Leroy Buchanan (1939 - 1988)

Born 23 Sep 1939 in Franklin County, Arkansas, United States

Ancestors

Died 14 Aug 1988 at age 48 in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Son of William "Bill" and Minnie Reed Buchanan, born 23 Sep 1939 near Ozark in rural Franklin County, Arkansas, where his father is counted the following year's census as a farmer. The family moved a few years later to Pixley, California, counted there in 1950. Young Roy's musical beginnings, according to him, were in racially mixed church meetings he attended with his mother, first exposing him to gospel. He picked up the guitar not long after, first playing the steel guitar.

He started his professional career at fifteen in Johnny Otis's revue, making his recording debut four years later as the soloist on Dale Hawkins's 1958 "My Babe". He then worked as a sideman through the 1960s, putting aside his music career for a time to focus and his family, working as a barber. Buchanan played primarily in the D.C. area, many of these earlier years spent in Danny Denver's band.

His career was jumpstarted by the 1971 PBS documentary Introducing Roy Buchanan, available here, earning him his first record deal. He then recorded eleven studio albums in his lifetime, five for Polydor, three for Atlantic, one for Waterhouse, and three for Alligator:

• Roy Buchanan (1972)
• Second Album (1973)
• That's What I Am Here For (1973)
• In the Beginning (1974)
• A Street Called Straight (1976)
• Loading Zone (1977)
• You're Not Alone (1978)
• My Babe (1980)
• When a Guitar Plays the Blues (1985)
• Dancing on the Edge (1986)
• Hot Wires (1987)

Live albums and compilations have also been released, many posthumously, including a 1977 appearance on Austin City Limits, available here.

Buchanan was sometimes dubbed "the greatest unknown guitarist". While he did not achieve mainstream stardom, his influence on other guitarists throughout his career cannot be understated, Roy considered by many fans of the genre to be a master of the Telecaster blues. Among his influences were Mundell Lowe, Scotty Moore, Roy Nichols, Jimmy Nolen, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, and early Jimi Hendrix; among his influencees are Robbie Robertson, Jeff Beck, Danny Gatton, Gary Moore, and many more to this day.

He died 14 Aug 1988, age 48, under suspicious circumstances at Fairfax County, Virginia, jail, being booked for public intoxication after a domestic dispute. Found hanged in his cell, his death was officially ruled as a suicide, though this is disputed by family and friends. He was buried at nearby Columbia Gardens Cemetery, Arlington.

Sources

• 1940 U.S. census. Middle Township (E.D. 24-18), Franklin County, AR. Taken on 6 Apr 1940 with a reference date of 1 Apr 1940. Sheet 4B, household 64, lines 55–60. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9M1-FHYZ

• 1950 U.S. census. Alila (E.D. 54-4), Tulare County, CA. Sheet started on 15 Apr 1950 with a reference date of 1 Apr 1950. Sheet 34, serial number 287, lines 18–22. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-SQHW-MB39

• Wikipedia contributors, "Roy Buchanan," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roy_Buchanan&oldid=892995078 (accessed April 22, 2019).