Song:Sweet 94
Album:The Very Best Of Buster Benton
Arley "Buster" Benton was a blues artist best known for his late 70s recordings on Ronn Records. Before that he was a member of Willie Dixon's Blues All Stars. Later on, serious health problems didn't prevent Benton from performing in Chicago clubs. He was born July 19, 1932 in Texarkana, AR and he grew up in Toledo, OH. Benton grew up singing in church and Sam Cooke and BB King were his biggest influences. He moved to Chicago and by 1959 was leading his own band. Benton recorded sporadically in the 60s and was forced to work during the day as an auto mechanic. In 1971, he joined Willie Dixon's Blues All Stars and he was featured on the 1973 album The All Star Blues World of Maestro Willie Dixon and his Chicago Blues Band. Then Benton signed with Jewel Records and the 1978 album Spider In My Stew was released in 1978 on the Jewel label Ronn Records. Benton's brand of blues had a soul edge so he called it "Disco Blues", a confusing name considering the musical landscape at the time. There's nothing "Disco" about Benton's music. Songs like Sweet 94, Spider In My Stew and Money Is The Name Of The Game got the attention of music critics and blues fans. Benton recorded two albums for Ronn and this comp from Fuel 2000 covers them. He also recorded for Red Lightnin' and Blue Phoenix. In the late 80s, Benton recorded for Ichiban Records. These albums aren't as highly regarded as his earlier recordings. Buster Benton suffered from diabetes and part of his leg was amputated in 1993. He continued to perform and recorded an album for Evidence Music. He died on Jan. 20, 1996 at age 63. Here's a video for Sweet 94 by Buster Benton.
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