz guitar modeled partially after the Fender Telecaster.
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