There aren't many 56-year-old bluesmen featured in action photos that show them midflip, like a cowboy chucked headlong off a bull, seemingly in peril of flying off the lip of the stage, guitar and all. Then again, there aren't many bluesmen like Guitar Shorty. Not to be confused with his main influence, Guitar Slim, Guitar Shorty is a throwback to the screechin' guitar and Buffalo Bill showmanship pioneered by artists such as T-Bone Walker. Shorty's passionate tumbles and guitar heroics give his shows a kind of extreme-blues adrenaline rush, something even the most whiskey-bent bluesmen have trouble matching. Shorty has a much-touted connection to Jimi Hendrix (he married Hendrix's stepsister), but it's also true that Hendrix often saw Shorty play. Catch one Guitar Shorty show and it's clear where Hendrix picked up the attitude, if not the moves.
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