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Born in Fort Worth, Texas on the 28th December 1956, Buddy Whittington began playing guitar at the age of eight after being inspired by his sister's records of The Beatles, Rolling Stones and, in particular, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton. By the age of 14 he was already a part of the Dallas/Fort Worth music scene and playing regularly in the clubs along Jacksboro Highway. Although he became versatile enough to be able to play anything from the country music of Bob Wills to the rhythm and blues classics of Bill Doggett to rock 'n roll, his main love was, and is to this day, the blues. During the early 80's, he formed and sang with his own group "The Sidemen" who became well known to a large audience who loved their down home grooves. In 1991, "The Sidemen" were booked at a club called Dallas Alley to open up for none other than John Mayall. Apparently John was impressed enough to keep in touch and, when Coco Montoya left the Bluesbreakers in 1993, there was no doubt in John's mind who to call. Ever since that out-of-the blue phone call, Buddy has brought a powerful new dimension to the Bluesbreakers' sound. To date, his searing guitar and unique talents have ignited the albums SPINNING COIN, BLUES FOR THE LOST DAYS, PADLOCK ON THE BLUES, ALONG FOR THE RIDE, UK TOUR 2K, NO DAYS OFF, STORIES, 70th BIRTHDAY CONCERT and ROAD DOGS.It's been a Mayall tradition for the Bluesbreakers’ guitarist to cover a Freddie King instrumental, starting with "Hideaway" by Eric on the "Beano", "The Stumble" by Peter on "A Hard Road", and "Driving Sideways" featuring Mick Taylor on "Crusade". Buddy continues this tradition in style with "Sen-Say-Shun" on the BLUES FOR THE LOST DAYS album, Mayall's 1997 Silvertone release. The Texas influence rears its head on "Dead City" from the same album and on "Ain't No Brakeman" from 1994's SPINNING COIN. "It's that Les Paul-through-a-Marshall-tone that Eric refined in '66--it can't be topped! And although I play a Stratocaster through a Dr. Z amp onstage these days, it's that perfect Gibson/Marshall 'thang' that we're all striving for!", muses Whittington.Unlike countless rock 'n rollers who carry racks of guitars around for every show, Buddy likes to keep it simple and plays only one - his 1963 Stratocaster plugged into a Dr. Z amplifier. He is also an accomplished blues songwriter and, in addition to the songs he sings with the Bluesbreakers on live shows, on the Bluesbreakers CD ‘STORIES’, he contributed his own "Romance Classified". He and longtime Mayall drummer Joe Yuele co-wrote "Pieces And Parts" and together, they also co-wrote 'Always a Brand New Road' on 1999's PADLOCK ON THE BLUES and ‘Awestruck and Spellbound’ on the latest CD ‘ROAD DOGS’. For the same album, bassist Hank Van Sickle joined the writing team and came up with the Bluesbreakers instrumental tribute to the boss entitled “Brumwell’s Beatâ€. These songs continue to get critical acclaim and attention and have been quoted in many of the album's reviews.Although John Mayall makes Los Angeles his home base, Buddy is proud to live in Hurst, Texas with his family where he was raised and born to play the blues. He is currently working on material for a future album of his own, to be looking foreward to soon.
