Skin Deep is a 2008 album by blues musician Buddy Guy

Buddy Guy

George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...

.
The albums features a number of collaborations including: Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, and Robert Randolph.

Background

Buddy Guy said he was inspired to write the song "Skin Deep" after reuniting with a white childhood friend whose parents had cut off their relationship as teens. He has also stated that the inspiration came from his mother who used to tell him that 'beauty is only skin deep.'

Track listing

Reception

People

People (magazine)

In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...

 magazine praised Guy's guitar work saying that there was "...no doubt that Buddy is still the man here." CD Universe

CD Universe

CD Universe.com is an e-commerce site that sells music CDs and mp3 downloads, movies and video games worldwide. CD Universe was created in 1996 by founder and CEO Charles Beilman in Wallingford, Connecticut, where it is still maintained and operated...

 did much the same by writing "...he wails and shreds here with as much passion as ever." and "...Guy still plays and sings like the urban blues monster he remains." Allmusic criticized the production for being too pristine, saying that the album "gleams too brightly" in some parts. The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album. The album debuted at number 68 on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

, the highest position of any of Guy's previous albums. It also debuted at number 1 on the Blues Albums chart and remained at the top spot for three weeks and remained on the chart for 65 weeks.

Guitars

'57 Stratocaster

Fender Stratocaster

The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...

 on track 1

Jerry Jones sitar

Jerry Jones Guitars

Jerry Jones Guitars is a musical instrument manufacturer based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.The company specializes in making electric guitars and basses based on Danelectro's designs from the 1950s and 1960s...

 on tracks 2 & 9

Gibson ES-335

Gibson ES-335

The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial thinline arched-top semi-acoustic electric guitar. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES series in 1958, it is neither hollow nor solid; instead, a solid wood block runs through the center of its body...

 Custom on track 3

'74 Telecaster

Fender Telecaster

The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...

 on tracks 4 & 8

BG Strat on tracks 5, 7, 10 & 11

Gibson Custom 335 on track 6

Eric Clapton Strat on track 12

• Mark Franklin - trumpet
• David Grissom
  David Grissom
  David Grissom is a US session guitarist who has played and toured with several of America's leading bands and recording artists.- Professional Biography :...
  
   - guitar
• Tom Hambridge - drums, handclaps, tambourine, percussion, vocals, backing vocals
• Richie Hayward - drums
• Rob McNelly - guitar
• Quinn Sullivan
  Quinn Sullivan
  Quinn Sullivan is an American child prodigy from New Bedford, Massachusetts who plays the guitar. He released his debut album Cyclone in 2011.-Career:...
  
   - guitar
• Willie Weeks
  Willie Weeks
  Willie Weeks is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also gained notoriety touring with many of rock's heavyweights throughout his career...
  
   - bass
• Nathan Williams - accordion
• Reese Wynans
  Reese Wynans
  Reese Wynans is a keyboard player who has done session work and has been a member of Double Trouble and progressive rock band Captain Beyond.- Personal life :Reese Wynans grew up in Sarasota, Florida during the 1950s...
  
   - keyboards
• Lannie McMillan - tenor sax
• Kirk Smothers - tenor sax
• Bekka Bramlett
  Bekka Bramlett
  Rebekka Ruth Lazone "Bekka" Bramlett is a singer from the United States. She is the daughter of popular music duo Delaney and Bonnie....
  
  , Bonnie Bramlett
  Bonnie Bramlett
  Bonnie Bramlett is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. This began in the mid 1960s as a backing singer, forming the husband-and-wife team of Delaney & Bonnie, and continuing to the present day as a solo artist.-Life and career:Bramlett...
  
   & Wendy Moten
  Wendy Moten
  Wendy Moten is an American singer.Moten sang in church choirs as a child. She got her first break singing with Michael Bolton at a benefit concert; after signing with EMI, she released an album and opened for Bolton on tour...
  
   - backing vocals

Guest Musicians

• Eric Clapton
  Eric Clapton
  Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
  
   - guitar, vocals
• Robert Randolph - steel guitar, pedal steel
• Susan Tedeschi
  Susan Tedeschi
  Susan Tedeschi is an American blues and soul musician, who has received multiple Grammy Award nominations, and is well-known for her singing voice, guitar playing, stage presence, and marriage to blues guitarist Derek Trucks...
  
   - vocals
• Derek Trucks
  Derek Trucks
  Derek Trucks is a Grammy Award-winning, American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded The Derek Trucks Band and worked as a session musician when he was still in his early teens. Throughout those teenage years, he toured with The Allman Brothers Band primarily as a slide...
  
  - slide guitar, guitar