Wayne Bennett

b. 13 December 1931, Sulpher, Oklahoma, USA, d. 28 November 1992, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. A skillful blues guitarist, Bennett came to prominence in the mid-50s as a member of Otis Rush’s Chicago-based band. From there he was picked by Joe Scott to join the touring and recording orchestra of Bobby Bland. With arrangements by Scott and scintillating solos by Bennett, Bland became the leading live attraction on the chitlin’ circuit in the late 50s and early 60s. Bennett’s playing also contributed to Bland’s numerous hits of the era, such as ‘I Pity The Fool’ (1961) and ‘Stormy Monday Blues’ (1962). During this period, Bennett was also a session player for other Duke/Peacock artists such as Junior Parker and Gatemouth Brown. He left Bland’s group in the late 60s and subsequently appeared on records by such blues artists as Buddy Guy, Fenton Robinson, Jimmy Reed and Jimmy Rogers. In 1981, Bennett was named Blues Guitarist Of The Year by the National Blues Foundation and in the early 90s he was based in Louisiana, performing with Willie Lockett and the Blues Krewe. Bennett died in November 1992 from heart failure, just prior to a scheduled heart transplant operation.