Buster Benton

Arley "Buster" Benton (July 19, 1932 – January 20, 1996) was an American blues guitarist and singer. He played guitar in Willie Dixon's Blues All-Stars and is best known for his solo rendition of Dixon's song "Spider in My Stew." Benton was tenacious, and despite the amputation of parts of both legs in the latter part of his lengthy career, he never stopped playing his own version of Chicago blues. During the 1960s, the local record labels Melloway, Alteen, Sonic, and Twinight released several singles by Benton. However, because of a lack of opportunities in the early 1960s, he gave up playing professionally for several years and worked as an auto mechanic. His earlier work was an amalgam of blues and soul. According to the 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 also issued a record on the Blue Phoenix label. from the effects of diabetes, at age 63. In 2020 the Killer Blues Headstone Project placed the headstone for Buster Benton at Homewood Memorial garden in Homewood, Illinois.

His work has been included on several compilation albums, including Chicago Blues Festival: 1969–1986 (2001).

Album discography Spider in My Stew (Ronn, 1978) Blues Buster (Red Lightnin', 1979) Buster Benton Is the Feeling (Ronn, 1980) First Time in Europe (Blue Phoenix, 1983) Why Me (Ichiban, 1988) Money's the Name of the Game (Ichiban, 1989) I Like to Hear My Guitar Sing (Ichiban, 1991) Blues at the Top (Evidence Music, 1993) That's the Reason (Ronn, 1997) Blues and Trouble (Black & Blue, 2002)