Buddy Guy – Hard But It's Fair / No Lie 1963

 

Deep Dive: Buddy Guy’s 1963 Chess Single 'Hard But It’s Fair' & 'No Lie'

Chess records  1963– 1878

notes:

Deep Dive: Buddy Guy's 1963 Chess Single "Hard But It's Fair" & "No Lie"

Chess Records 1963 – #1878

If you want to hear the exact moment Chicago blues began its metamorphosis 

into something rawer and more electric, don't look to the charts — listen to this

 7-inch, recorded at Ter-Mar Studios in August 1963.

By the time Buddy Guy cut these sides, he had already been on the Chess roster 

for three years, often relegated to session work behind Muddy Waters and 

Howlin' Wolf. Leonard and Phil Chess recognized his talent but were never 

quite sure how to market it. This single, one of the more urgent releases from

 that period, captures a guitarist operating at the edge of what the studio could contain.

The A-Side: "Hard But It's Fair" (Willie Dixon)

Written by Willie Dixon — the architect of the Chess blues catalogue — the track

 opens with a biting, percussive guitar tone that cuts through the horn arrangemen

t like a blade. Buddy plays with a controlled ferocity that sets him apart from 

contemporaries who favored smoother, jazz-inflected textures. Lafayette 

Leake's piano anchors the rhythm while the horns drive the track forward 

with locomotive intensity. It's a song about resilience in the face of hardship,

 and the band plays it like they mean every word.

The B-Side: "No Lie" (Buddy Guy & Billy Emerson)

Where the A-side is an adrenaline shot, "No Lie" is the slow burn. Co-written

 by Guy himself, it showcases his voice as much as his guitar — soulful, unguarded,

 testifying rather than performing. The dynamic contrast between near-silence

 and sudden bursts of volume on this track would later become a signature of 

artists like Jimi Hendrix, who famously cited Buddy Guy as a primary influence. 

You can hear why.

credits:

Buddy Guy: Vocals, Lead Guitar

Lacy Gibson: Guitar (Second Guitar)

Lafayette Leake: Piano

Jack Meyers: Bass

Al Duncan: Drums

recording:

 August 14, 1963

 Ter Mar Studios, Chicago, IL

Producer: Leonard and Phil Chess

Tracklist

A Hard But It's Fair 2:20

        Willie Dixon

B No Lie 2:30

        Buddy Guy, Billy Emerson

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