Duster Bennett

Anthony "Duster" Bennett (23 September 1946 – 26 March 1976) was a British blues singer and musician. Based in London, his first album Smiling Like I'm Happy saw him playing as a one-man band, playing a bass drum with his foot and blowing a harmonica on a rack while strumming a 1952 Les Paul Goldtop guitar given to him in 1968 by Peter Green. Backed by his girlfriend Stella Sutton and the original Fleetwood Mac on three tracks, the album was well received. He remained popular on the local blues club scene until his death in a car crash in 1976.

Early career Bennett was born in Welshpool, Powys, Mid Wales. Emerging in the late 1960s from the art school music scene of Kingston-upon-Thames and Guildford, Bennett was a one-man blues band, in the style of bluesmen such as Joe Hill Louis, with virtuosity and coordination on drums, guitar and harmonica.

Discography

Albums 1968: Smiling Like I'm Happy (Blue Horizon) 1969: Bright Lights (live session) (Blue Horizon) 1969: Justa Duster (Blue Horizon) 1970: 12dbs (Blue Horizon) 1975: Fingertips (Toadstool Records) 1975: Levi's Blues (Toadstool Records) – Live album with Hound Dog Taylor and The Houserockers, Alexis Korner and Duster Bennett, recorded (engineer Ian McKenzie) at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds, Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia. Contains the track by Duster Bennett, "Bright Lights, Big City" (6:10) 1994: Jumpin' at Shadows (Indigo Records) 1996: Blue Inside (Indigo Records)

Compilation albums 1998: I Choose to Sing the Blues (Rare & Unreleased Recordings 1968-71 Vol 1) (Indigo Records) 1999: Comin' Home (Rare & Unreleased Recordings Vol 2) (Indigo Records) 2000: Shady Little Baby (Rare & Unreleased Recordings Vol 3) (Indigo Records) 2006: Complete Blues Horizon Sessions (a collection of the first three albums plus early singles)

Singles 1968: "It's a Man Down There" / "Things Are Changing" (45 rpm single, Blue Horizon 57-3141) January 1969: "Raining In My Heart" / "Jumpin' For Joy" (45 rpm single, Blue Horizon 57-3148) July 1969: "Bright Lights, Big City" / "Fresh Country Jam" (45 rpm single, Blue Horizon, 57-3154) July 1969: "I'm Gonna Wind Up Ending Up or I'm Gonna End Up Winding Up with You" / "Rock of Ages Cleft For Me" (45 rpm single, Blue Horizon 57-3164) October 1970: "Act Nice & Gentle" / "I Want You To Love Me" (45 rpm single, Blue Horizon 57-3179) 1970: "I Chose To Sing The Blues" / "If You Could Hang Your Washing Like You Hang Your Lines" (45 rpm single, Blue Horizon 57-3173) July 1974: "Comin' Home" / "Pretty Little Thing" (45 rpm single, RAK Records RAK 177)