Edward "Little Buster" Forehand

Little Buster (September 28, 1942 – May 11, 2006) was an American soul and blues musician. He was born sighted, but developed glaucoma at the age of three. By the time his vision was completely gone, he was fluent on six instruments, including the guitar.

Biography Born in Hertford, North Carolina, he moved to Westbury, Long Island at age 16. His first professional gig was at the Brooklyn Paramount, where he was a back-up guitarist for Alan Freed's Rock and Roll shows. He also became a regular at Long Island clubs.

Buster changed his focus, concentrating on live blues with his band, The Soul Brothers. Buster married his wife, Mary, in 1969.

In 1995, Buster recorded his Bullseye release, Right On Time. His band consisted of himself on guitar and vocals, Jerry Harshaw on saxophone, Frank Anstiss on drums, Alan Levy on bass and Robert Schlesinger on keyboards. As Andy Breslau said in the liner notes for Right On Time,

During four decades many musicians honed their skills in Buster's band. These included Lee Vaughn on saxophone, Val and Cousin Brucie on bass guitar, Lionel Cordew on drums, Jonathan Kampner on drums, Eileen Murphy on drums, Chris Candida on drums, Ed Hoey on percussion, Gene Cordew on keyboards, Roast Beef Joe on keyboards, Mitch Weiss on chromatic harmonica, guitarists Scott Ross, and Stevie Cochran.

In 2004, Little Buster had a series of strokes. In May 2006, he died as a result of complications from those strokes and diabetes. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Long Island Blues Society in 2002 for his efforts on behalf of music. He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006.