I had the privlege of seeing Roy at My Mother's Place in Washington DC before the building of METRO made it close down. He was great. Fortunately we have recordings to listen to. As for him ending his life in Fairfax Jail... Everyone in Fairfax knows that the cops there are the worst anywhere. Back in the day, they beat the crap out of everyone. Go to jail drunk and you were guaranteed a broken nose or worse. Bless you Roy. I'll burn one with you when we meet again.
Hey Don- Merry Christmas!!
Shoot me an email sometime.
All the best,
JMc
Heard RB for the first time on the car radio when washing my father in law's car. Being a Tele player i recognised the sound immediatley, got in the car, turned up the volume and got blown away. i went out and got the RB album the next day. Saw RB in Birmingham Town Hall the next year
when he toured UK - it was early 70's - 2 days after I sold my 1963 Tele to get something with a 'bigger sound'. He sure made me regret that decision! Great that there's a site dedicated to this amazing player.
Wyn
I'm a 23 year old guitar player and thanks to my dad, Roy became a huge part of my life and influence. Glad there's a site to remember him.
I too am an avid Roy music collector and have tons of music i would love to share
Kurt I read your comment And youve Got just the shows I've been looking for, would love to trade, if you or any other roy music traders read this, you contact me on the SSSnakeStretcher channel on youtube there is a roy live music traders group on yahoo as well, n sumtimes a Roy DC++ hub
hi,
I have a signed photograph of
Roy Buchanan that I wish to upload to the site.what e mail address should I send it
to?
I got the photo through his manager Shelley Yakus.
As a vocalist and musician I am inspired by the raw emotion Roy is able to evoke.
In my book Roy was as good as they come, so sad that one with such talent had to leave us so soon.
We'll never know just how great he could have become.
Not including all his official releases, here are additional recordings I've collected over the years:
1962, w/Fred Mastroni, TX
1969, Charlie Daniels Sessions, Nashville, TN
1970, Crossroads Lounge, Buch & The Snakestretchers
1972, OOP LP, Esther Mae Scott
12/16/72, Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh
5/8/73, Marquee Club, London
8/17/73, Telecaster County, My Father's Place, Roslyn, NY
9/3/73, Agora Ballroom, Cleveland
12/2/73, George Washington University, Washington DC
12/31/73, Fillmore East, NYC
2/23/74, Austin City Limits
6/18/74, Main Point, Philadelphia
8/17/74, Lenox Music Inn, Lenox, MA
9/13/74, Ebbett's Field, Denver
11/29/74, Town Hall, NYC
9/17/75, Agora Ballroom, Cleveland
10/1/76, Electric Ballroom, Dallas
6/15/77, Ubinchokin Hall, Nagoya, Japan
7/18/77, Agora Ballroom, Cleveland
9/27/77, My Father's Place, Roslyn, NY
12/14/77, Evanston, IL
1978, Pinecrest, Shelton, CT
1/78, Panther Hall, Fort Worth
8/1/78, Great American Music Hall, San Francisc
8/6/78, Agora Ballroom, Cleveland
9/1 & 9/2/78, Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX, mixed by Roy
1979, Orphanage, San Francisco
1/2/79, Park West, Chicago
7/6/79, Starwood Club, Hollywood
7/7/79, Starwood Club, Hollywood
2/13/80, Rainbow Music Hall, Denver
4/17/80, Toad's Place, New Haven, CT
1981, El Macombo, Toronto
3/81, Australia
11/21/81, Keystone, Berkeley, CA
1983, Albert’s Hall, Toronto
3/18/83, Niagara Falls
6/83, Liberty Lunch, Austin
2/4/84, My Father’s Place, Roslyn, NY
6/24/84, McCabe's Guitar Shop, Santa Monica
2/22/85, Paradiso, Amsterdam
2/24/85, Markethalle, Germany
3/2/85, Helsinki, Finland
3/8/85, Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL
7/20/85, Live At The Cabaret Metro, Chicago
8/24/85, Grand Emporium, Kansas City
12/6/85, Carnegie Hall, NYC
1986, Osaka, Japan
6/18/86, Seattle, WA
9/25/86, Yomuirir Hall, Tokyo
2/5/87, Rockefeller's, Houston
8/21/87, The Green, New Haven, CT
1/25/88, The Tralf, Buffalo
3/8/88, Australia
5/19/88, Arena, Washington, DC
6/30/88, New Jersey
7/10/88, Long Branch Park, Syracuse, NY
7/12/88, Double Door Inn, Charlotte, NC
7/28/88, Nightstages, Cambridge, MA
8/7/88, The Last Live Show, Guilford, CT
American Axe vol 1-8
“Dancing On The Edgeâ€, Alligator rehearsals
“When A Guitar Plays The Bluesâ€, Alligator rehearsals
“Hot Wiresâ€, Alligator rehearsals
If you have other recordings, I'd love to trade for them!
