Buster Benton
Buster Benton (July 19, 1932 – January 20, 1996) was an American blues guitarist and singer, who played guitar in Willie Dixon's Blues All-Stars, and is best known for his solo rendition of the Dixon-penned song "Spider in My Stew." He was tenacious and in the latter part of his lengthy career, despite the amputation of parts of both his legs, Benton never stopped playing his own version of Chicago blues.
Biography
Arley Benton was born in Texarkana, Arkansas.
Whilst residing in Toledo, Ohio, during the mid-1950s, and having been influenced by Sam Cooke and B.B. King, Benton began playing blues music. By 1959, he was leading his own band in Chicago. During the 1960s, local record labels, such as Melloway, Alteen, Sonic, and Twinight Records released several Benton singles, before in 1971 he joined Willie Dixon. Indeed, a lack of opportunity in the early 1960s meant that Benton gave up playing professionally for several years, and he worked as an auto mechanic. Benton's earlier work was an amalgam of blues and soul, which he confusingly dubbed 'disco blues'. However, according to Music journalist, Bill Dahl, "in the late 1970s, when the popularity of blues music was at low ebb, Benton's recordings, particularly for Ronn Records, were a breath of fresh air."
Wang Dang Doodle
"Wang Dang Doodle" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon. Music critic Mike Rowe calls it a party song in an urban style with its massive, rolling, exciting beat. It was first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1960 and released by Chess Records in 1961. In 1965, Dixon and Leonard Chess persuaded Koko Taylor to record it for Checker Records, a Chess subsidiary. Taylor's rendition quickly became a hit, reaching number thirteen on the Billboard R&B chart and number 58 on the pop chart. "Wang Dang Doodle" became a blues standard and has been recorded with by various artists.
Composition and lyrics
"Wang Dang Doodle" was composed by Willie Dixon during the second part of his songwriting career, from 1959 to 1964. During this period, he wrote many of his best-known songs, including "Back Door Man", "Spoonful", "The Red Rooster" (better-known as "Little Red Rooster"), "I Ain't Superstitious", "You Shook Me", "You Need Love" (adapted by Led Zeppelin for "Whole Lotta Love"), and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". In his autobiography, Dixon explained that the phrase "wang dang doodle" "meant a good time, especially if the guy came in from the South. A wang dang meant having a ball and a lot of dancing, they called it a rocking style so that's what it meant to wang dang doodle". Mike Rowe claimed that Dixon's song is based on "an old lesbian song" – "The Bull Daggers Ball" – with "its catalogue of low-life characters only marginally less colurful that the original". Dixon claimed that he wrote it when he first heard Howlin' Wolf in 1951 or 1952 but that it was "too far in advance" for him and he saved it for later. However, Wolf supposedly hated the song and commented, "Man, that's too old-timey, sound[s] like some old levee camp number":
Podcasts:
Buster Benton
ALBUMS
- American Blues, Volume 2 released: 2006
- Blues Guitar Heroes released: 2003
- The Blues Masters Collection released: 1999
- Nothing but the Blues: 40 Blues Greats released: 1996
- The Blues Collection released: 1996
- Still Got the Blues, Volume 3 released: 1994
- Blues Legends: Chicago Blues released: 1993
- Blues: The Chicago Years released:
- Victoria Spivey Presents The All Star Blues World Of Maestro Willie Dixon And His Chicago Blues Band released:
- Born With the Blues released:
- Blues Gems, Volume 4 released:
- Hell of a Night With the Blues released:
- Six String Boogie released:
- Evidence Blues Sampler Too released:
- Twinight's Chicago Soul Heaven released:
- In the Shadow of Chi-Lights: The Chicago-Twinight Soul Story released:
- Super Blues Legends, Volume 2 released:
- Spider in My Stew released:
- That's The Reason released:
- Jewel Spotlights the Blues, Volume 2 released:
- Working on the Blues, Volume 1 released:
Nothing but the Blues: 40 Blues Greats
Released 1996- Stop and Listen
- Hoochie Coochie Man (live)
- Hoodoo Man Blues
- Highway 49
- Somebody Lone Me a Dime
- It Should've Been Me
- Necromonica (instrumental)
- Don't Cut Out on Me
- Done Got Over It
- Eldorado Cadillac
- Who Will Be Next?
