Spider in My Stew explained

Spider in My Stew
Type:single
Artist:Buster Benton
Recorded:1970
Genre:Blues
Length:3:25
Label:Supreme
Producer:Soul Productions

"Spider in My Stew" is a song composed by Willie Dixon and first recorded by American blues musician Buster Benton. It is performed as a slow, minor-key blues, with Benton's impassioned vocal and B. B. King-influenced electric guitar playing.[1] For the recording, Benton, on vocal and guitar, is joined by blues veterans Dixon on bass, Carey Bell on harmonica, Mighty Joe Young on guitar, and Billy Davenport on drums.[2]

In 1970, the small Supreme Records label released the song on a single,[3] with "Dangerous Woman" on the flip side (no A-side/B-side designations). When the Shreveport, Louisiana, Jewel Records released it again in 1974, it still failed to reach the Billboard charts,[4] but it "gave Benton a taste of fame," according to biographer Bill Dahl.[1]

The song was used as the title track for the well-regarded 1979 Benton album on Jewel subsidiary Ronn Records, Spider in My Stew;[5] however, as the music journalist Tony Russell commented, Benton "never found another money spider."[6] As Benton's best-known song, it is included on several anthology albums of Benton's music and various artists' compilations.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Buster BentonBiography. Dahl. Bill. AllMusic. August 12, 2022.
  2. Book: Inaba, Mitsutoshi . Willie Dixon: Preacher of the Blues . 2011. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-6993-6.
  3. Dahl. Bill. 2001. American Blues Volume 2. Album notes. Various artists. Universal City, California. Fuel 2000. 302 061 110 2. 5–6.
  4. Book: Whitburn, Joel. Joel Whitburn. 1988. Listings. Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Record Research. 0-89820-068-7. 40, 41, 552.
  5. Web site: Buster Benton: Spider in My StewReview. Dahl. Bill. AllMusic. August 12, 2022.
  6. Book: Russell, Tony. 1997. The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Carlton Books Limited. Dubai. 91. 1-85868-255-X.
  7. Web site: Buster Benton: 'Spider in My Stew'Appears on. AllMusic. August 12, 2022.