Great site! Just a comment about the hole in Nancy's headstock, from what I understand Roy did that in an attempt to fabricate his own "B" bender type device... could be false but makes more sense than a hanging hole...
i find it quite strange that some people say Roy who..I know we have heard the best unknown guitarist phrase but hey I guess they are just not listening..site still going..cool
I made a personal recording in 1988 in Club Soda in Montreal; it was the second-to-last performance of Roys life, and has never been released in public. It was very LOUD (which is good because people don't talk so much around the consensor microphones) and I stood near the front and the monitor speakers and got a good mix. His band was excellent, the recording with just a touch of distortion, and Roy's playing... this recording is an importsnt document in his discography.
Anyway I wanna get it out there! (I'm going to one way or another, since I ripped it off the cd the 8-track burned). How do I upload the mp3 sitting on my desktop (it's 24 mb)? Here are the songs:
Peter Gunn
Down By the River (listen for Roy bellowing during the chorus!)
"Bitch Blue" (?)
When A Guitar Plays the Blues (violin-like intro; chilling, piecing high notes)
Drownin' On Dry Land (nice neck-position slow blues, then:
Purple Haze (lightning fast)
The tape was found in my Mom's crawlspace stuffed in a burlap bag! I had long since (and quite sadly) assumed the original two tapes has been lost in the sands of time; but one tape remained, mixed with a bunch of other stuff from when I was a student at McGill. Also got some Johhny Winter and Jeff Healy in there. Pogues, too.
I just got a digital 8-track and ran a line from the headphone output of my tape deck onto channels 1 & 2 and - voila! What a useful device (Tascam DP-02). Originally recorded on Sony Professional Walkman (very, very happy with the result!). Nice tight bass.
Sadly, I appear to have lost or hopefully just misplaced the encore tape, which has a version of Wayfaring Pilgrim that I memorized long ago, absolutely seared into my memory. Roy's also my biggest influence playingwise, these days.
If you'd like a copy of the recording, email me.
Roy was the best.I grew up in nyc during the 70s and saw him at every opportunity. Beginning with the village gate i think i saw almost every show in ny area anyone out there remember the guitar explosion concert in central park it included ROY LARRY CORYELL MAHAVISHNU TINY GRIMES GEORGE BENSON JIM HALL ANDother luminaries Roy was particularly on point at this show ibelieve due to the incredible lineup he took his playing very seriously at that wonderful daytime show. I recall a spot on version of 5 string blues a short but very sweet set.After a 5 year spiritual exile I ONCE AGAIN saw roy in cambridge outside of boston mass in harvard square catch a rising star I got drunk for the first time in over 5 years at that show i was helped into a cab halfway thru the late show at some point that night i was in the john looked over and there was Roy i never said a word to him what do you say to your hero at such a time he was so good he could blow into town play with whatever decent band was available and still just blow you away a true master.After that he played a great club called nigtstage in cambridge, At times listening to Roy live was like takeing off in a space ship rocketing with a master some of the best purest moments of my life were listening to this Telemaster play the blues.Ill never forget yelling up at Roy at nightstage from an upfront seat in a totally amazed spontaneous moment YOU SHOULD DO A MOVIE SOUNDTRACK.This embarrased my then wife greatly.I was gratified and moved to tears when I heard those haunting first strains of sweet dreams which i believe is the 1st song on roys first album at the conclusion of one of the finest movies made by scorcese set in boston with nicholsen etc the title escapes me now that is the way to roll credits after a great flick THANK YOU LORD for loaning us Roy and please let this troubled but beautifully artistic soul rest in peace.Forever your fan Purusa LG PEACE
