Misplaced Pages

"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. 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.

In 1970, the small Supreme Records label released the song on a single, 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, but it "gave Benton a taste of fame," according to biographer Bill Dahl.

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

References

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

• 1970 songs
• 1970 singles
• 1973 singles
• 1974 singles
• Songs written by Willie Dixon
• Blues songs