Awards
On September 20, 1996, Guy was inducted into Guitar Center's Hollywood Rockwalk.
Guy has won nine Grammy Awards, for his work on electric and acoustic guitars and for contemporary and traditional forms of blues music, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2003, he was presented with the National Medal of Arts, awarded by the president of the United States to those who have made extraordinary contributions to the creation, growth and support of the arts in the United States.
By 2004, Guy had also earned 23 W.C. Handy Awards, Billboard magazine's Century Award (he was its second recipient) for distinguished artistic achievement, and the title of Greatest Living Electric Blues Guitarist.
Guy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 14, 2005, by Eric Clapton and B.B. King. Clapton recalled seeing Guy perform in London's Marquee Club in 1965, impressing him with his technique, his looks and his charismatic showmanship. He remembered seeing Guy pick the guitar with his teeth and play it over his head—two tricks that later influenced Jimi Hendrix. Guy's acceptance speech was concise: "If you don't think you've got the blues, just keep living." He had previously served on the nominating committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2008, Guy was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, performing at the Texas Club in Baton Rouge to commemorate the occasion.
In October 2009, he performed "Let Me Love You Baby" with Jeff Beck at the 25th anniversary concert at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
On November 15, 2010, he performed a live set for Guitar Center Sessions on DirecTV. The episode also included an interview with Guy by program host Nic Harcourt.
On December 2, 2012, Guy was awarded the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. At his induction, Kennedy Center chairman David Rubenstein said, "Buddy Guy is a titan of the blues and has been a tremendous influence on virtually everyone who has picked up an electric guitar in the last half century". In a musical tribute to Guy, blues vocal powerhouse Beth Hart, accompanied by guitarist Jeff Beck, sang a rousing version of "I'd Rather Go Blind". Also honored that night were actor Dustin Hoffman, surviving members of the rock band Led Zeppelin (John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant), comedian and late-night TV host David Letterman and prima ballerina and choreographer Natalia Makarova.
On January 28, 2014, Guy was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.
In 2015, Guy received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Born to Play Guitar won a Grammy Award in 2016 for Best Blues Album. Also in 2016, Guy toured the US east coast as the opening act for Jeff Beck.
December 8, 2018, was designated "Buddy Guy Day" by Louisiana and Mississippi officials, and a stretch of Highway 418 through Lettsworth was designated "Buddy Guy Way".
In 2018, Guy was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana.
In 2019, Guy received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Jimmy Page.
In 2026, Guy won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album for the album Ain't Done with the Blues at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. Also in 2026, the Chicago History Museum selected him for the Theodore Thomas Making History Award for Distinction in the Performing Arts.