Roy is very muched missed on the music scene today.He was always a pleasure to see
In my life time i have blessed to know Roy. I had seen A PBS TV program featuring Roy, 1969 or 70.I have vidio of this. Yr later met Roy upstate NY. Invited me to concert in NY. jammed in hotel. In the 80s i moved to Ft Laud. FL Roy played as i remember, 4 concerts here.i was invited back stage for all. After we would go to my home. talk, jam, ROy played all my guitars, which i still have. Feel there is majiq in them! Roy was the most gracious,giving person anyone would ever know. One thing stands out to this day, thinking back, When ROy looked you eye to eye....i had never seen eyes that blue!! It was like looking at the sky to the heavens. Anyone who knows Roy knows what i,m saying.I spent hrs with Roy after the gig IN ft laud. musicians exchange.... About 2wks lafter i heard the sad news. Hung him self!!! NO WAY!!! I know how ROy could get, With a few drinks.ETC. I seen it a couple of times. ROy could piss of the wrong people. That last concert in ft Laud.We hung out that night.There is no way he was sucidle. He was feeling and looking the best i had seen him in yrs. I commented how much younger he looked!! Told me he had quit drinking for quite a while. I believe he pissed of the cops at the jail, put a choke hold on him, then covered it up.The world lost a extrodenary talent and to others a special friend, father,insperition... With Love,Rick Steel///....
You inspired and influenced so many. Still loved and sadly missed.
i started playing guitar about 1970 and roy was a major influence on me and my style of play.i have al his albums and still listen to them on a regular basis
A friend who was a studio guitarist got some tickets to see Roy at My Fathers Place in Roslyn, NY. He knew the folks Roy was staying with while he was in town, consequently I got to meet Roy and shake his hand. I told him how much I loved his playing, I think what I actually said was, "WOW!". He was very gracious. I began playing guitar shortly after meeting Roy. Roy continues to be the singular biggest influence on my playing and is an ongoing source of inspiration. I am haunted by the circumstances of his death. Roy recorded a tune called Nefesh which is the hebrew word for soul, his life and his legacy live through us that continue to love his guitar playing. God bless you Roy, I hope you are in heaven stroking your baby's long dark wavy hair.
Greetings from the Philippines!
I hope your website would grow and prosper. With more contents and goodies to spread the appreciation on what Roy Buchanan has shared to all of us through his music legacy.
really miss his playing
Love him, in nyc saw him oh 20 times.
I was looking for the guitar tab for his Hey Joe, unfortunately all the guitar tab versions are from the 'live in japan' version and I was looking for the original version by Roy (That's What I Am Here For Album). Anyone know if there is a book or source for the orginal version of Hey Joe by the telegod?
why nobody made a my space of roy ??????
he was a great innovator in the expresion guitar he put your chikenskin,.,he was the best for me
Loved the site. Big fan, there was no one nicer. As a teenager I was checking him out at a tiny club in Massachusetts and he had one of the security people pull me off to the side where I had been taking some pictures. At the time, being a student, I had only enough cash on me for the admission and a few cokes. Getting back in would have been a major problem. As I'm waiting to be tossed out for taking pictures the burly, even compared to me, security guy motions me to a much better vantage point at Roy's discretion where I managed to get some decent shots of a mand I always admired.
Couple of years later, ame venue we were scheduled to play and at the last minute we were "replaced" with Roy B. Roy felt bad, and we ended up as the opening act. Later we were back stage. We were asked if it was okay that they smoked. They did and it wasn't tobacco. Mind you something I was no longer into but would occasionally succumb if the olfactory senses were rewarded with a particular good batch.
