This Album blew my mind when i first listened to it in my friend Tim Gitten's Barn.....It played a pivotal role in the formation in my musical tastes.
Buchanan's life changed in 1971, when he gained national notoriety as the result of an hour-long PBS television documentary. Entitled The Best Unknown Guitarist in the World, it earned a record deal with Polydor and praise from John Lennon and Merle Haggard, besides an alleged invitation to join the Rolling Stones (which he turned down).[8]
He recorded five albums for Polydor, one of which, Second Album, went gold,[9] and after that another three for Atlantic Records, one of which, 1977's Loading Zone, also went gold.[2][10] Buchanan quit recording in 1981, vowing never to enter a studio again unless he could record his own music his own way.[8]
Four years later, Buchanan was coaxed back into the studio by Alligator Records.[8] 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.[11] His second Alligator LP, Dancing on the Edge (with vocals on three tracks by Delbert McClinton), was released in the fall of 1986.
He released the twelfth and last album of his career, Hot Wires, in 1987. According to his agent and others, Buchanan was doing well, having gained control of his drinking habit and playing again, when he was arrested for public intoxication after a domestic dispute,[2][5] and was found hanged from his own shirt in a jail cell on 14 August 1988 in the Fairfax County, Virginia Jail. According to Jerry Hentman, who was in a cell nearby Buchanan's, the Deputy Sheriff opened the door early in the morning and found Buchanan with the shirt around his neck.[6][10]
His cause of death was officially recorded as suicide, a finding disputed by Buchanan's friends and family. One of his friends, Marc Fisher, reported seeing Roy's body with bruises on the head.[6]
After his death, compilation and other albums continue to be released, including in 2004 the never-released first album he recorded for Polydor, The Prophet.
| My Baby Says She's Gonna Leave Me | 3:22 | |
| Hey Joe (In Memory Of Jimmy Hendrix) | 5:25 | |
| Home Is Where I Lost Her | 4:27 | |
| Rodney's Song | 4:30 | |
| That's What I Am Here For | 2:30 | |
| Roys Bluz | 5:59 | |
| Voices | 2:27 | |
| Please Don't Turn Me Away | 4:47 | |
| Nephesh | 3:27 |
Buchanan's 1962 recording with drummer Bobby Gregg, nicknamed "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-'60s, Buchanan settled down in the Washington, D.C., area, playing for Danny Denver's band for many years, while acquiring the reputation as "one of the very finest rock guitarists around. Jimi Hendrix wouldn't take up the challenge of a 'pick-off' with Roy"[7] In D.C., Buchanan played with his own band, The Snakestretchers, with whom he made his first recording as a front man, on Polydor.Buchanan's life changed in 1971, when he gained national notoriety as the result of an hour-long PBS television documentary. Entitled The Best Unknown Guitarist in the World, it earned a record deal with Polydor and praise from John Lennon and Merle Haggard, besides an alleged invitation to join the Rolling Stones (which he turned down).[8]
He recorded five albums for Polydor, one of which, Second Album, went gold,[9] and after that another three for Atlantic Records, one of which, 1977's Loading Zone, also went gold.[2][10] Buchanan quit recording in 1981, vowing never to enter a studio again unless he could record his own music his own way.[8]
Four years later, Buchanan was coaxed back into the studio by Alligator Records.[8] 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.[11] His second Alligator LP, Dancing on the Edge (with vocals on three tracks by Delbert McClinton), was released in the fall of 1986.
He released the twelfth and last album of his career, Hot Wires, in 1987. According to his agent and others, Buchanan was doing well, having gained control of his drinking habit and playing again, when he was arrested for public intoxication after a domestic dispute,[2][5] and was found hanged from his own shirt in a jail cell on 14 August 1988 in the Fairfax County, Virginia Jail. According to Jerry Hentman, who was in a cell nearby Buchanan's, the Deputy Sheriff opened the door early in the morning and found Buchanan with the shirt around his neck.[6][10]
His cause of death was officially recorded as suicide, a finding disputed by Buchanan's friends and family. One of his friends, Marc Fisher, reported seeing Roy's body with bruises on the head.[6]
After his death, compilation and other albums continue to be released, including in 2004 the never-released first album he recorded for Polydor, The Prophet.
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