Buster Benton
b. Arley Benton, 19 July 1932, Texarkana, Arkansas, USA. Benton sang in a gospel choir as a youngster, before moving in 1952 to Toledo, Ohio, where he began playing guitar and turned to the blues, influenced by Sam Cooke and B.B. King. Around the end of the '50s he settled in Chicago, where he led his own band and recorded for the Melloway, Twinight and Alteen labels. He owned the Stardust Lounge for some time in the early '70s but spent several years as guitarist with Willie Dixon. Benton had a hit for Jewel Records with Spider In My Stew in the mid-'70s, and recordings he made later for Ralph Bass were issued on several labels worldwide. In the '80s he recorded for Blue Phoenix, and despite some serious health problems he continues to perform, with his latest recordings available on Ichiban.