The music of Sinners stars Buddy Guy and Miles Caton was showcased on the latest episode of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.
To close out Black History Month, Guy, a blues music legend, kicked off the show with his four-piece band before introducing the R&B and gospel vocalist-actor. Guy and Caton play the older and younger version respectively, of Sammie Moore in the Ryan Coogler-directed film. The period horror film is up for sixteen Academy Awards nominations, including Best Original Song for “I Lied to You,” which was performed on Tiny Desk.
The track, originally performed by Caton, was written and produced by Raphael Saddiq and Ludwig Göransson.
Midway through the show, 89-year-old Guy recalled that pioneering blues musicians cursed in older material, noting classic song “Dirty Mother for You.”
“But when hip-hoppers came out, they didn't say ‘dirty mother for you,” Guy recalled. ‘“And I know some of them personal friends of mine, they told me, ‘Buddy Guy, if you learn how to curse, you can sell another album.’ Now, I'm going to leave that to [Caton] now.”
The band also performed Sinners track “Travelin’,” along with "Damn Right, I've Got the Blues" (the title track of Guy’s classic 1991 LP) and the Willie Dixon-penned and Muddy Waters-popularized blues standard "Hoochie Coochie Man.” The 98th Academy Awards will be televised live on March 15 at 4 PM PT/7 PM PT on ABC.