Throwback: Happy 88th Birthday, Buddy Guy!

July is a very busy month in music history:

• The iconic Debbie Harry celebrated her 79th birthday on July 1
• The B-52s Fred Schneider celebrated his 73rd birthday on July 1
• Missy Elliott, one of the most forward thinking artists of her generation — and perhaps of any generation, really — celebrated her 53rd birthday on July 1
• Evelyn “Champagne” King celebrated her 64th birthday on July 1
• Depeche Mode‘s Yaz’s/Yazoo’s and Erasure‘s Vince Clarke celebrated his 63rd birthday on July 3
• The great jazz organist Dr. Lonnie Smith was born 82 years ago on July 3
• Bill Withers was born 86 years ago on July 4 
• Huey Lewis and The News‘ frontman Huey Lewis celebrated his 74th birthday on July 5
• 50 Cent celebrated his 49th birthday on July 6
• The Beatles‘ Ringo Starr celebrated his 84th birthday on July 7
• Depeche Mode co-founder  
• Andy “Fletch” Fletcher was born 63 years ago on July 8
• Beck celebrated his 54th birthday on July 8
• AC/DC‘s first frontman, Bon Scott was born 78 years ago on July 9
• The legendary and incomparable Mavis Staples celebrated her 85th birthday on July 10
• Pet Shop Boys‘ frontman Neil Tennant celebrated his 70th — yes, 70th! — birthday on July 10
• Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy celebrates his 67th birthday today
• Lil’ Kim celebrated her 50th — yes, 50th! — birthday on July 11
• MF DOOM was born 53 years ago on July 13
• Joy Division‘s Ian Curtis was born on this day 68 on July 14
• Linda Ronstadt, one of the greatest vocalists — and arguably one of the most commercially successful female artists ever — celebrated her 77th birthday on July 15 
• The Police‘s Stewart Copeland celebrated his 72nd birthday on July 16
• Gang Starr‘s G.U.R.U., one of the greatest emcees to ever spit bars on wax was born 63 years ago on July 17
• Queen‘s Brian May celebrated his 77th birthday back on July 19th
• Carlos Santana, one of the greatest guitarists to ever do it celebrated his 77th birthday on July 20
• Soundgarden‘s Chris Cornell was born 60 years ago on July 20
• Pearl Jam‘s Stone Gossard celebrated his 59th birthday on July 20
• Kool G. Rap celebrated his 56th birthday on July 20
• George Clinton celebrated his 83rd birthday on July 22
• Slash celebrated his 59th birthday on July 23
• Queen‘s Roger Taylor celebrated his 75th birthday on July 26
• The legendary Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger celebrated his 81st birthday on July 26
• Rush‘s Geddy Lee celebrated his 71st birthday on July 29
• Boyz II Men‘s Wanya Morris celebrated his 51st birthday on July 29
• David Sanborn was born on this day 79 years ago today

The legendary Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy celebrates his 88th birthday today. His importance and impact on the blues, rock ‘n’ roll and on the city of Chicago are towering. 

I’ve seen him a couple of times — and photographed him last year! — and if you haven’t seen Mr. Guy do his thing, you need to do so before it’s too late. But in the meantime, let’s celebrate the man, his work and his birthday.