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THIS IS BUDDY

Blues guitarist Buddy Reed
"Really smokes. . .I’m glad you’re still out there doing it right! Keep up the good work.”
                                    - Charlie Musselwhite

 
“Lots of guys today have studied and learned correct blues guitar, but...if you want the real, lowdown, soulful, and natural feel, you get Elmo “Buddy” Reed to play it. He’s the real deal, straight from his big ol’ Okie heart”
                                       - James Harman
“Reed’s guitar has the intensity of a Luther Tucker or a young Buddy Guy with a wicked tone to match”
                                     - Mark Hummel
 
Buddy has been recognized as the creator of the West Coast Blues Sound by the California State Senate and the City of Los Angeles. He is a member of the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame. 
 
Buddy Reed Certificate of Recognition California State Senate
Buddy Reed Certificate of Appreciation of City of Los Angeles
Blues guitarist Buddy Reedy with Muddy Waters

Buddy Reed with Muddy Waters

Buddy Reed with Willie Dixon

Buddy Reed with Willie Dixon

Buddy Reed with Bacon Fat and George "Harmonica" Smith

Bacon Fat with Buddy Reed and George "Harmonica" Smith.

Buddy Reed playing live with Bo Diddley

Ivan Elmo "Buddy" Reed is a seasoned performer and a vital part of blues history. As a teenage guitarist, he would play the “Battle of the Bands” at the National Guard armories around his home town of Rialto, California. Then in 1968, he met Little Walter protege George “Harmonica” Smith.

As Buddy tells it, “George had a lot going on, so I went with him. Unknown to me at the time, he was friends and neighbors with the great Pee Wee Crayton and none other than Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton. They lived in the Watts district of L.A. and this is where we started school. Blues school! It was me and Rod Piazza, Richard Innes and Jerry Smith. Sometimes we’d bring down a 14-year-old guitar phenomenon, Greg “Little Guitar” Schaefer. Me from Rialto and the rest of ‘em from Riverside. Then, to round it out, from George’s neighborhood we had the great J. D. Nicholson on piano. J.D. had been a touring and recording artist in his own right for years. We were "The George Smith Blues Band featuring Rod Piazza. We became the house band at George’s neighborhood club 'The Small Paradise' on the corner of 53rd and Avalon. We just called it Small’s. We worked there every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. George was the real thing, from Chicago, actually Cairo, close by. He’d played with Muddy and everybody else. After all the years of performing, man, he had the stage thing DOWN! All the other artists, great and small, looked up to George. I had never even HEARD of Muddy Waters until they hit. When I first heard them and seen all the chicks screamin’ I said 'This is for me'."

The biggest names in the business passed through Small's - Lightnin' Hopkins, Jimmy Reed, Howling Wolf, T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, Johnny Otis - and Reed and his bandmates backed them up. George Smith and his disciples were soon touring the states with Big Mama Thornton, and recording and touring in England. Pressed to come up with a new band name in the studio, Reed suggested "Bacon Fat." Smith and band recorded three albums with Fleetwood Mac producer Mike Vernon for the Blue Horizon label.

Back in the States, Buddy left the band to join his rock n' roll idol, Little Richard, playing Las Vegas and touring nationally for a year. Reed then reunited with Jerry Smith and Richard Innes, performing under his own name. Since then, Buddy has traveled the Western states with his current trio (and sometimes quartet) Th' Rip It Ups.

Over the decades, Buddy Reed has crafted a unique style, combining a raw and passionate vocal style, high energy staccato rhythm guitar, and searing leads. He sings and plays with a sweat drenched intensity rarely matched by his peers. A highlight of the show is his slide guitar showcase, inspired by Muddy Waters, Elmore James and J. B. Hutto. His repertoire reflects his love for early rock & roll, including the songs of Chuck Berry, Little Richard and The Coasters. His originals speak of the hard life of an uncompromising blues veteran.

In 1998 Buddy Reed was inducted into the 
Arizona Blues Hall of Fame. In 2012, Reed's recording with the late George "Harmonica" Smith, "Teardrops Are Falling" was nominated for Historical Album of the Year by the Blues Foundation. He has been recognized by the City of Los Angeles and the California State Senate as the creator of the West Coast Blues Sound.

 

Buddy Reed with Bo Diddley

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY

As Featured Artist:
1970 Bacon Fat Grease One For Me Blue Horizon
1970 George "Harmonica" Smith No Time For Jive Blue Horizon
1971 Bacon Fat Tough Dude Blue Horizon
1971 George "Harmonica" Smith Arkansas Trap Dream
1983 Buddy Reed and the Rocket 88's Short Dress Woman Trash Records
1985 Buddy Reed and the Rip It Ups Tough Enough Taboo Records
1986 George "Harmonica" Smith Live At Small's Paradise Blue Moon (recorded 1969)

2001 Buddy Reed & the Rip It Ups Livin' It Ruby Records

2006 George Smith & Bacon Fat The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions Sony BMG (recorded 1970)
2011 George "Harmonica" Smith with Buddy Reed & the Rocket 88's Teardrops Are Falling Electro-Fi Records (recorded 1983)
2011 Buddy Reed & the Rip It Ups Blues Sez It All Ruby Records (recorded late 80's/early 90's)

2021 – This Is Buddy Reed: A Selection of Live Cuts 1986 La Hooty Records

Guest Performances and Compilations:
1970 Various Artists How Blue Can We Get? Blue Horizon with Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, Stan Webb

1990 Lizards: A Phoenix Compilation Zia Records

1992  Cookin’ With The Blues Beehive Records

1993 Various Artists Blue Saguaro: A Collection of Arizona Blues Fervor Records

1995  Singing the Blues Blues Legends Records

1997  The Ultimate Blues Collection  St. Clair [Box Sets] 

1998  Various Artists – Blues Box Star Pool Records/Universal

1998 James Harmon Taking Chances Cannonball Records
1999 Bob Corritore All-Star Blues Session (recorded 1986-98)
2001 Various Artists Blues For Big Walter EllerSoul Records
2001 Various Artists Blues With A Feeling Castle Records
2001 Various Artists Red Hot Blues
2002 Various Artists The Birth Of The Blues (3 CD) The Soho Collection

2003 - Modern Master: The Best of Rod Piazza Tone Cool Records

2005 Louisiana Red No Turn On Red (recorded 1982-2003)
2007 Various Artists House Rockin' And Blues Shoutin' Celebrating 15 Years of the Rhythm Room (recorded 1997-2006)
2008 Mark Hummel Odds & Ends (recorded 1982-2006)
2010 Bob Corritore and Friends Harmonica Blues (recorded 1989-2009)

2010  Classic Blues Vol 7 Digimode Entertainment

2018 - Hard Core Harp with George Smith Electro-Fi Records

2022  “Tell Me ‘bout It”  Louisiana Red and Bob Corritore recorded 2000 - 2009

GUTBUCKET BLUES

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