Boyd
Byron Bennett (December 7, 1924 – June 2, 2002) was an American rockabilly
songwriter and singer.
Bennett
was born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States, but attended high school in
Tennessee and formed his first band there. He grew up in North Davidson,
Tennessee, just outside Nashville. His family was musically oriented and
talented. His grandfather taught members of churches within the community how
to read music. He also taught Boyd by the age of four years how to read the
notes in music, before Boyd could actually read song lyrics. Growing up during
the Great Depression, Bennett did anything he could to make money. He sang in
quartets and played guitar and sang outside of bars for extra funds. At the age
of 16, however, his career was interrupted by World War II in which he served
for four years; and in his free time perfected his playing of the guitar.
During the early 1950s, Boyd Bennett and his Southlanders performed at local
dances and on variety TV shows.
In
1952, while working at WAVE (TV), Boyd came up with the idea of a musical
variety show called Boyd Bennett and His Space Buddies. For Foster Brooks, this
was his first break in show business. The show was a take-off of the Gene Autry
Show. Instead of singing cowboys, it was singing space cadets. The humour,
music, and originality made the show a hit with local fans. The owner of the
station was not so far-sighted and the show was cancelled after seven editions.
The next couple of years they performed at numerous dances and shows in the
Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio area.
Boyd
and his group played in the Rustic Ballroom in Jasper, Indiana on a regular
basis for a number of years. Renamed as Boyd Bennett and His Rockets, they came
to the attention of Syd Nathan, owner of King Records. They released a couple
of country tracks, "Time" and "Hopeless Case". In 1955,
Boyd created a new sound while playing the drums, during a number of recording
sessions with such musicians as Earl Bostic, Bill Doggett, and Otis Williams
and the Charms. He began to experiment with songs that would appeal to
teenagers. Boyd and his band rented the King Record's studio to record
"Poison Ivy", "You Upset Me Baby" and "Boogie at Midnight".
When sales topped 100,000 copies, singles were then re-released under King
Records. They then signed Boyd to a recording contract. In 1955, Boyd Bennett
and His Rockets recorded "Seventeen."
It
reached the Billboard chart in June and went to the number five by September.
Boyd and the Rockets travelled across the nation, performing their hit. There
were also several cover versions recorded that extended the release of the
song. These included fellow chart efforts by the Fontane Sisters and Rusty
Draper. Boyd and his band followed "Seventeen" with the "My Boy
Flat Top" which reached the Top 40 for a number of months, although a
lesser seller than their earlier effort. Boyd also worked as a disc jockey in
1955 in Louisville, Kentucky. In March 1956, Boyd's group released their cover
version of "Blue Suede Shoes."
In
1959, Bennett left King Records and commenced a subsequent brief recording
career with Mercury. Noting that he was drifting away from a teenage audience,
he left the music industry and built up his business interests, which included
owning nightclubs and an air-conditioning parts manufacturer. In the 1970s and
1980s, Bennett had health issues with both lymphoma and pulmonary fibrosis. He
retired in Dallas, although he made infrequent concert appearances, often with
Ray Price.
In
1996, Boyd made his last public musical appearance in the old city of
Jerusalem, Israel. He sang "Amazing Grace" with the worship leader of
the Garden Tomb Centre. He also sang "The Our Father" at the church
of the Nativity.
Although
he had not been active as a musician for decades, he had taken a booking to
appear at South East England's premier rock'n'roll/R&B dance weekender,
Rhythm Riot, in November 2002. However, the grim reaper had other ideas, and
Boyd Bennett died on 2 June of that year from a lung ailment. Just before he
died Bennett
was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.(Info mainly from Wikipedia)
1 comment:
A very big thank you to Be Bop Wino For Boyd Bennett & His Rockets – Move:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/zaf0gb747k4tbc0/Move+MP3.rar
(password = greaseyspoon)
1. Move
2. Seventeen
3. Waterloo / Boyd Bennett and His Southlanders
4. I've Had Enough / Boyd Bennett and His Southlanders
5. Tennessee Rock 'n' Roll
6. My Boy Flat Top
7. The Most
8. Right Around The Corner
9. Blue Suede Shoes
10. The Groovy Age
11. Rabbit-Eye Pink And Charcoal Black
12. Rockin' Up A Storm
13. Big Jay Shuffle
14. Put The Chain On The Door
15. Boy Meets Girl
16. Rock and Roll Mr Bullfrog / Moon Mullican
17. Click Clack
18. Little Ole You All
19. Oo-Oo-Oo
20. Banjo Rock And Roll
21. Hit That Jive, Jack
22. Desperately
23. Partners For Life
24. Mumbles Blues
25. A Lock Of Your Hair
26. I'm Movin' On
27. Let Me Love You
28. Sentimental Journey
29. I'm Mad With You / Moon Mullican
30. Boogie Bear
31. A Boy Can Tell
32. Big Boy
Many mp3’s of Boyd Bennett here:
https://archive.org/details/BoydBennett-01-33
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