- Don't Start Me to Talkin'
- Cold Women
- Moanin' for Molasses (instrumental)
- When Girls Do It
- The Whammy
- Bad News
- He Sure Could Hypnotize
- Hi-Heel Sneakers
- Spider in My Stew
Still Got the Blues, Volume 3
Released 1994- Neighbour Neighbour
- Sometimes I Wonder
- Cool Drink of Water
- Alimoney
- The Foxtrot
- She Put the Wammee on Me
- Born With the Blues
- Got Me a Louisiana Woman
- The Things I Used to Do
- Rode Myself Crazy
- Honey Bee
- Sweet Miss Bea
- Down at the Corner Grocery Store
- Taking Off
- Play the Blues for You
- Loaded
- He Sure Could Hypnotize
- Came Up the Hard Way
Blues Legends: Chicago Blues
Released 1993- First Time I Met The Blues
- Don't Stay Out All Night
- Hoochie Coochie Man
- Born With The Blues
- Country Girl
- I Wish You Would
- Road Runner
- Born in Missouri
- The Leading Band
- Why Do You Want To Hurt Me
- When My First Wife Quit Me
- Wang Dang Doodle
- I Had It So Hard
- She's 19 Years Old
- You Don't Know What Love Is
- You Went Away Baby
- Moaning for Molasses
- I Don't Like to Travel
- The Foxtrot
Victoria Spivey Presents The All Star Blues World Of Maestro Willie Dixon And His Chicago Blues Band
- Intro, Maestro
- I Must Have A Hole In My Head
- Leake's Trouble Trouble
- My Hoodoo Doctor
- I'm Taking Over
- When The Evening Sun Goes Down
- Every Day I Have The Blues
- Fine Little Girl
- Put It All In There
- One Day You're Going To Get Lucky
- It's A Mighty Poor Rat That Ain't Got But One Hole
- The Thrill Is Gone
Born With the Blues
- Everyday I Have the Blues
- Outskirts of Town
- Step Back Baby
- Born With the Blues
- Whose Ol' Funky Drawers Is These?
- Highway 49
- Okie Dokie Stomp
- Annie Lee
- Deep Freeze
- Five Long Years
- Have a Good Time
- Blues Come Home (History of the Delta Blues)
- Don't Let My Baby Ride
- Juke
- In My Younger Days
- Daddy Rollin' Stone
- Off the Hook
- Black Jack
- Messin' With the Kid
Blues Gems, Volume 4
- Catfish Blues
- Blow Wind Blow
- Stone Crazy
- Confessin' the Blues
- My Back Scratcher
- Trace of You
- Blues With a Feeling
- Sassy Mae
- Hard Headed Woman
- Talk to Me Baby
- She Fooled Me
- Bad Boy
- Money Is the Name of the Game
- So Many Roads, So Many Trains
- Wang Dang Doodle
- Help Me
- Too Much Competition
- 21 Days in Jail
- Bear Cat
- Love My Baby
Hell of a Night With the Blues
- Goin' Mad Blues
- Hi-Heel Sneakers
- Born With the Blues
- Don't You Feel My Leg
- She Fooled Me
- I Had It So Hard
- When Girls Do It
- Late One Evening
- I Got My Mojo Working
- A Hell of a Night
- Don't Cut Out on Me
- Don't Start Me to Talkin'
- Drivin' Wheel
- It Should've Been Me
- He Sure Could Hypnotize
- I Wouldn't Treat a Dog the Way You Treated Me
- Don't Know Where I've Been
- Just Got to Know
- Leave Me Alone
Six String Boogie
- Enter the Tornado
- Hold on Baby
- Prancin'
- Bessie Mae
- House Rent Boogie
- Leave Me Alone
- Somebody Loan Me a Dime
- Texas Love
- Blue Light
- Shake 'em on Down
- You're Gonna Need Me
- All by Myself
- Walked All Night Long
- Well Allright Then
- The First Time I Met the Blues
- Little Bit Worried
- Dust My Broom
- Way You Dance
- Little Stevie's Shuffle
Evidence Blues Sampler Too
- Johnnie's Boogie
- Rambling on My Mind
- Worried About the Blues