For the record, I never drank as a rule, nor do any drugs. Last beer I had was 15 years ago........ with some pizza.
Roy will always be one of The Guitarists in my Top 10. It's a shame that the records never captured the energy of his live shows as there was nothing like them. Bob
I own the goldtop in the Southworth photo, I bought it from Gil in 1992. I'll email you photos. Roy is on the cover of Dancing on the Edge playing it. Great site, Thanks
Roy has been my favorit blues-guitarist seens I first heard him on "Livestock".He died much too early.BUT HE WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN!
Roy has been my favorit blues-guitarist seens I first heard him on "Livestock".He died much too eayrly.BUT HE WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN!
I've waited almost 30 years to hear Ramon's Blues again. I have Loading Zone on LP but no turntable. I've never seen it offered on disc in any of the music stores so I finally got with the times and found it on Amazon. Luckily, when it arrived no one was home. I put the dog out, maxed out the amp volume and played that song countless times. I lost my voice shouting expletives above the deafening, sweet, remarkable, unbelievable music. It was better than I remembered. Just when you think the song is going to end Roy raises the bar even further and takes you to an unexpected, beautiful place. I spent a whole day searching for sights and watching videos of him playing. I saw him in Minneapolis in 1979 in a smoky hole-in-the-wall bar. I went there expecting to hear the phenomenon that I heard on Loading Zone. It must have been during his down period because he was at least an hour late. There was only a bass player and a drummer and they were certainly not the ones that recorded with him. When he did come out he had a really bored look on his face and he was stretching like he just woke up. I remember he looked right at me but I didn't have the guts to show any disappointment. I'm glad I didn't. I don't know what he was doing playing in that dive anyway. After reading everything about him and realizing I'm not the only fan, (one video on you-tube had something like 110,000 hits), I'm curious if his family knows how much he is loved and his legacy appreciated.
Finally, a "Roy" site.From sweet melodies to inyourface with just guitar and amp. Died at 48,the music we have...the music we missed.
I knew Roy very well in his DC days as we played,sometimes together, many of the same lounges and shows around DC, NVirginia and Maryland. He was a true artist and I was deeply saddened by his early passing. Having shared the stage with him many times in the 60s, I truely miss him. RIP Roy, we love you bro.
nice to see a site like this.
i heard R.B.play on a show uin the uk called The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Messiah.....wow to a teenager...with a guitar
I actually got his autograph on a black and white photo via shelly yakus
what a legacy he left.
its strange but i dont believe anyone has tried to copy his style because it was so individual
I first heard about Roy in about 1967 from a fellow friend/musician who knew Roy personally. I acually had an amp that was owned by Roy. It was given by Roy to a guitarist by the name of Woody McBlaine who was the guitarist in a band called The Dimmensions who were all friends of Roy's. Woody gave the amp to me. It was a little blond colored Fender amp with oversized power tubes in it. Man did it scream! Foolishly, not knowing how influential Roy would become, I traded the amp in on a new one. I was fortunate enough to see Roy in concert in Philadelphia. He has greatly influenced my playing through the years. Amazing harmonics!!
Anyone know who was in Roy's band for 'Live in Japan'? Thanks for any nfo. ---Ray---
Nice site for a great man, Don! Loving the 2324's you did for me. Finally got my Tremolux up & running. Sounds incredible with the pups in my '52 ri. Thanks!
The best Tele player ever. There will never be another Roy Buchanan.
I often wonder about Roy passing and it seems there is a story that will surface in time, I hope. Roy is LEGEND and the only one who could make a guitar sound like a dog that had been run down by a hit and run. I hope he is happy now.
It always amazed me how he was so good but never modest. That is so cool!
I guess it's true
God loves Guitar pickers, he has one of the best in his band of angels.
Great job Roy..... you music will live forever
I seen Roy twice in Pittsburgh,once at the Stanley theatre and once at Soldiers and Sailors hall, he was "on" both times. Nice site you have here...Roy was and still is loved here in the 'Burgh. Thanks!
