In 1957, Buchanan made his recording debut, playing the solo on Dale Hawkins' "My Babe" for Chicago's Chess Records. Three years later, Buchanan headed north to Canada, where he took charge of the guitar role in Ronnie Hawkins' band (a group later to gain fame as The Band). The group's guitar player, Robbie Robertson, studied guitar under Buchanan, and took over the lead guitar spot when Buchanan left the group.
The early 60's found Buchanan performing numerous gigs as a sideman with multiple rock bands, and cutting a number of sessions as guitarist with musicians such as Freddy Cannon and Merle Kilgore.
Buchanan's 1962 recording with drummer Bobby Gregg, "Potato Peeler", first introduced the trademark Buchanan pinch harmonics. An effort to cash in on the British Invasion caught Buchanan with The British Walkers. In the mid-'60's, Buchanan settled down in the Washington, DC area, playing as a sideman before starting his own groups. One of these groups was called The Snakestretchers, an allusion to Buchanan's disdain for the vagaries of the band experience. The Snakestretchers became a semi-permanent combo for Buchanan starting in this period, with whom he made his first acclaimed recording as a front man, Roy Buchanan & the Snakestretchers. Danny Gatton was another respected Telecaster master who lived in Washington, D.C. at that time. Both musicians gained reputations as under-appreciated guitarists.
In 1971, riding on word-of-mouth reputation that included praise from John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Merle Haggard, and an alleged invitation to join the Rolling Stones, Buchanan gained national notoriety as the result of an hour-long Public broadcasting television documentary. Entitled "The Best Unknown Guitarist In The World", the show rejuvenated a contract with Polydor and began a decade of national and international touring. He recorded five albums for Polydor (one went gold) and three for Atlantic Records (one gold), while playing most major rock concert halls and festivals. Finally, Buchanan quit recording in 1981, vowing never to enter a studio again unless he could record his own music his own way.
Four years later, Buchanan was coaxed back into the studio by Alligator Records. His first album for Alligator, When a Guitar Plays The Blues, was released in the spring of 1985. It was the first time he was given total artistic freedom in the studio. It was also his first true blues album. Fans quickly responded, and the album entered Billboard's pop charts and remained on the charts for 13 weeks. Music critics, as well as fans, applauded Roy's efforts with favorable reviews.
His second Alligator LP, Dancing on the Edge, was released in the fall of 1986. The album, featuring three songs with special guest, rock'n'soul vocalist Delbert McClinton, won the College Media Journal Award for Best Blues Album of 1986.
He released the twelfth LP of his career and his third for Alligator, Hot Wires, in 1987. In addition to Donald Kinsey (formerly with Albert King and Bob Marley), keyboardist Stan Szelest, and Larry Exum (bass) and Morris Jennings (drums), this album includes guest vocals by veteran soul singer Johnny Sayles and blues singer Kanika Kress.
Buchanan died August 14, 1988 in the Fairfax County, Virginia jail while being held after an arrest for public drunkeness. His death was ruled a suicide, although that finding has been disputed by friends and family.
You
Roy Buchanan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bless you Lord, got to see my children pray.
May not be the right way to pray,
But, I want to thank you anyway.
Thank you Lord.
In Roy Buchanan's song "You," the singer expresses his gratitude for seeing the positive things that have happened in his life. He starts by acknowledging the sunshine that he saw that day, which he attributes to the Lord. He then shifts his focus to his children and their prayer that he got to witness. Even though he acknowledges that there may be other "right ways" to pray, he still feels grateful for what he has today and thanks the Lord anyway. The theme of the song centers around gratitude and the recognition of the blessings that we may overlook in our daily lives.
The lyrics of "You" are quite simple yet heartfelt. It is a song about gratitude that reminds listeners to appreciate the little things in life. The simplicity of the lyrics adds to the sentimentality of the song. Additionally, the use of the first-person point of view makes the song more personal and relatable to listeners. This song can be interpreted as an expression of the singer's faith and appreciation for the miracles that occur in our everyday lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Thank you Lord, saw your sun shine today.
Expressing gratitude for experiencing the warmth of the sun's rays, a symbol of God's benevolence.
Bless you Lord, got to see my children pray.
Acknowledging the privilege of witnessing his children's devotion and praising God for their spiritual growth.
May not be the right way to pray,
Admitting personal doubts about the effectiveness of his prayer technique or method.
But, I want to thank you anyway.
Emphasizing the sincerity and authenticity of his gratitude towards God despite his doubts and imperfections.
Lyrics © WRITE! ON MUSIC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DONALD EWING II, TIM JOHNSON, Donald Ii Ewing
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mucha Na Dziko
@LegendLength your vision of the world ain't wrong.
There is no such thing as free will, therefore it is a movie.
But more than that: according to the general theory of relativity time is not subjective. It is objective. The "feeling" of time is subjective".
Therefore you can infer that all moments in time are happening at the same "time". There is not "past" and "future", there is only the "subjective present" (and when you're experiencing it, all moments possible in the spacetime continuum are happening all at once).
So it's not a "roll of film", it's a film that's going on until eternity, and from a certain perspective, you could witness reality "as a roll of film".
Joe King
This number of Roy's made mE re-evaluate my who's is who's list order,hE went to the top that was 35yrs ago,the similarities of You're not alone and Shine on your crazy diamond by Floyd so very clear...
Roxk I Paradise
Roy Buchanan
✊🏾
✊🏾 👊🏾 ✊🏾
✊🏾
✊🏾
✊🏾
Gone Never
Forgotten
Joey Mangano
I met Roy 2 xs both after 2 s seperate shows. Really was kind. He took a smiley picture with me ..father and brother. He really is in his own class. What I adore about his music ...his guitar playing. Is his flawless skill. His command ...his control...his focus and most of all. He just lets the music do the talking. His. Musical voice his soul just pours out of him ...R.I.P. Roy.....You made a lot of people happy. Every talent should share their God Given gift ANF you did exactly that.
Robert Lemieux
Roy depuis 1977 je capote encore sur cet album...
A+
Bobby
Олег Шостак
Лучше, не скажешь.
cheesefrogsnail
The solo from 5:58 is pure magic, the introduction phrase gives me goosebumps everytime, unbelievable...
Iuri Montenegro
This is one of the greatest songs humanity has ever made...
Mucha Na Dziko
@LegendLength your vision of the world ain't wrong.
There is no such thing as free will, therefore it is a movie.
But more than that: according to the general theory of relativity time is not subjective. It is objective. The "feeling" of time is subjective".
Therefore you can infer that all moments in time are happening at the same "time". There is not "past" and "future", there is only the "subjective present" (and when you're experiencing it, all moments possible in the spacetime continuum are happening all at once).
So it's not a "roll of film", it's a film that's going on until eternity, and from a certain perspective, you could witness reality "as a roll of film".
Terry Harrison
Masterpiece...
Eduardo Souza
Agree. Fantastic track.
Kurt Estes
LegendLength more than you know
LightningDogg
@LegendLength Then again I've read that this song's title was Roy's reflection on his own struggles with sobriety.