- You Say That You Love Me Honey
- Giving Up on Love
- Choo Choo Ch' Boogie
- Trouble in Mind
- The Blues Is Alright
- Orange Driver
- My Baby and Me
- Talking to Anna Mae, Part I
- Takes Money
- Special Road
- Young Man Young Woman Blues
- That's Your Thing
- All for Business
Twinight's Chicago Soul Heaven
- A New Day
- Thank You Baby
- Main Squeeze
- Falling in Love
- Wayward Dream
- I've Made Up My Mind
- Nevermore
- Temptation Is Hard to Fight
- That's the Reason
- Tearing Me Up Inside
- Same Kind Of Thing
- Don't Wanna Face the Truth
- Lift This Hurt
- To Love Someone (That Don't Love You)
- Good to Have You Home Again
- Yesterday's Mistakes
- Maggie
- Life Walked Out
- I Won't Stop to Cry
- You Need to Be Loved On
- Soul Heaven
- Powerful Love
- Which One Am I
- Just You and Me
In the Shadow of Chi-Lights: The Chicago-Twinight Soul Story
- Yesterday's Mistakes
- I Want Action
- Do as You Please
- Catch Up With the World
- That's the Reason
- Women
- Breaking Point
- Try a Little Tenderness
- Unbelievable
- Powerful Love
- The Bear
- I've Made Up My Mind
- Is It Worth a Chance
- What Can I Do
- Disillusioned
- Hurting Inside
- Pardon My Innocent Heart
- Main Squeeze
- You're Being Unfair
- Lift This Hurt
Working on the Blues, Volume 1
- I Can't Quit You Baby
- Violent Love
- All Your Love
- Look Watcha Done
- Sit and Cry
- Try to Quit You Baby
- Down and Out
- I Cry for You
- I'm Satisfied
- Tell Me Darling
- Cry for Me Baby
- Little by Little
- You Sure Look Good to Me
- I'm the Fixer
- Honky Tonk
- Too Many Cooks
- I Sing Um the Way I Feel
- Hold Me Baby (feat. Wild Child Butler)
- Spider in My Stew
- Good to the Last Drop
Born: 1932-07-19
Died: 1996-01-20
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by P.J. Harvey
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by Pointer Sisters
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by Savoy Brown
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by Howlin' Wolf
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by Koko Taylor
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by Warren Zevon
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by Livin' Blues
Wang Dang Doodle
by: P.J. HarveyTell automatic Slim
Tell razor totin' Jim
Tell butcher knife toting Nanny
Tell fast talking fanny
We're gonna pitch a ball
Down to the union hall
We're gonna romp and trump till midnight
We're gonna fuss and fight till daylight
We're gonna get your wang dang doodle all night long
Tell cooda-crawling Ray
To tell abyssinia Ned
To tell old pistol Pete
To tell everybody he meets
Tonight we need no rest
We're gonna really throw a mess
We're gonna knock down all the windows
We're gonna kick down all the doors
We're gonna get your wang dang doodle all night long
All night long
All night long
All night long
All night long
Tell fats and washbone Sam
Everybody gonna jam
Tell shaking boxcar Joe
We got sawdust on the floor
Now tell Peggy and Colin Die
We're gonna have a heck of a time
Now when the fish scent fill the air
There'll be snuff juice everywhere
We're gonna get your wang dang doodle all night long
All night long
All night long
All night long
All night long
All night long
All night long
All night long