Bobby Benson
Encyclopedia
Bobby Benson was an entertainer and musician who had considerable influence on the Nigeria
n music scene, introducing big band and Caribbean idioms to the Highlife
style of popular West African music.
, Lagos State
. While at secondary school he also learned tailoring, but after leaving school he became a boxer for a brief period, and then a sailor in the Merchant Navy.
In 1944, he left his ship in London, where he made his entertainment debut with the Negro ballet, touring several European capitals.
He met his wife, Cassandra (half Scottish and half Caribbean in origin), while in Britain, and on return to Nigeria in 1947 they established the Bobby Benson and Cassandra Theatrical Party.
Their performances included serious music, where he played guitar and saxophone while his wife danced. Based on the popularity of his music, he formed the Bobby Benson Jam Session, a dance band that played swing, jive, sambas and calypsos. In the 1950s, he expanded his band to eleven members, including a trumpet section, and began playing in the popular highlife style. Their first big hit was "Taxi Driver", followed by several others.
Bobby was an entertainer and a comedian as well as a singer, a great performer.
He had a show on NTA
in the 1970s, where he performed as a stand-up comedian and magician as well as playing and singing. He became a friend of B.B. King and Hugh Masakela.
He established the Caban Bamboo, a popular nightclub later converted into the Hotel Bobby. He had several wives, and ten children.
Benson died in Lagos on Saturday May 14, 1983.
, Sir Victor Uwaifo, Bayo Martins and Zeal Onyia.
Victor Olaiya
started as a trumpeter with Bobby Benson's band, and became one of the first Nigerian musicians to play highlife with his group the "Cool Cats". Another player with Benson's band who moved into highlife was Eddie Okunta, with his "Lido Band".
Benson's innovations in musical style also influenced the evolution of popular Jùjú music
.
"Taxi Driver," his biggest hit, and "Niger Mambo," an African melody with the Latin beat, were covered with different interpretations by American artists such as Stanley Turrentine
and Jackie Mclean
.
Randy Weston
covered "Niger Mambo" in a solo performance on his 1978 album "Rhythms-Sounds Piano", describing the piece as representing exactly what is called "high life style" in West Africa.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n music scene, introducing big band and Caribbean idioms to the Highlife
Highlife
Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920...
style of popular West African music.
Life
Bernard Olabinjo Benson was born on April 11, 1922 in IkoroduIkorodu
Ikorodu is a city and Local Government Area in Lagos State, Nigeria. Located along the Lagos Lagoon, it shares a boundary with Ogun State. As of the 2006 Census Ikorodu had an enumerated population of 535,619.-History:...
, Lagos State
Lagos State
Lagos State is an administrative division of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country. The smallest in area of Nigeria's states, Lagos State is the most populous state in Nigeria and arguably the most economically important state of the country and west Africa, containing Lagos, the...
. While at secondary school he also learned tailoring, but after leaving school he became a boxer for a brief period, and then a sailor in the Merchant Navy.
In 1944, he left his ship in London, where he made his entertainment debut with the Negro ballet, touring several European capitals.
He met his wife, Cassandra (half Scottish and half Caribbean in origin), while in Britain, and on return to Nigeria in 1947 they established the Bobby Benson and Cassandra Theatrical Party.
Their performances included serious music, where he played guitar and saxophone while his wife danced. Based on the popularity of his music, he formed the Bobby Benson Jam Session, a dance band that played swing, jive, sambas and calypsos. In the 1950s, he expanded his band to eleven members, including a trumpet section, and began playing in the popular highlife style. Their first big hit was "Taxi Driver", followed by several others.
Bobby was an entertainer and a comedian as well as a singer, a great performer.
He had a show on NTA
Nigerian Television Authority
The Nigerian Television Authority - also known as NTA - was inaugurated in 1977 and is the government-owned body in charge of television broadcasting in the country. The NTA claims to run the biggest television network in Africa with stations in several parts of Nigeria...
in the 1970s, where he performed as a stand-up comedian and magician as well as playing and singing. He became a friend of B.B. King and Hugh Masakela.
He established the Caban Bamboo, a popular nightclub later converted into the Hotel Bobby. He had several wives, and ten children.
Benson died in Lagos on Saturday May 14, 1983.
Music
Bobby Benson started by playing standard big band music, but later introduced African themes, as a pioneer of Highlife music in Nigeria. His song "Taxi Driver" became a classic hit in West Africa, covered by several other musicians, blending Caribbean and Jazz styles. Other hits were "Gentleman Bobby" and "Iyawo se wo lose mi", "Mafe", "Nylon Dress" and "Niger Mambo".Legacy
Various prominent musicians started out playing in Benson's band, including Roy ChicagoRoy Chicago
Roy Chicago was an indigene of Ikare-Akoko in Ondo State, Nigeria.He was a musician and band leader who played in the Highlife style, introducing talking drums into the musical style. He moved to Lagos from Ibadan in the late 1950s, and was most popular during the 1960s...
, Sir Victor Uwaifo, Bayo Martins and Zeal Onyia.
Victor Olaiya
Victor Olaiya
Victor Abimbola Olaiya, or 'Dr Victor Olaiya', is a Nigerian trumpeter who plays in the Highlife style. He was possibly the biggest star in Nigeria in the 1950s and early 1960s, but received little recognition outside of Nigeria...
started as a trumpeter with Bobby Benson's band, and became one of the first Nigerian musicians to play highlife with his group the "Cool Cats". Another player with Benson's band who moved into highlife was Eddie Okunta, with his "Lido Band".
Benson's innovations in musical style also influenced the evolution of popular Jùjú music
Jùjú music
Jùjú is a style of Nigerian popular music, derived from traditional Yoruba percussion. The name comes from a Yoruba word "juju" or "jiju" meaning "throwing" or "something being thrown." Juju music did not derive its name from juju, which "is a form of magic and the use of magic objects or...
.
"Taxi Driver," his biggest hit, and "Niger Mambo," an African melody with the Latin beat, were covered with different interpretations by American artists such as Stanley Turrentine
Stanley Turrentine
Stanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family...
and Jackie Mclean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
.
Randy Weston
Randy Weston
Randy Weston , is an American jazz pianist and composer, of Jamaican parentage.-Biography:Weston studied classical piano as a child. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he ran a restaurant that was frequented by many of the leading bebop musicians...
covered "Niger Mambo" in a solo performance on his 1978 album "Rhythms-Sounds Piano", describing the piece as representing exactly what is called "high life style" in West Africa.