Roy did it all with his fingers,no pedals, no distortion. Just Roy. Who else can say that. We miss you Roy. So glad I found this page
I've been obseesed by guitars/players for over 20 years and appreciate many styles from Vai, Zappa, Hendrix, etc to more obscure jazzers, country and specialists like Gatton - only found out about Roy a year ago thanks to youtube and dedication on Jeff Becks (ended as lovers tune etc...) - All I can say is this is the guitarist I've always hoped existed but had never found - He had everything + Without doubt the best guitarist I have heard + I always felt he had more to give and played with some in reserve - doing just enough to blow your mind! Hope your site is a success, glad to know like minded people around and hope more old vids become unearthed.
old friend of roy's. miss him a lot
Roy was right up there with the best of 'em. As a guitar player, you know you've arrived when Jeff Beck thinks well of you ...
Cool website. Congrats on snagging the R.B.org domain.
Every time the Buck Cannon Band performs vast reserves of good karma are generated. Spread the word!
Thanks for the site. I grew up listening to Roy and now I've come back to his music 30 years later. I lived nearby the Butcher store on the cover of Live Stock in Australia and that Live Stock show and the out takes has always blown me away, even now in 2008. Long live Roy.
Hey Roy, where you going with that guitar in your hand, The Hillbilly Master Blaster!! I remember when pbs came out and it scared me!! I mean hey joe, messiah, tribute to elmore, 5 string, further on up... who could be better and more original read Carsons book, and watch peoples faces when you turn them onto Roy B. Only saw him 1 time; blessed was I. Hope we can do some trading.
Other than Jimi Hendrix Roy was one of the worlds greatest guitarists,unfortunately I never got to see him play in person. It's sad that he's no longer with us
Saw Roy in 1976 in pgh pa at the Stanley theater.He could make a guitar cry and me with it.I was 17 at the time and my Dad had told me he saw him in Germany at the NCO club when Roy was just a kid. He loved him too.
I saw Roy twice, on Oct 29, 1987, and
May 25, 1988. Both times at Greenstreet's in Columbia, SC. I managed to record him the second time. I'm looking forward to enjoying this website.
So the journey begins with a Pine Tele in hand and Nancy's Heart pumping with the Electro Magnetic Pulse of Don's 2234's triggered by my soul.
God let your Angels fly wih me
Hey! Good luck on the site. I have a couple of signed albums if you'd like photos. I got them myself so I know they're real!! I figured it might give people a good reference against a fake. I also have his 71 PBS doc and the Carnegie Hall show with Albert Collins and Lonnie Mack. It would be cool to get a little community trade thing started. Agin, good luck with the site and I'll be checking in!
I love your site, I used to sit on the hood of an old ford,9yrs old, while older relatives listened at Hewlits's Crossroads Md. the sound was better than a movie, scary like King Cong!It was Roy cica 78'. I'm a player here in Mesa Az. everyone thinks I'm dandy but i'm just trying to recreate those sounds from long ago.
Thnx HiC
I love turning people on to Roy.
Yestrday I was having a business lunch at a "Chicago" style pizza joint.
They were playing a varied blues soundtrack. Then, I heard the familiar first chords of Roy's "After Hours"
One of the guys started listening intently and then asked the waiter if he knew who it was. He didn't.
I didn't say a word as I was driving, had the Zune in the car and alot of Roy on the Zune.
Westarted driving and just let the song start. The look on this guy's face when he recognized the song was priceless.
He is another convert.
Roy Buchanan fans can now legitmately buy a dvd of his 1976 performance on the PBS program, "Austin City Limits." Just an FYI, that's all. (I know Amazon sells it. I'm sure other sites sell it, too.)
i had the pleasure of seeing Roy live in Texas! What can i say, he was a true guitar hero and legend! I am still saddened by his disappearance. Thanks ROY!!!!
Nice site. Big Roy Fan for many years.
Saw Roy but once only, Canberra, Australia Friday 26th June (?1981). Still have the flyer and Aust Tour program, can scan and send if you wish.
Saw roy 37 times, he was a GOD of guitar, I now collect roy's memmorbilia, as well as johnny winter stuff. I love your site, how can I help???