Duster Bennett 5348041 225018391 2008-07-11T14:09:11Z Malikbek 5241026 adding discography and references {{Wiki|date=May 2008}} '''Anthony 'Duster' Bennett''' (born [[23 September]] [[1946]], in [[Welshpool]], [[Powys]], [[Mid Wales]] died [[26 March]] [[1976]], in [[Warwickshire]]), was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[blues]] singer and musician. He was a [[session musician]] in the early 1960s playing [[harmonica]]. Based around [[London]], his first album ''Smiling Like I'm Happy'' saw him playing in an almost [[one-man band]] type scenario, playing a bass drum with his foot, a harmonica and guitar. With his girlfriend Stella Sutton and backed by the original [[Fleetwood Mac]] on three tracks, the album was well-received among blues fans. He was very popular on the local blues club scene but died in a car crash in 1976. ==The musician== Emerging in the late sixties from the Kingston/Guildford art school music scene, Tony 'Duster' Bennett was a one-man blues band whose virtuosity and co-ordination on drums, guitar and harp was as riveting as it was unique. His live sets would combine his own compositions with [[Jimmy Reed]]-style blues standards often aided and abetted by friends [[Peter Green (musician)|Peter Green]] and [[Top Topham]]. Between 1968 and 1970 he seemed ever-present on [[John Peel]]'s Top Gear and Sunday-repeated-on-Wednesday shows, gigged prodigiously and eventually joined [[John Mayall's Bluesbreakers]] as band member/solo act on a US tour in 1970. Drifted off in the Seventies into more whimsical mainstream material, never landed the hit record his catchy and accessible tunes deserved. ==The music== Country blues with the occasional gospel offering. Recorded three albums and a string of singles for [[Blue Horizon]]. Bright Lights, recorded live at his beloved Gin Mill Club, is a powerful testimony to his popularity among the blues cognoscenti while his legacy on Smiling Like I'm Happy is the haunting 'Jumping at Shadows', covered by [[Fleetwood Mac]] and recently revived by [[Gary Moore]], considered by some to be one of the best blues compositions penned on the east side of the Atlantic. Attempts to gain wider appeal with [[Mickie Most]] were unsuccessful. For decades, a clutch of live and home recordings on Indigo seemed to be all that remained of his work in the CD public domain until the 2006 first-time CD release of the Complete Blue Horizon Sessions reminded us all of what we had lost. ==Death== After performing with Memphis Slim on [[March 26]], [[1976]], Bennett was driving home in a transit van when he fell asleep at the wheel. The van collided with a truck and Bennett was killed.<ref>www.cultfound.org/thelinkbookreviews.htm</ref> ==Selected Discography== * 2006: ''Complete Blues Horizon Sessions'' (a collection of the first three albums plus early singles)<ref>www.insound.com/Duster_Bennett_Complete_Blue_Horizon_Sessions_CD/productmain/p/BHOR90008.2/</ref> * 2000: ''Shady Little Baby (Rare & Unreleased Recordings Vol 3) '' (on Indigo Records) * 1999: ''Comin' Home (Rare & Unreleased Recordings Vol 2)'' (on Indigo Records) * 1998: ''I Choose to Sing the Blues (Rare & Unreleased Recordings 1968-71 Vol 1)'' (on Indigo Records) * 1975: ''Fingertips'' (on Toadstool Records) * 1970: ''12dbs'' (on Blue Horizon Records) * 1969: ''Bright Lights'' (live session) * 1968: ''Smiling Like I'm Happy'' (on Blue Horizon Records) ==Biography== In June 2007 Martin Celmis' authorised biography ''Duster Bennett - Jumping at Shadows'' was published by Jet Martin <ref>[www.jetmartin.co.uk]</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Duster}} [[Category:1942 births]] [[Category:1976 deaths]] [[Category:British blues singers]] [[Category:Road accident deaths in England]] [[Category:Harmonica players]]