Buster Benton

Buster Benton - Spider In My Stew - 1978 - Ronn Records

Without a doubt, this album, originally released on Ronn in 1979, stands as the best place to begin an in-depth examination of Benton's legacy. "Spider in My Stew," and obviously, is here, along with the wonderful Cooke-influenced R&B outing "Lonesome for a Dime;" an irresistibly funky "Sweet 94" (Ron Scott's gurgly electric saxophone gives this cut and several others a unique feel), a driving "Funny About My Money," and the mournful minor-key blues "Sorry." Ronn has beefed the CD program up still further with three additions: the doomy, Bobby Bland-styled "Money Is the Name of the Game," a shuffling "Dangerous Woman," and Benton's happy-go-lucky cover of David Dee's "Going Fishin'." © Bill Dahl © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/spider-in-my-stew-r1723

"Spider In My Stew" is a great overlooked album of Chicago Blues. An underrated vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, the late Buster Benton from Texarkana, Arkansas solely composed nine of the songs on the original ten track album. "Spider In My Stew" composed by Willie Dixon, and Buster Benton's own "Sweet 94" is played in the traditional Chicago blues style, while the other songs are more contemporary for the time, many being in the soul/r&b mould. Buy his great "Blues and Trouble" album and keep the blues alive.

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

A1 Spider In My Stew - Willie Dixon 3:25
A2 Sweet 94 - Buster Benton 5:06
A3 Born With The Blues - Buster Benton 4:47
A4 Love Like I Wanna - Buster Benton 4:57
A5 Leave Me Alone - Buster Benton 4:22

B1 Sorry - Buster Benton 4:46
B2 Funny About Money - Buster Benton 3:31
B3 Lonesome For A Dime - Buster Benton 4:53
B4 Do It In The Rain - Buster Benton 3:30
B5 Disco Blues - Buster Benton 5:04
11 Dangerous Woman - Buster Benton & Willie Dixon 3:16 [Bonus Track]
12 Going Fishing - Stanley J.Lewis 3:59 [Bonus Track]
13 Money Is The Name Of The Game - Johnny Thompson 3:47 [Bonus Track]

MUSICIANS

Buster Benton - Guitar, Vocals
Mighty Joe Young, Jimmy Johnson - Guitar
Nolan Struck, James Green, Willie Dixon - Bass
Lafayette Leake - Piano
Ray Allison, Billy Davenport - Drums
Ronnie Scott - Saxophone
Carey Bell - Harmonica

N.B: The 1994 CD reissue contains three bonus tracks included here. The album has also been released on LP in 1974 on Red Lightnin' records and later on CD as "Blues Buster" which has the same tracks as "Spider In My Stew" but excludes the three bonus tracks. Importantly, there is also an album called "Blues Buster" credited to the late Carey Bell. This album is actually the same as the original Buster Benton "Spider In My Stew" album on which Carey plays harmonica.

BIO

Despite the amputation of parts of both his legs during the course of his career, Chicago guitarist Buster Benton never gave up playing his music -- an infectious hybrid of blues and soul that he dubbed at one point "disco blues" (an unfortunate appellation in retrospect, but useful in describing its danceability). In the late '70s, when blues was at low ebb, Benton's waxings for Ronn Records were a breath of fresh air. Inspired by the music of Sam Cooke and B.B. King, the gospel-bred Benton began playing the blues during the mid-'50s while living in Toledo, OH. By 1959, he was leading his own band in Chicago. During the '60s, he cut a series of soul-slanted singles for local concerns (Melloway, Alteen, Sonic, Twinight) before hooking up with the great Willie Dixon in 1971. Benton was a member of Dixon's Blues All-Stars for a while, and Dixon is credited as songwriter of Benton's best-known song, the agonized slow blues "Spider in My Stew." Its release on Stan Lewis's Shreveport-based Jewel Records gave Benton a taste of fame; its follow-up, "Money Is the Name of the Game," solidified his reputation. A 1979 LP for Jewel's Ronn subsidiary (logically titled Spider in My Stew) stands as one of the most engaging Chicago blues LPs of its era, its contemporary grooves abetting Benton's tasty guitar work and soulful vocals. Benton cut three albums later on for Ichiban, but compared to his Ronn output, they were disappointing. On the Chicago circuit, Benton's extreme courage in the face of physical adversity will long be cited. He was on kidney dialysis for the last few years of his life as a result of diabetes, and a portion of his right leg was amputated in 1993 due to poor circulation (he had already lost part of the other a decade earlier). Still, he continued to play his brand of uplifting blues until the end. © Bill Dahl © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/buster-benton-p10126/biography



BIO (WIKIPEDIA)

Buster Benton (Arley Benton) from Texarkana, Arkansas (July 19, 1932 – January 20, 1996, was an American blues guitarist and singer, who played guitar in Willie Dixon's Blues All-Stars, and is best known for his solo rendition of the Dixon-penned song "Spider in My Stew." He was tenacious and in the latter part of his lengthy career, despite the amputation of parts of both his legs, Benton never stopped playing his own version of Chicago blues. Whilst residing in Toledo, Ohio, during the mid 1950s, and having been influenced by Sam Cooke and B.B. King, Benton began playing blues music. By 1959, he was leading his own band in Chicago. During the 1960s, local record labels, such as Melloway, Alteen, Sonic, and Twinight Records released several Benton singles, before in 1971 he joined Willie Dixon. Indeed, a lack of opportunity in the early 1960s meant that Benton gave up playing professionally for several years, and he worked as an auto mechanic. Benton's earlier work was an amalgam of blues and soul, which he confusingly dubbed 'disco blues'. However, according to Music journalist, Bill Dahl, "in the late 1970s, when the popularity of blues music was at low ebb, Benton's recordings, particularly for Ronn Records, were a breath of fresh air." Benton became a fixture in Dixon's Blues All-Stars for some time. A 1973 album by Dixon's Blues All-Stars, featuring Benton, The All Star Blues World Of Maestro Willie Dixon and his Chicago Blues Band, was issued on Spivey. Dixon was credited as the songwriter of Benton's best known song, "Spider in My Stew." Released on the Shreveport-based Jewel Records label, it gave Benton a modicum of fame, and his 1974 follow-up, "Money Is the Name of the Game", helped to cement his standing. Benton's 1978 effort for Jewel's Ronn Records subsidiary (also titled Spider in My Stew) became recognised as one of the more engaging Chicago blues albums of its time. Benton recorded three further albums on the Ichiban label, but in comparison to his work on the Ronn label, they were uncommercial. One such LP offering was 1989's, Money's The Name of The Game, produced by Gary B.B. Coleman. Benton also issued a record on the Blue Phoenix label. Benton's fortitude did not go unnoticed. He suffered from the effects of diabetes and received dialysis for the final years of his life. In addition, in 1993, part of his right leg was amputated due to poor circulation, having already lost a portion of the other some ten years previously. He soldiered on, playing his brand of the blues up to his death. However, as journalist, Tony Russell, stated in his book The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, Benton "never found another money spider". Benton died in January 1996, in Chicago, from the effects of diabetes, at age 63. His work has appeared on a number of compilation albums, including Chicago Blues Festival: 1969-1986 (2001).